March 28: What's blooming and growing

 In 2021, I am sharing weekly updates of what is growing and blooming in my garden.   

Holy hellebores!

The hellebores are blooming like mad in the gardens. Here are some highlights:

In this photo you can see all the self-seeded hellebores underneath the mother plant. I'll have to transplant these soon so they can grow in a different part of the garden.

The littlest flowers are beginning to bloom.

Iris reticulatas and other "rock garden" irises are now blooming (blue, yellow, purple and magenta).

The winter aconite are in bloom, but they won't last for much longer.

Chionodoxa, or glory of the snow, has started to bloom in the back garden.

Seed starting

Indoors, the first round of the pepper seeds have sprouted!

Also growing indoors from seed are the snapdragons, nicotianas, calibrachoas, and mini basil (which I'm growing for indoor use). I've started to harden off the viola and pansy seedlings outdoors. 

Next up to sow: more peppers, tomatoes, zinnias and tropical milkweed seeds.   

What else is happening this week in the garden:

• The earliest of the daffodils have begun to bloom. I plant an assortment of early-, mid- and late- blooming varieties so there is always a daffodil in bloom from now until early May. This weekend the Tete-a-Tete, Ice Folies and the standard yellows began to bloom. 
• Salix is in bloom.
• Spicebush blossoms were just starting to open today.
• The last of the snowdrops are in bloom, but most are starting to fade, leaving just the foliage.

Click here for what was blooming and growing last week in the garden.

I garden in Zone 6b. The average cold weather minimum temperature for my growing region is -5 to 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-20.6 to -17.8 degrees Celsius).