Hyacinths caught a bit of the afternoon rain.
Catching Raindrops
Category: Flowering Bulbs
Smallest of the Hyacinths
Some of the hyacinths have full-blown clusters with lots of flowers packed side-by-side, while others… not so much.
But these little ones still have a delicate beauty all their own.
Welcome Back, Daffodils!
We still have a few more scattered cold nights ahead of us, but with the equinox behind us and daytime temperatures in the fifties every day, I was pleased to see that the first of our daffodils have opened.
A Little Child Shall Lead You (to the Squills)
A little kid stopped on their way home to ask me a series of excited questions about the garden — what was I doing with the shears? (Pruning.) What was growing in this planter? (Alliums.) And when were the flowers going to come out?
I led them over to show off the crocuses that were already blooming, but then they pointed something I had overlooked entirely: the first of the wood squills had come up, putting out a tiny blue blossom hidden away between the ivy leaves.
Colorful Croci
The first small burst of crocuses has faded, but the recent rain brought forth a second (tiny) wave of color. Not as eye-catching as the tulips, daffodils, and aliums will be in a few weeks, but still rewarding to those few who take a moment to appreciate them.
Early Spring Bulbs
It’s still chilly out, but the first signs of spring have come to our little sidewalk garden.
Neighborhood Bulb Planting
I spent a few hours out with volunteers from the nascent 109th Street block association and then with the Columbus Amsterdam BID, planting flowering bulbs in the tree beds on four blocks just around the corner from us to bring up a little color in the spring.
Allium Starbursts
The giant alliums have put up their starbursts of flowers in our sidewalk treebeds — mostly purple, plus this one even-larger white specimen. These bulbs were planted a few years ago and seem quite happy to come back every spring.
Daffodils on Broadway
The daffodils I planted in the giant barrel on the corner of 105th Street have made a small but decent showing this spring.
After cleaning out some litter, I spent a few minutes digging in a couple dozen sunflower seeds in the open spaces in hopes of having another big display later in the summer.
Spring Bulbs in Bloom
With our weather pattern shifting from daytime high temperatures in the 40s a few weeks ago to now 50s and even 60s, the perennials in our sidewalk garden have woken up and kicked into gear. The crocuses were the first to bloom, followed a week or so later by the daffodils and now hyacinths.
