African Garden + work

I Hereby Declare It Spring
Iris reticulata 'Pixie' grown in a container in the garage, now blowing in the wind.

I know, the official first day of meteorological spring is tomorrow, but this just couldn't wait. Yesterday, while making my daily trek to the compost bin, I heard the sound. Then I saw the sight: a V formation of great blue herons flying north, directly overhead. I wasn't able to get a photo, unfortunately, as this was the lowest I've ever seen a migratory flock of them. The return of these majestic birds has been the symbolic start of spring for me since I moved to Squirrelhaven, and I have been enamored of them ever since. (See, e.g., this post at Beautiful Wildlife Garden about a fishing heron in the pond here.)

In a bittersweet surprise, I discovered today that there will, in fact, be a Christmas rose blooming here this spring.

Helleborus niger

It's just the one bud shown here. These plants are diseased and will be removed this spring, making way for something hopefully better. The funny thing is, this bud is no further along than the Helleborus x hybridus 'Pink Lady Strain'. This has just been one very weird winter. It should be an outstanding hellebore spring (not including the H. niger), and it's all just about to pop. I can't wait. But first, the exhibition photos must be finished. Back to work for me.