Tuesday, March 28, 2017

That didn't take long

Daffodils waving hello
The difference in the scenery around here is astounding: we already have flowers coming up, and although we've had way more rain and cooler temperatures than normal, walking back from the bus this morning I saw flowers everywhere! It seems like just a few days ago there were only a few little teeny green shoots. And now look.
Camillas, not rhododendrons
The rhododendrons are already beginning to bloom! This must be a very early blooming plant, though, as most of the others I've seen have no blooms yet. This flower is the official Washington state flower, and I've seen it in gardens, lawns, and in its wild form in the forest. It just occurred to me that maybe this isn't a rhodie at all, but an azalea instead. I couldn't decide after reading about them both. Anybody have any ideas? (Correction: Linda Reeder told me this is a camilla plant, which is why it is blooming already.)
Some pretty hyacinths
Our neighbor's garden is also already showing some flowers. There will be tulips coming up here in a few days, it seems. And the Tulip Festival in Skagit Valley begins this Friday! I went to the bloom map to see if anything is up yet and learned that several of the fields of early daffodils are up, but no tulips quite yet. I'll be visiting them within a week or two, once they are at their peak. Plus I'll wait until the rain has let up a little, remembering the fields of mud I've had to navigate in previous visits. But I'm beginning to think about the garden now and planting flowers in my pots on the front porch.
:-)

19 comments:

  1. That lovely blooming shrub is a camellia. They bloom earlier that rhodies, some even in the dead of winter.
    I bought primroses on Friday for my front porch pots, but haven't had the time or the weather break to get them planted. Rain, rain, go away.

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  2. Isn't the burst of color refreshing? You are a bit behind us but it seems you are catching up nicely. Enjoy.

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  3. Love the camellias. When Spring gets going she REALLY gets going. I am looking forward to visiting your tulip festival with you. And love sunshine on stalks (daffodils). Shortly I have 600 to plant here.

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  4. Ahhh...I am envious! You get spring early! Love it!

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  5. I have come back from my holiday to a garden full of colour. Spring is definitely here. I look forward to your tulip photos.

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  6. That looks great. I found a shoot of a blue bell today.

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  7. Amazing how spring springs on the west coast! We're coming out ourselves in two weeks, hoping to see some of the early blooms. Hope my posts aren't too frequent for you, I just aim for something every day, but sometimes I don't have much time so they're pretty simple. And at the moment I'm running out of photos.

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  8. Thank you for sharing the flower colors, it's been a long dark winter.

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  9. Wow! Just beautiful! We need signs of spring, and this sure does it. Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos.

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  10. I'm totally jealous though there is hope there is hope here now as our snow finally melted...:)

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  11. Trees are in full blossom mode where I live. Happy to finally see some color after our long, wet winter.

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  12. Beautiful!!! Spring is my favorite time of year [with Fall a close 2nd].

    I have never seen nor heard of a bloom map.

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  13. So refreshing, all the color and new life!

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  14. Yep, Spring has sprung here too. When I left for my trip the daffodils were already in bloom. When I got back yesterday, they are on their way out and the tulips are starting to blossom. It's time to get out in the yard and get dirty!

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  15. So nice to see flowers! You have Spring!! :)

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  16. Those flowers are very colorful and pretty.

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  17. I've always loved camellias. Mom likes camellia oil for her hair.

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