This is the first in a series of posts using color as a theme. The pink flowers include deciduous magnolia, alstroemeria, begonias, poinsettias, azaleas, hyacinths, snapdragons, hydrangeas, freesias, orchids, camellias and dogwoods….so many beautiful blooms. Enjoy the pink show!
We got the best snow of the season yesterday in our area of Maryland. It clung to the trees until the little breezes and temperature caused it to plop to the ground or trickle away. One of the early pictures of the day was of the dense oak twigs piled high with snow (to the left). It looks like a black and white abstract drawing to me.
We went out for a drive to enjoy the beauty of the snow. I liked the way the snow clung to the dry grasses from last summer with the flocked spruce in the background. It was a shot from an open window - the car simply stopped in the middle of a country road.
When we got back from the outing, we made snow ice cream: fill a large bowl with snow, add milk (I used half-and-half that I had frozen from an early time when snow was forecast but didn’t materialize), 1 cup of sugar, and flavoring (I used 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon coconut). I add red food coloring so that I can tell when everything is thoroughly mixed. With an electric mixer it only takes a few minutes to create the treat.
By the afternoon the wind and melting had revealed red maple blooms and the hyacinth bed.
This was a year that the groundhog got it wrong….we are not having an early spring. With the snow scenes so beautiful and the streets cleared easily, I could simply celebrate the beauty of the day, take photos and remember that spring will be here soon.
Our spring weather has been a bit colder than usual; some plants are holding off their rush to spring blossoms and foliage. Others, like the hyacinth and daffodils, are blooming but a little worn looking from the cold. Usually they are more numerous and robust looking than they are this year.
The maple has appeared to be going red at the end of its branches several times….then seems to retreat back into a drab color of winter.
Surprisingly, the moss between the rain gutter and driveway seems to be fruiting more than usual.
And the cherry and plum trees are not bursting into bloom as they were this time last year. I hope the buds protect the flowers enough so that we will eventually have the blossoms that make spring extra special in this area.
Early March is still winter this year but there are a few signs of spring. The hyacinths are up and their buds are showing, the tulips are just out of the ground -their leaves still spiraled and tipped with pink. The debris from last year’s lilies is protecting the tulips from the deer. The cairn is still tumbled. The buds on the maple and cherry are not quite as advanced as they were at this time last year although they are enlarging compared to last month. Only the very tips of the maple twigs are turning red so far. The aging self-fungus and moss add some welcome color among the browns of winter. The pine cones and tulip poplar shells lend texture but continue the brown theme of winter.
I noticed that the hyacinths are already peeking through the leaves caught in the flower beds and I am anticipating that they will start blooming before winter is gone just as they did last year when this picture was taken on February 11th. The hyacinths are sturdy, waxy flowers that can withstand the cold and snow. The pale colors - pink, and purple and white - on a spire coming up from green leaves that circle around to frame the flower from the brown of winter still dominate for a little longer. They, along with crocus, are the first flowers in my garden.
I like them for being early but even more for their smell.
The smell of hyacinths wafting in the breeze is the fragrance I associate the most with early spring. It is so rich and overpowering that I have previously refrained from buying a pot of hyacinths to put on the kitchen table. Maybe I’ll take the risk this year. If the wonderful smell gets too strong being contained in one room I’ll simply move it around the house.
Celebrating the whole of life....
Thanks for visiting my blog! Enjoy the photo picks from 2023:
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