Iris reticulata
The warm temperatures we had yesterday brought out kids, walkers, bicyclists, gardeners–and a few first blooms, too.
I found two things blooming in my garden yesterday. The tiny Iris reticulata is one of the first irises to bloom. Its only about 4 inches tall, bloom and all, but finding it under dried leaves and other vestiges of winter is a joy. Out front, my crocus suddenly popped up. (My neighbors’ crocus have been up for a week or so.) They were wide open and blooming yesterday, but closed up against the cold and wind today. You can’t blame them for that.
I also detected the foliage, but no blooms yet, for the squill that is often one of the first signs of spring in my yard. It usually blooms about the first week of April, though I suspect it may come a bit later this year. For reference, I blogged about the iris on March 25, 2010 — so we are definitely behind last year.
What are the first blooms in your garden?
Absolutely NOTHING is blooming up north, yet. We still have a bit of snow on the ground here in Moose Lake. Some very brave souls are starting to emerge from the soil, but blooms are still a few weeks out, I’m afraid.
It still amazes me how different bloom times are – even in places I think have similar climates. We still have snow patches, but I have a few snowdrops and yesterday I saw that my 8 inch high witch hazel, planted last spring, has five blossoms. I may have to recount them, but I am so happy that it survived the dry summer and the snowy winter.
The iris are so pretty and hardy. I wish I could say we had something impressive blooming here, but no such luck. It’s gonna be awhile, have to get rid of the snow from this past weekend yet. Your flowers give me hope that Spring will arrive eventually.