Welcome to Entwined Gardens for March Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day.   Last night it was a chilly 30 degrees.  The “Eyes Wide Open” Primula (above) cheerfully continues to bloom – planted in a pot,  in shade at my back door.

Today we welcome the sun and a Carolina Blue sky.    At 10:24 the temperature is 41 degrees and expected to climb to 63 degrees!   Tomorrow the prediction is for 75… but with  March  Madness anything goes!Out my second story window the Maple blossoms wave… whether the pollen has attracted insects,  I can only guess as some small birds were having a field day this morning flitting to and fro in this Maple!

Further down by the lake,  I am enchanted by the catkins of Pussy Willow…

I grow three varieties and they are in various state of  unfurl to  pollen flinging.  It is time for a long overdue cutting back.

The white Daphne sill beautifully showy and fragrance that beckons “Come hither”. ..  or perhaps I’ve been watching far too many Downton Abbey reruns!

Hellebores grown from seed, shared from a friend trickle on a woodland hill-side.

Hybrid Doubles from Pine Knot Farms on right –  give reason to lay on the cool ground to capture their charm.

Hello!   H. ‘Peppermint Ice’ – just opened yesterday – planted in a raised bed just outside the kitchen window.

Fully into the Narcissus season… charming with a little Camassia quamash under foot,  which is also known as the “Wild Hyacinth”…. Note to give the Camassia either a little bulb booster or perhaps relocate to  a sunnier location.

An interesting  Narcissus ‘Rapture’ – a division 6 – Cyclameneus – purchased from a visit to Brent & Becky’s Bulbs adds sunshine near the front walk.

Trout Lily or Erythronium americanum under garden protection… Wildflower.org  explains the curious name as “The similarity between the leaf markings and those of the brown or brook trout.”

Star flowers  – Ipheion uniflorum are planted near the barn and were here when I took over stewardship of the property.  I must remember to ask my husband Phil if they were pass-a-longs.  As they multiply, I have been spreading around and delighted as they can be found in the grassy areas.   I can only dream of a field of these cheery constellations.

Edgeworthia chrysantha – Oriental Rice Paper Plant.   This is a stem shared by friend and amazing gardener Jere Stevens. Jere’s garden has  graced the Garden Conservancy Open Days Tour several times.
It is planted outside my kitchen window in the raised bed, but continues to languish.   I am grateful for this single fragrant bloom on this single stem, but had hoped by now it would have been a Sputnik of blooms… more on Edgeworthia soon.

Pulminaria or lungwort – shaped like a lung…   This also planted in the garden outside my kitchen window…. these were shared from Amelia Lane, gardener extraordinaire and lead Border Babe.   These have multiplied, but never flourished… to the lusty specimens another friend C.J. Dykes grows…    I must ask him what his trick is and report back.    There was a recent article on Pulminaria and wow those plants were huge!   But I am growing under oaks  in heavily compacted root bound soil.  So that might be the answer – moisture and air for the roots!

This deer-resistant spring ephemeral is one I keep watch over as a herald of spring… Ranunculus ficaria ‘Brazen Hussy’.  The name alone makes me smile.  ‘I think the bunnies  love it as they have disappeared further from the house… a shame as it was under planted with a lime colored Lysimachia nummularia  ‘Goldilocks’ wow…

What’s Bloomin’ in your garden?

Also be sure to stop by Carol’s May Dream Gardens  – where you can visit to see what’s bloomin in her neck of the woods and around the world’!

Enjoy – living the  EntwinedLife

Jayme B

NC Certified Environmental Educator

Garden Conservancy Regional Representative

JC Raulston Arboretum Volunteer