Eranthis hyemalis (Winter Aconite)
Galanthus nivalis (Common Snowdrops)
Helleborus sp. (Lenten Rose)
We don’t usually think of things being in bloom this time of year. At least not here, we don’t. In Florida or more tropical realms I’m sure it’s fairly well expected. And of course in the southern hemisphere it’s summer so I’m sure there are things blooming. But it’s pretty much still firmly winter here and we don’t associate winter with flowers.
If you don’t like that about winter, then perhaps today’s post will cheer you up a bit. We have three things blooming in our yard right now — things that bloom regularly this time of year. In fact, they all have common names that speak to when they bloom. The first is winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis). It’s a tiny little woodland perennial from Europe. It is only about 3 inches tall because although it has a stem, it’s an underground stem and the leaves come off of that, with flowers above the leaves. They take a good while to get established and really, our heavy clay soil isn’t terribly well suited to them, so they don’t do as well here as they might. I planted some a few years ago and one or two have bloomed each year since but I really need to plant more and in more locations.
The second thing that we have blooming now are common snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis). As their name implies, they often bloom when there is snow on the ground. They are also mostly white, which may be where they get their name, but I don’t really know. We have a few bunches of these in various places around the yard and they are a welcome bit of white when most of the garden is brown.
Finally, and most flamboyantly, the Lenten rose is blooming. We have one very well established Lenten rose (some variety of Helleborus) that has this wonderful claret color. I think of all the flowers in our yard, I like the color of this one best. Well, I like the blues, as well, but this is right up there. The fact that it blooms now makes it that much more special. We do have a few new Lenten rose plants that I put in last year but they are not blooming. Given a year to get established and I think they will do fine next year. They are both white, which should be nice.
So, if you’re a bit blue because everything is brown, plant some February blooming plants and it will be that much easier to get through the cold winter months.