The first blossom of 2004

– Posted in: What's up/blooming
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Double snowdrops win the prize this year Well, the first blossom was a snowdrop, but it wasn’t any of the snowdrops I’ve been checking on regularly. It was a clump of double snowdrops given to me by my garden buddy Bub, which I had planted near my Cornus alternifolia ‘Argentea’ (now deceased) and had forgotten about. This bed is located in the southwesternmost corner of our property, and I can’t say I had ever thought of it as particularly precocious, horticulturally speaking. Maybe that’s why the pagoda dogwood died: got awakened early from dormancy and then zapped by a killer freeze. I am still debating whether to spend another thirty-five bucks to replace it.
These snowdrops are growing through a groundcover of ajuga. Sorry about the photo being so dark. Daylight was fading when I discovered my prize.

About the Author

Kathy Purdy is a colchicum evangelist, converting unsuspecting gardeners into colchicophiles. She gardens in rural upstate NY, which used to be USDA Hardiness Zone 4 but is now Zone 5. Kathy’s been writing since 4th grade, gardening since high school, and blogging since 2002. Find her on Instagram as kopurdy.

What differentiates a bulb from a perennial plant is that the nourishment for the flower is stored within the bulb itself.…There is something miraculous about the way that a little grenade of dried up tissue can explode into a complete flower.

~Monty Don in The Complete Gardener pp. 142

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Chan S. March 12, 2004, 9:36 pm

Hurrah! What a cheery sight. We’re still waiting around these parts…