While brown is still the predominant color in many of our yards,
there are a few glimpses of hope on the horizon. Crocus
and early daffodils
are beginning to bloom, with many other spring bulbs beginning to put on new growth. Many hellebores have rebounded nicely
and have lush new green foliage and flowers amidst the damaged leaves of December
. Forsythia
and winter jasmine
are blooming, and while some of the winter honeysuckle
got nipped with the last cold snap, it should begin to rebound.
Many perennials are beginning to grow as well. I have seen daylilies putting on new growth, and iris
have started growing new leaves as well. Some of my deciduous shrubs are beginning to sprout, from spirea
to abelia--and many roses are putting on a lot of new growth. Blueberry buds are swelling and so are tulip magnolia and deciduous azalea buds. Foliage is up and growing on Naked Lady Lycoris and my garlic has put on new leaves. I think my garlic heads may be a bit smaller than I had hoped for, but I have been fertilizing.
While these are all welcome signs that we have living plants in our garden, there are still some that may not make it. I have hopes that my gardenias will simply need to be cut back, but they will regrow. Depending on what variety of azaleas you have will determine how much damage they have. My spring blooming only azaleas
seem to be fine, while my Encore azaleas have quite a bit of damage.
We are just in early February, so don't rush to start pruning. Look at what weather we just had last week. The week ahead looks mild and rainy, and we can hope that winter weather is behind us, but who knows? Keep enjoying what color we have, but don't start major pruning until later this month.