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FINALLY…I see some flowers. 
I must admit, I have been totally uninspired to garden or to blog about gardening, despite some gloriously beautiful weather this winter season. I finally figured out why. There were no flowers in my garden.
Co-blog partner Christine Ramsey, always said that it is much easier to have a beautiful garden in the spring, but to have a beautiful garden in the winter…now that is a feat.
She is totally right.
Here are 5 lessons I have learned about inspiration and winter gardening.
- Don’t put you best winter flowers out of sight. That’s right. These Hellebores have been blooming since the first of January, but they are on the side of my house I never go. You can’t see them from a window inside, but they are beautiful. Note to self and others…move these in a place you can see every day.
- Early daffodils can do wonders to your garden mood. As soon as these February Golds bloomed, I was instantly inspired to get back in the garden. Even if it was to only weed…it made me want to be out there.
- Blooming winter shrubs with fresh fragrance can transport you to memories of spring. This Wintersweet in the front of my house, is not only beautiful, but when I go to the mail box I smell the sweet aroma and instantly get excited of the blooming season to come.
- Plant more evergreens. That’s right…often evergreens don’t have showy blossoms, but they will make all the difference when your deciduous plants have died back in your garden. I definitely need to plant more evergreens to provide needed structure to my garden, but also to keep it from looking so barren.
- Don’t skip the annuals. I made a conscience choice this season to skip the annuals. I was way too busy and just decided I didn’t have it in me to plant them. Bad mistake. Because I don’t have some of those lovely pansies by my mailbox or in some of my beds, I miss the winter flowering treat they provide.
Take it from me. It is important to plan for a winter garden to keep your inspiration mojo pumped. Review these 5 lessons and take pictures now of your garden, so you can prepare your game plan for the spring planting seasons.
Happy Gardening.
melissa
When I started growing Lenten Roses (Helleborus) almost 30 years ago, white and green flowers were the only colors available. 
Thank plant breeders for these darker strains–seen here with my favorite daffodil, February Gold.
My second favorite daffodil, Ice Follies, is blooming early this year. Most of the time it comes into flower by my niece Becky’s birthday, March 6th. The flowers have a wonderful fragrance, so I always cut a bunch for the house.
Here’s another February milestone–
The year’s first cut flowers always end up in the rabbit vase. A gift from our nephew Bob many, many years ago–the boy is now 6 foot 4, living in Costa Rico and well past his bunny loving stage–it is still a welcome tradition at our house.
There’s nothing like the first flowers of the new season. How do you celebrate them?
It’s time to buy daffodils, and while it may look like I have enough of this splendid, easy to grow bulb, I don’t think I’ll ever have enough. Never.
Daffodils shine in my deciduous NC woods. They look beautiful in vases and add fragrance to the house.
And Daffodils come back year after year in larger, carefree clumps– if you buy the right ones for gardening in the South.
Here are some of my favorites:
February Gold: If I could only grow one daffodil, this would be the one. It has bloomed as early as February 2nd here and the flowers last for weeks and weeks. (Great for putting in little vases for Valentines Day gifts.)
Ice Follies: Stunning bi-colored flowers that usually appear by my niece’s birthday, March 6. Larger than Feb. Gold but more easily knocked over by hard rains, snows, freezes. At the worst, the stems will bend and I cut armfuls of flowers for the house.
Carlton: Another large cup daffodil like Ice follies, it’s pure yellow, very sturdy, beautiful, and popular. Another must have.
Geranium: Multi-booms per stem, this is the most fragrant daffodil I grow. Love it!
Hawera: My latest daffodil, blooming in early April. Small and charming and a reliable late bloomer for the South (which is hard to find.)
My favorite source is Terra Ceia Farms in Eastern NC. They sell great bulbs with bulk pricing to greedy gardeners like me.
Bret and Becky’s is another excellent Southern daffodil grower and between the two, I can find anything I want.
Last time I checked, both have real people who answer the phone and give helpful advice, another big plus for me.
Two more tips for daffodil growing:
Order sooner, rather than later. I write: Order Bulbs!!! on my October Calendar and try to get it done by Halloween or at least mid November before the best varieties sell out.
And finally, try something new every year. Quail and Jetfire are the newbies at our house for 2011. But I was torn. So many splendid daffodils, so little time…
Any suggestions? Please share your favorites.
Because there’s nothing like the first daffodils of spring–
And while I do have one earlier variety, February Gold is the first real blast of spring color in my Apex, NC garden.
Why great bunches? You’ll want to celebrate and cut lots for the house.
Put some on the kitchen table, some by the bed so you can catch the fragrance in your sleep. Take a big bunch to a friend who may be under the very grey weather–
But you can’t cut them all– After a long cold winter, my favorite bouquets are the ones glimpsed from windows. 
How nice to see flowers in the woods at last–
So grow great bunches of the super early daffodil , February Gold.
It’s very, very tough: Takes cold weather and comes back reliably every year. I have never divided my clumps (but I could). Some daffodils stop blooming if they get too crowded–but not my February Gold. 
Because it blooms in cold weather, February Gold has a long flowering period–unlike the summer flowers that come and go so quickly in the 90 degree heat. Weeks of bloom make it a plant that delivers lots of bang for your buck.
So make a note to self–great bunches of February Gold.
Do go out and take some pictures of where you want to plant them in the fall. (Trust me on this one–You will forget)
February Gold Daffodils–a great plant for the south. You should grow that!
Bulbs, bulbs bulbs...
Ok, I just spent the last 3 hours researching bulbs. Yes, I said 3 hours. You should expect a learning curve when you are new to something. But this curve was super steep and frustrating might I add. So last year I learned you plant bulbs in the fall–lesson number one. And that is about it. I bought my bulb mix from Lowes…not that there is anything wrong with Lowes…just they have the most limited selection and as I have just found out on this bulb research adventure…they have limited quality too.
So with credit card in hand, I was ready to buy some bulbs. I googled best bulbs to plant in NC…did I get any recommendations–not online. This is when my frustration began and reinforced why Chris and I decided to write this blog. e-access to good NC garden research. If the google gods decide to be nice to us, perhaps next time you are looking to shop for bulbs, this post will come up tops–bulb buying guide for NC beginner gardeners.
Actually Chris and I are both writing post on this subject…one from a veteran…and one a beginner–that’s me.
Bulb Buying Guide for NC Beginner Gardeners:
1) Read the starter article from Chris about buying bulbs. This will give you a good plan to start from. Pick your places to plant and set that budget. Don’t forget all the bulbs you buy…you have to plant. I remember when blog reader Linda Watson commented on a post–bulb buying frenzy ending with 500 to plant. Oh my…my back hurts thinking of that.
2)Ask your friends what grows in their garden(psst…by reading this you are asking your friends too–that is why we started the blog).
I asked Chris what she grows in her garden. We started on Daffodils–she spouted off litany of names. I couldn’t write down fast enough. Her big advice was to plant flowers that extend the season. Translation: pick some that bloom early(i.e. Feb like Feb Gold Daffodil) and then ones that bloom late like spider lily (Lycoris) blooming Aug-Oct.
Spider lily is a late season bloomer: Aug.-Oct
3)Beginners should start with common flowers. You know the ones you see everywhere. I was a little frustrated with this point because I was ready to jump to that uber-groovy-cool-rare-thing-TonyAvent-planted…but not a wise move for 3 reasons:
- You want to enjoy the fruits of your labor
- You want to get the most out of your dollar
- You want to have success so you have more garden confidence for years of gardening to come
4)Volume is key for the beginner gardener. Why? Because you haven’t had enough time or money to accumulate plants and 10 bulbs don’t cover much ground. Plus, most bulbs look more dramatic in large clumps around borders or in little woods. If you are thinking of buying…start with 25 or 50.
5)Skip the mix. I was going to go this route. It meant I didn’t have to research, and I could just easily order 3 mixes…early to late and be done with it all. Actually, Chris and I debated about. She was right…I was lazy, and I will thank her for talking me off the mix-buying-ledge. Why? Because they usually are filled with stuff no one wants and the big rule on all plant buying…just ’cause they sell it doesn’t mean they grow here.
Tip: When you look at the catalog apparently they only list cold hardiness zones…not warm hardiness. I looked at the daffodils and saw zone 4–i said I know they grow here in zone 7 why do they say the former? Apparently gardening traditions come from England, so they just list cold hardiness.
So what did I buy?
I went on a daffodil tirade–50 each of these:
Baby Moon Daffodils
- February Gold
- Thalia
- Baby Moon (jonquils which i found out is a sexy word for small)
- Ice Follies
Hyacinth–one of my favorites…these were the dutch ones. Their fragrance is bar none. 10 of each of these.
They should have said...Stop to smell the Hyacinth instead of roses...
- King of Blues
- Pink Pearl
- Carnegie
Lycrosis(Spider lily) radiutas (25) and one type of tulip called “hearts delight”(50). I have been warned that often tulips don’t do well here in the south. I was sad, but am going to give it a go any way. I chose a variety that are known to grow well here–the perennial variety.
Hearts Delight Tulip
I had more in my cart but, luckily I had my plan. Yeah there are over 200 bulbs here. When they arrive, you will need to make sure you put the right ones in the right places–this bulb planting guide will help me–Thanks Terra Ceia Farm!. But…I can handle it…if not, perhaps I will have a bulb-planting party at my house 
Bulb Planting Depth Guide
You still have time to order your bulbs. I hope this bulb buying guide for NC beginner gardeners helps.
So what are you favorite bulbs? Share with your friends your recommendations.
Happy Gardening.
melissa
