Adonis amurensis ‘Fukujukai’

Well it’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day and the picture above is NOT what our garden looks like.  The picture is from the same day last year.  This year you have to search really hard to find flowers amid the ice and snow.  We are probably 2 weeks behind last year in flowers.  Here is the same set of Adonis this year.

Adonis in bud

February has been super dreary with low temperatures, cloudy days, and intermittent snow.  What follows is my attempts to find some flowers for this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day.  First of all we must give credit to the snowdrops which persist no matter what.

Snowdrops continue in blooming

And then there is that first hybrid Hellebore which started flowering in December.

Helleborus niger HGC® ‘Jacob’

Likewise the Heather hybrid that started flowering in November just continues to ignore the crummy weather.

Krarmer’s Rote Heather still blooming

The Camellia’s have hung in there too, although I know they would like warmer weather.

Camellia sasanqua red still in bloom

A glimpse of Camellia japonica red flower

Double-Pink Camellia japonica wants to bloom

Usually I would expect to see the first witch hazel blossoms by now, but I must say they are much smaller and more beaten back than usual

Chinese Witch Hazel (Hamamelis mollis)

Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane’ (Witch Hazel)

Aside from those instances in the outside world we have to turn to the greenhouse plants.  This Lachenalia came from Gettysburg Gardens last year.

Lachenalia aloides

It is multiplying rapidly in the greenhouse.

There is also another Cyrtanthus which I think I have identified based on descriptions on the Pacific Bulb Socity site.

Cyrtanthus flanaganii Baker

And then lastly, a very cute little false yellow crocus which provides it’s own grassy leaves and bright yellow flowers for multiple weeks.

Nothoscordum sellowianum

Map of our journey

Last year, which now seems like ages ago, we joined an Alpine Garden Tour of Spain and Portugal that was focussed on the various Narcissi that grow naturally there.  For us it was intended to be little bit earlier taste of Spring than we would normally get here in Maryland.  We began with several wonderful days in Porto getting a sense of the culture and the cuisine.  Then we met up with our guide and headed out to our first destination in the hills near the Serra da Estrela National Park

Hotel Rural Quinta da Geia near the Serra da Estrela National Park

As you can see from the citrus, the climate is indeed a notch warmer than our Maryland zone 7a.  But, as it turned out, the first couple of days were definitely on the cool side and we were bundled up with our warmest clothes.  This short movie clip will give you a sense of what it was like to go plant exploring those first two days.

At the end of the day we came back to the warm farmhouse for a lovely meal and after dinner drinks.

Fig Leaf Liqueur

After two days in the mountains we drove down the coast past Lisbon. Along the way we encountered lovely rock rose on the hillsides.

Rock Rose (Cistus albidus)

These are widespread in Portugal but are apparently zone 8-10 in the U.S.

We ended up at Cape Espichel.  The weather was warmer but still not what one would call spring-like.  

Botanizing at Cape Espichel, Portugal

The flowers were incredible though.

Giant Fennel ‘Ferula communis’

It was here where we began to realize that as nice as the Narcissi were the really special aspect of the trip was the display of terrestrial orchids.  These are plants we just don’t get in the U.S.

Sawfly Orchid ‘Ophrys tenthredinifera’

Bee Orchid ‘Ophrys lutea’

Naked Man Orchid ‘Orchis italica’

For the balance of the trip we were located near Ronda, Spain in lovely farmhouse that dates back to Roman times.  The couple managing the hotel were a wonderful source of information about the area.  For four days we traveled out into the surrounding hills looking for flowers.

Hotel Cortijo las Piletas near Ronda, Spain

The picture below gives a good sense as the environment with a sense of discovery around every corner.

Erodium all over the hillsides

Iris planifolia

One morning found us out in a pasture that was full of beautiful little white Narcissi

Botanizing near Ronda Spain

Narcissus panizzianus

But also the characteristic Fritillaria of the area.

Iberian Fritillary ‘Fritillaria lusitanica’

Another day took us to top of a local peak where we could look out across the Asphodelus to the surrounding countryside.

Asphodelus fistulosus on hillside above Ardales, Spain

It turns out that the animals really don’t like Asphodelus (Onionweed) so it is everywhere.

Some of the towns we went through are very picturesque white villages hanging on the mountainside.

Grazelima, Spain

And with more orchids nearby.

Orchis olbiensis

Orchis olbiensis

This was, ironically, near the time when the covid-19 was beginning to spread rapidly around the world.  It was striking to see this image in one of the villages.

Júzcar, Spain

As it turns out we left Spain on one of the last flights before all travel shut down.  Nonetheless we will keep in our thoughts this lovely part of the world with beautiful flowers and remarkable scenery.  I leave this post with this image of Ronda as a place to be returned to someday.

Ronda, Spain