Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day & Foliage Follow-Up March 2018: Bring on Spring!

March Garden

What a difference a day can make! Welcome to this month's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day and Foliage Follow-Up! Saying that the month of March has been unpredictable would be an understatement. March came in like a lion on the 2nd. with one of the worst storms we have had in a while, bringing in high winds and torrential rains for the northeast. The rains brought renewal to the garden and with temperatures in the 40's and 50's, the landscape started to become alive. On the 7th, our first thunder snow in years brought thunder, lightening and 6 inches of snow, followed by sunshine, blue skies and melting on the 8th. The vernal equinox is just less than a week away and the gardens are showing signs of full spring ahead. Come along for a walk in my March Long Island garden, and be ready for some surprises along the way!

Hellebore 'Shooting Star' (Lenten Rose)

Hellebores are one of the first perennials to bloom in late winter/early spring, so I had to plant some in the north garden some years ago. I am always in awe over their large beautiful blooms.

Hellebore 'Shooting Star' (Lenten Rose)

Lets get close up and take a look. The anatomy of the flower is quite intriguing, with an eye-catching spiral pattern of many stamens surrounding several pistils at the center, forming a structure that resembles a pin wheel.

Weeping Pussy Willow Catkins!

It's March, so it's time for Pussy Willow catkins. The tree's small white fuzzy buds emerged from brown pods and tripled in size after the rains.

Weeping Pussy Willow March

The birds that frequent the property compete for this Weeping Pussy Willow tree every spring to see who will get to nest there. All day long there is activity with various groupings of birds, mostly consisting of sparrows, mockingbirds and chickadees. They find the tree to be very reliable for providing protection and there are baby birds every spring.

Bird Visitors Seek A Nesting Site

Follow along with me towards the front of the property. One of my goals when planning is to create all year interest in the garden. The Golden Oriental Skyland's Spruce and Coral Bark Maple (Acer palmatum Sangu Kaku') do just that. Each specimen tree changes in appearance throughout the seasons.

Coral Bark Maple 'Sangu Kaku' Bright Red Bark in March (on left) and Skyland's Spruce (right)

Coral Bark Maple (photo left) starts off the season with light yellow-green foliage which turns to medium green and eventually to a vibrant golden-orange in fall. The bark glows a coral-red hue in wintertime, especially when the temperatures are at their lowest, and appears most vibrant when it snows.

Skylands Oriental Spruce (Left)and Coral Bark Maple (Right)

Skylands' Oriental Spruce (photo left) shows off its beautiful golden foliage all year long, but gets bright golden tips on new growth in spring. The tree produces large purplish-brown cones, which mature to their full size by the end of winter. If you look up, the underside of each branch is a deeper green with golden highlights on the upper surface, creating a two-toned effect.

Liriope (Front) and Blue Star Juniper (Backdrop)

Around to the east side, Liriope from last season and Juniperus 'Blue Star' still provide interest in the winter garden. The golden-green grass-like blades of the Liriope will be cut back within the next few weeks to allow for new growth. It is best not to cut this perennial all the way back in autumn, as the foliage provides protection during winter.

Front Walkway

Here is a long view of the front walkway area with Weeping White Birch, 'Blue Star' Juniper, Golden Sweet Flag and 'Gold Spot' Euonymus to the left of the tree. Beyond that is Euonymus 'Greenspire' and Weeping White Pine.

~OVER NIGHT~

March Snow on the 7th!

What???!!! Just as spring was on its way, March played it's unpredictable game on the 7th. Weather forecasts called for snow, but since the temperatures had been so mild, it was unlikely...right? The storm started as rain during the day and quickly turned into a heavy snow by late afternoon, bringing six inches of white to cover the landscape.

March Snow Covers the Garden

Being the enthusiastic gardener that I am, of course I had to quickly run outside with camera in hand to capture the snow covered garden from what was hopefully the last snowfall of the season. I do enjoy the view of the pool area covered in a blanket of white.

March Landscape in Snow 

The view of the Coral Bark Maple in the front is also a beautiful sight as the reddish bark actually seems to glow through the snow covered branches.

Garden Gal & Boy After the Snow

As quickly as the snow came, it started to melt. 

After the Snow Next Morning

The next day, the sky was as blue as could be and the garden was headed back into spring mode.

After the Snow By Afternoon

I think the Weeping Pussy Willow got even more catkins on it and the birds were happy that the snow was over as they went back to their usual routine.

Visitors

This Blue Jay actually allowed me to capture him through the camera lens as he perched on a tree above.

Blue Jay in March

~THREE DAYS AGO~

Bring on Spring! (Daylillies)

Now, let's get back to the tour after our step back in time. In the garden, daylilies, hyacinths and alliums are starting to emerge and make their appearance.

Hyacinths

If you look closely, you can see little purple and pink hyacinth buds forming. They will progress a bit each day from now on in.

Allium 'Globemaster'

The Allium 'Globemasster' bulbs are sprouting and have multiplied from the original three that were planted two years ago to now what is looking like a possible eight or nine!

Sedum

Sedum 'Brilliant' is one of those low maintenance perennials that looks attractive even when it is just coming up. A multitude of rosettes are now visible. Now, it is really starting to look like spring here on Long Island. Hopefully, there won't be any more surprises for the month of March, but we all know that March can be unpredictable!

OH NO!!! 

March 13th

March 2018 Garden

I hope you enjoyed this month's tour through my garden. Special thanks go out to our hostesses Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who makes it possible to see blooms on the 15th of every month with her meme Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day and Pam at Digging for hosting Foliage Follow-Up. I am also linking with some other wonderful hosts and hostesses at Floral Friday Fotos, Macro Monday 2, and Nature Notes at Rambling Woods. Also check out Garden Bloggers' Foliage Day at Creating my own garden of the Hesperides, Wednesday Around the World, Dishing It & Digging It and Image-in-ing weekly photo share every Tuesday.

Gardening Season is Almost Here!

Check Out My Books For Planning Your Garden:

 A Guide to Northeastern Gardening: Journeys of a Garden Designer Zones 3-9

Landscape Design Combinations

~As Always...Happy Gardening and Happy Almost Spring!~

Author: Lee@A Guide to Northeastern Gardening, © Copyright 2018. All rights reserved.