Sometimes we need to get away from our own gardening and go see other gardens. The Northwest Perennial Alliance Open Gardens Program doesn't officially start until May, but occasionally there is a garden that needs to be seen earlier.
Barbara Flynn has such a garden. She collects snowdrops. She has 90 varieties of them! Of course we have to see them in February.
There are other early little lovlies that pop up out of cold winter ground, like these Winter Aconites. And of course, hellebores.Everywhere there are the beautiful, varied leaves of hardy cyclamen.I don't know how there can be 90 varieties of snow drops, but I can see that some are pointy and some are round. Thanks to Tom for getting down on the ground for closeups. Leaving Barbara's garden we drove around to the west side of Lake Samammish to Bellevue, to the Bellevue Botanical Garden, where Witch Hazel was putting on a show in the parking lot.As you can see, the day was gorgeous, and stepping out of the car we were hit by the delicious fragrance of the Witch Hazel.Then we entered the garden looking for winter color. Iris reticulataEarly cameliaHellebores, of course.Fragrant daphne odoraEdgeworthia, not open enough yet to waft its heady fragrance. Hellebores that shly look at you are fun to photograph. It was lovely to spend the morning strolling through gardens, but then I was tired and we were hungry. Time to find a Starbucks for lunch.
.jpg)
90 varieties of Snowdrops? That's amazing! I always assumed there was only one kind. You're so lucky your winters aren't as long as they are in Chicago. We didn't expect to see flowers until April.
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful! Such a treat to see all the color, even virtually. Thanks for sharing your outing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tour and photos. 90 varieties of snow drops? I wonder why people are developing so many varieties of snow drops.
ReplyDeleteWhew! That was a long but beautiful walk. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful flowers! I had no idea there are so many varieties of snowdrops. Thanks for all the pictures, LInda.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame it would be to hide away these lovely early flowers until May , when they would be finished. But so many varieties of Snowdrops is incredible. I wish any one of those varieties would thrive here in my garden!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful day! Your photos are such a treat.
ReplyDeleteI love Hellebores so much variety. During our weekend outing I saw Mimosa trees very surprising in our region, but the weather is milder at the sea. There were beautiful yellow trees .
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this delightful glimpse into Barbara Flynn's garden and the joy of discovering snowdrops in February. It's a reminder of the beauty that surrounds us, even in the midst of winter.
ReplyDeleteCheck out my new post!