With typical flair, our Niagara spring weather has been unpredictable. We've seen freezing cold, high winds, near-torrential rain, a pair of balmy, summerlike days and, as I write this column, snow.
During a glorious break in the crazy weather, I headed out to explore Niagara-on-the-Lake with my camera in tow. A nip in the air haunts visitors who have foolishly left their coats at home. Great chunks of ice huddle together near the Lake Ontario shoreline, as if they are still unwilling to venture out into the open water. No wonder there's a chill in the air.
Local gardens planted with an eye to early spring colour are already rewarding their owners' diligence with optimistic carpets of blue, white and yellow. The earliest spring bulbs are at their peak: white snowdrops; violet, white and yellow crocuses; golden yellow winter aconites; cheery white and blue glory-of-the-snow, miniature purple iris and front lawns turned into glorious seas of bluebells. Mature gardens, no longer concerned about wearing the latest trend, sit back and let the bulbs have the run of the place at this time of the year. Besides, they'll all settle down by the time the trees leaf out, so why not sit back and enjoy the show?
Carpets of brilliant yellow, daisy-like flowers painted a pretty picture as they stretched beyond the garden proper and out into the lawn to keep company with scores of bluebells out to enjoy cool spring weather. A little farther along, a patch of exuberant winter aconites slips under the garden's fence and greets passersby with their cheery smiles.
Despite its rambunctious nature and brassy yellow flowers, the woodland buttercup, also known as winter aconite (Eranthus), is inherently cheerful and optimistic. Its botanical name, Eranthus, comes from the Greek 'er,' meaning spring, and 'anthos,' meaning flower, a nod to their early spring blooming.
Known for painting the deciduous woodlands of Europe a brilliant yellow in the springtime, winter aconites are but a simple woodland plant. On closer inspection, the structure of the individual flowers is surprisingly complex. Each star-like flower consists of six bright yellow petals that curve upward as if to create a tiny cup. Within the petal cup, tall, yellow stamens each marked with a line of chartreuse, crowd together to form a central crown. Each flower rises above a collar of radiating green leaves that gradually roll away and finally point downward as the flower matures.
To introduce winter aconites into your garden, plant divisions in the springtime, or purchase pea-sized tubers for fall planting. The plants will quickly spread to cover a large area, so be sure to plant them where they will have room to spread. Shiny, green leaf rosettes create a dense groundcover, cheery two-to-four-centimetre tall flowers appear in the springtime. The plants are very hardy and prefer filtered sunlight; they dislike the dense shade under evergreens. Good friable soil, high in organic content is ideal. Give them a spot that is moist during the winter and spring months. Plant tubers .5 centimetres deep and 2 centimetres apart in informal drifts. Once the plants are established, you can collect seed and sprinkle it in the garden to create another patch of colour -- the seed germinates quickly. Pot up six or eight plants in the fall to bring them indoors to force in February or early March; put them back outdoors for the summer.
To create a patch of early spring interest in your home garden, plant shrubs such as Chinese witch hazel (Hamamelis molis) and violet willow (Salix daphnoides), underplanted with a carpet of winter aconites, snowdrops and tiny reticulated iris (Iris reticulata) with velvety purple flowers and bright yellow crests. Colonies of snow crocus, miniature daffodils and species tulips would complete the spring picture. For later season interest, plant shade tolerant hostas and ferns in the same bed.
The ornamental catkins of pussy willows (Salix) are a lovely way to add early season interest to the garden. Ideal candidates for a wet spot on the property, they look pretty with winter aconites, forget-me-nots, hostas and ferns.
In a moist site, the native violet or daphne willow (Salix daphnoides) makes an interesting companion for early spring bloomers. Elongated, silvery-grey, fuzzy buds have long yellow stamens and show up well against a dark background. Young purplish-brown twigs have a frosty white coating that is very ornamental when the catkins are in bloom. Cut the plant back annually to encourage the growth of younger, more ornamental stems, and to keep the height in scale with a smaller garden. Willows are very hardy.
An old Polish legend recounts the story of the pussy willow -- please enjoy this story, told by Marjorie Harries in Botanica North America, with your children or grandchildren over the holidays:
A group of mischievous kittens fell into a stream while chasing butterflies. Hearing their mother's cry, the willow trees swept their graceful branches into the water to rescue the tiny kittens. The kittens clung tightly to the branches and were lifted to safety. According to legend, each spring, tiny fur-like buds sprout along the branches of the willow where the tiny kittens once clung.
Theresa Forte is a local garden consultant specializing in easy care perennials and ornamental grasses. You can reach her by calling 905-351-7540 or by e-mail theresa_forte@sympatico.ca.
