Saturday, March 22, 2008

Garden On Fire



Every March, when the snow is not even completely gone from the ground, cyclamen coum, seen in the top picture, raises its tiny blooms up from the damp, dark leaf litter. The shockingly bright flowers always look to me like so many little fiery sparks floating over the cold earth. Cyclamen coum's early spring display is only the first installment of the cyclamen year. Cyclamen purpurascens, seen blooming in July in the middle picture, although a softer pink, has flowers that are still quite striking but because of much more floral competition in mid-summer, it is much less memorable; however its long bloom cycle is still welcome, and it is the most evergreen of the wild cyclamens for us. Cyclamen hederifolium shown blooming in October in the bottom picture helps close out the gardening year.
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// posted by IBOY @ 12:31 PM
Comments:
Those are gorgeous ! So delicate looking yet they must be hardy to survive your winters there.
Beautiful pictures .. contrast of dead leaves and awesome flowers !
Joy
# posted by Blogger CanadianGardenJoy : March 22, 2008
 
Great pictures. Seeing those and living nearby in Nebraska we have been watching our tulips peek through the soil. Spring is my favorite time of the year. Thank you for sharing.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : March 22, 2008
 
looks like I need some of these beauties in my shade garden......I all ways think of these as just being potted plants! If you can grow them in Iowa I know they will grow here in Mo....my crocus are beautiful, helibores blooming and my lonely little snowdrop....I see lots of things peeking up though......I orderd some of the books you mentioned....love them.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : March 22, 2008
 
GardenJoy... they=re all three pretty hardy (I also grow a couple of other species that are so-so hardy).

jeff... you must be getting pretty close to everything exploding in spring.

Nancy...You can grow all these easily in Mo. (the botanical garden in StLo has big masses of them). Glad you liked the books.

Don
# posted by Blogger IBOY : March 22, 2008
 
Thanks, Don! As everyone says, these photos are great! Cyclamen really cheer the heart--a perfect welcome to spring! Great post title, too.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : March 23, 2008
 
ofb... thanks for the feedback; they are cheery plants, especially with the non-spring we've been having.

Don
# posted by Blogger IBOY : March 24, 2008
 
I didn't realize that cyclamens had such a variance in blooming seasons! I think I would like to add some to color my garden in October. A last blaze of color to flaunt the coming cold weather.
# posted by Blogger Wandasflowers : March 26, 2008
 
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