The First Snow of 2019

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.”  Lewis Carroll 

It did actually snow this morning but by the time I got up to take some pictures and walk around the garden it had all been melted off. It was only a light dusting and now it's 39 degrees with some sun poking through. The forecast says it's not supposed to get much below 27 this week, although it's suppsed to be clear and I'm guessing it will be cooler here at illahe.

Narcissus romieuxii 'Julia Jane'
This one was originally selected out of a batch of seed collected by the Legendary James Archibald in Morrocco in the late 60's. It's a pretty amazing winter blooming hoop petticoat that offsets as fast as you can divide it, blooms reliably in the coldest of winter seasons and the buttery, lemon yellow blossoms are just wonderful. 

Fritillaria crassifolia
Another one we owe to Mr. Archibald, because of him and Jenny's forays into Iran.  I threw this one in mostly because of the pheonolgy factor, I've been tracking bloom times on this blog now for a few years now and this one is rarely the first Fritillaria to flower, usually it's F. agrestis or F. obliqua. Both of which are close but not the first across the finish line. Phenology with bulbs in pots is an interesting thing, so many factors really, did it get repotted this year? At what depth? Was the summer extra dry? The winter extra warm? 

A winter walk around the garden on a cold morning, like I mentioned I missed the snow. The chinese Mahonia is just starting in, but the Chimonanthus in the background has been blooming for a month now and the fragrance is awesome. In milder winters it's gotten the blossoms blasted off by hard winter frosts in the teens.

Good Stuff coming for the future, 2019 is going to be the best one ever!

Cheers, 

Mark