Monthly Archives: March 2017

Begonia rex-cultorum

It got quite a bit colder after the rain we had yesterday and this morning it was quite chilly. We wanted to go out and because it’s felt like spring, we wanted to see some plants. That helped us decide to go to Johnson’s outside of Olney, where there is a greenhouse and both house plants and a few outdoor plants that it will be safe to put out soon. This is a Rex begonia, one of a great many cultivars developed specifically for their exotic leaf patterns. This one has a wonderful spiral that really caught my eye. The Rex begonias are only hardy in zones 10 to 12, so can’t be grown outdoors except in a container that comes in for the winter. They also need considerable humidity and indoors that’s a problem for those of us with forced air heating systems, which tend to dry the air in the house far too much. But it’s beautiful. If I ever had a greenhouse, this would be something I’d look at more seriously.

Cherry Blossoms

It was a very wet day this morning and everything was dripping as I went to work. After taking my things out to the car I got my camera out and took some pictures of flowers in the rain. Mostly I took daffodils because they are really starting to bloom but then I noticed that one of our two cherry trees has started to bloom as well. It’s forecast to get cold as the rain tappers off later today and there is significant snow in the forecast early next week. We’ll see what that does to the flowers. The cherries in particularly won’t appreciate it.

Chionodoxa forbesii

The glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa forbesii) has started blooming. As the common name implies, it’s an early spring bloomer and it isn’t unusual for it to be up and blooming well before the threat of frost is past. We’ve been having quite mile weather lately although the forecast is saying cooler weather is coming shortly. In fact, there seems to be a possibility of significant snow early next week with the cold starting tomorrow. We’ll see. In the meantime, I’m enjoying the spring ephemerals.

Another Amaryllis

This is my third amaryllis photo in just over a week but I’m not going to apologize for it. These are really beautiful flowers and well deserving of the attention. The first of the three photos was of an amaryllis with mixed red and white flowers. The second was of the bud of this one, which has solid red blooms. I’m glad I got the pictures of this when I did because within 24 hours of taking them, the plant tipped over and the blossoms were smashed a bit. They still look good (those that are still attached) but it’s a little the worse for the fall.

Snow on Monarda

We had a light snowfall overnight. It wasn’t much and in most years would barely register as a snow at all. Nevertheless, it was the biggest snow we’ve had so far this winter. It melted on paved surfaces, so the roads were quite clear but it nearly covered the grass, with only a small amount of green showing through. I went out back and took some pictures of things with snow on them, including this Monarda didyma (scarlet bee balm) seed head near the back fence. By midday all the snow was gone. I don’t know if winter is over but with the exception of a few days in the single digits, back in December, this has been a very mild winter indeed.

Amaryllis Bud

I know I’ve already done amaryllis recently but I’m afraid it’s going to be a repeat of sorts today. The picture is different enough, fortunately. The one I posted two days ago was in full bloom. This is another that Cathy bought and planted at the same time, but it’s at least a week behind. It’s also six or eight inches taller. Finally, I think this one is solid red where the other was (and is) pink or red mixed with white.

Dad used to grow an amaryllis most years for Christmas so I associate them with dear old dad. That’s a good thing, of course, but it does have a tendency to make me a little melancholy from time to time. I guess that’s one side effect of getting older. When we are young, if we are fortunate (as I certainly was) we don’t have a lot of loss in our lives and things we consider terrible are usually relatively mild in retrospect. As we get older, it’s almost inevitable that we will have significant loss. I’m not sure if I deal with it in a good way or not, but I do it my way (as Paul Anka might say). Having things that remind me of the loss is, for me, part of how I deal with it. I don’t want to forget, even though it’s painful.