There were some blooms in my garden in February - cyclamen, primrose, hellebore, anemone, viburnum, etc. - but more than blooms, I'll remember how snowy and windy this month was. It can't be compared with any other state's snowfall, but for us to have snow 2-3 times within a month is not typical.
Galanthus Hippolyta (?)
Edgeworthia papyrifera
Helleborus niger
What plants did I cover to protect from freezing temperatures? I put mulch around Gunnera and covered it with its own leaves, then added several fir branches when the temperature plunged to 25.
There is not much space to keep my agave plants dry, so I usually set them on the covered porch. For the coldest time, I covered the agave pots with towels and sheets, and when it got really cold, moved them into the garage.
Variegated Hebe (here it is in an October photo) was covered too. I lost one plant several years ago, but hope these ones will survive.
This hardy Begonia benitochiba looked wonderful in January, but February's cold turned it into mush. I hope it'll be back in the summer. In my garden, it proved to be more hardy than Begonia sp. DJHV 13070 which never came back after the last winter.
Senecio candicans Angel Wings
I left this plant outside just to check if it'd be OK, but two other plants in the pots were moved into the garage. They are too pretty to risk and lasted most of the winter...
I left this plant outside just to check if it'd be OK, but two other plants in the pots were moved into the garage. They are too pretty to risk and lasted most of the winter...
Strong winds, one after other, made a mess in the garden. Fortunately, the big trees withstood them, but you can see one thin fir tree is falling down behind the bench.
Tiny olives still hang on a small olive tree that grows in a pot.
Muscari or Grape Hyacinths are preparing to bloom. In Russia, they are also called Mouse Hyacinths because of their small size.
Native Western Sword Fern and Salal are always green. Saxifrage is also very hardy.
I've already seen some damage from the bunnies. They tried Daylilies' green tips. I prefer these stone bunnies!
I rarely plant new garlic. It permanently grows in the raised vegetable bed and also between plants in flowerbeds.
I still harvest parsley. Parsley is my favorite herb, so I let it bloom and seed, such that I always have its fresh supply from my little kitchen garden.
Cyclamen
New Viburnum, planted last fall
Trillium kurabayashii 'Giant Red'
Daphne odora 'Marginata'
Tree Peony
Viburnum Pink Dawn
Schefflera delavayi - no problem in our winter
Petasites japonicus 'Giganteus Variegatus'
Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii 'John Tomlinson' is a working horse in my garden
Aucuba japonica 'Variegata' - looked pitiful after the freeze, but just for a day
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Some shots of the wind aftermath:
In the above picture, growing in the red pot is Shrub Panax (Pseudopanax laetus). It can look quite sad in freezing temperatures, but jumps back to normal right after the cold passes.
Some fallen branches were as long as 9-11 feet.
Euphorbia characias 'Tasmanian Tiger', seen in front of the artichoke pedestal, looks frost-bitten, but is already back to normal.
This squirrel was sitting on the ice in the birdbath and eating snow.
New azalea will be moved outside when it finishes blooming.
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Hopefully, March will be more sunny and less windy!
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Hopefully, March will be more sunny and less windy!
