Garden Blogger's Bloom Day ~ March 2013

Crocus tommasinianus glorying in the sun today!

Welcome to Pennsylvania for March GBBD!
We live in US zone 5 and are just starting to enjoy our carpet of Crocus tommasinianus for spring. Crocuses are resilient little flowers, blooming in the sun for the bees and closing in the cold to protect their pollen. Not only that, but they can be open one week, closed for a week during snowfall, and then reopen again for another sunny day. That is exactly what happened this week in our garden.

Crocus tommasinianus naturalized in our lawn by the hundreds.

A bee's first meal: this patch of crocuses is covered in honey bees every March. After a long winter sleep, the bees are ready for nourishment. The crocuses take full advantage of the bees attention early in spring to make sure their seeds are pollinated each year.

As the gardener, my part if just keep from mowing this area of our lawn until the crocuses produces their seeds. This usually means waiting about 6 weeks past peak bloom to mow, which is easily done in our cold zone 5.

On the 13th, Crocus tommasinianus shut its petals tight. This solemn, snowy forest of crocuses waited for the sun to return.

Crocus tommasinianus in the snow.

Crocus tommasinianus re-open in our lawn and Back Woodland garden for GBBD.

Though we have had a few snowdrops in bloom since January, I count this swath of Crocus tommasinianus as the true start to our bloom schedule for the growing year at Gilmore Gardens.
For a sneak preview of what is to come, take a look at the many plantings around our small garden from past years.

See other blooms in our beautiful world for GBBD at May Dreams.
I hope you find some color for early spring in your area!