For holiday gifts this year I took organic seed orders from two friends and pledged to provide them with starter plants in the spring. This is helping to motivate me to carefully time my seed starting and transplanting so I don’t have to go back on my word.

Today, I transplanted the first batch of seedlings–over 200 of them! They included some viola, nicotiana, leek, onion, shallot, cosmos, calendula, and two types of salvia.

To keep up with my commitments I had to start more seeds today, too, including kale, collards, spinach, two kinds of tomato, cucumbers, dill, and cilantro. There are other seeds that I will start tomorrow and next weekend.

I took a few more photos of things around the garden and greenhouse today, including the first open Cymbidium flower.

There are some beautiful things blooming in the garden and the neighborhood. Even downtown, I came across a beautiful magnolia street tree in full bloom.

Here at home, there are a few things budding and blooming in the greenhouse.

There are flowers outside, too, of course. Early March is pretty calm with just a few bright flowers here and there. But late March is a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors and interesting shapes. They don’t all get along tastefully but they provide a wake-up call after the gray and dreary winter.

I took a walk around the neighborhood yesterday and I noticed some things blooming. Despite some very cold spells this past winter the flowers are coming fast and furious.

While my main focus for current and future gardening is native plants there are non-native ornamentals that add color in the winter.

Very few things bloom in January. Snowdrops are often starting to flower then. In mild years, some crocus, Pieris japonica, and hardy calendulas might be blooming. Hellebores also start blooming for us in January some years.

By the time February rolls through the snowdrops, hellebores, and Pieris are in full bloom. Toward the end of the month, Forsythia might be blooming and the winter hazels are starting to open. Crocus make a big show in February and the early narcissi are right behind. Camellias love a dry, warm February–they will burst into a riot of sometimes obnoxious color. Daphne laureola might be in bloom and might be adding a sweet fragrance as it colonizes innocent ground. Bergenia plants, usually hideously ragged after the winter wind and rain, throw up bright pink spikes in February. The rarer white and light pink forms are much prettier in flower but equally hideous in leaf.

Recently, the Erodium ‘Sweetheart’ plants I grew from Chiltern seeds are blooming shyly in February. Iberis will bloom this month, too, and Aubrieta. Corydalis solida will sometimes get some flowers open just at the end of the month, setting off the beautiful fresh mass of blue-green leaves.