This week's blooms

March and April Events, 2010

There will be an explosion of color and warmth soon, and along with that come many garden and plant events in Tennessee. There will be guided wildflower hikes, display shows, and plant sales. These plant sales are a great way to get good quality plants while supporting the various sponsoring groups.

I'll add more as I can, but for starters -


Nashville Lawn & Garden Show March 4-7 State Fairgrounds in Nashville

Nashville Rose Society Annual Pruning Party , open to the public! March 14, 10:00 AM
http://www.nashvillerosesociety.com/

DIRT! The Movie! a film about soil and our human relationship with it March 20 3PM at the downtown Nashville Public Library
http://npl.atiba.com/events/events.aspx?k=&d=1%2F6%2F2009&t=1%2F6%2F2010&ct=&cl=Main&ag= See the trailer here: http://dirtthemovie.org/


Middle Tennessee Daffodil Society Show March 27, 1:30-4:30 Cheekwood
http://www.cheekwood.org/Gardens/Garden_Shows_and_Lectures.aspx

Perennial Plant Sale April 10, 9AM State Fairgrounds in Nashville
http://www.ppsmt.com/

The annual Plant and Herb Sale, sponsored by the Herb Society of Nashville April 17, 9AM.
Sports Arena at the fairgrounds in Nashville. http://www.herbsocietynashville.org/events_open_to_the_public.htm

Trails and Trilliums, "A Celebration and Sale of Native Plants" April 17& 18, Sewanee TN
http://trails.sasweb.org/

Growild, Inc. Spring Open House Friday April 30 and Saturday May 1, 2010 From 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on both days. Music, wonderful food, hayrides, bird, butterfly and wildlife walks and talks and beautiful gardens. http://www.growildinc.com/

The Elsie Quarterman Glade Festival, a celebration and study of cedar glades habitat, which is an ecosystem unique to Middle Tennessee April 30- May 1
http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/Cedars/features/festival2010.shtml

NUMEROUS wildflower hikes in various Tennessee State Parks. Search your favorite park or try this site, which I just found:
http://www.blueshoenashville.com/wildflowers.html

Finally!

Two days of moderately cold temperatures, but draped in fantastic bright sunshine.
This little crocus is heading out early to soak up the rays...

Promises Promises

Buds and other hopefuls, on February 17, 2010















In order of appearance:
Flowering dogwood tree (Cornus florida), white.
Forsythia.
Forsythia.
A daffodil, almost open fully.
Stonecrop (Sedum) 'Autumn Joy', showing this years start against last years stem.

More Winter Events, Gardening and Related

Ok kids..there is great information and plenty of visual distraction coming up at these happenings. Wander the halls of the garden shows for inspiration, information, and networking, learn more about the life cycle of glass and recycling, learn about vegetable and flower gardening from folks gardening ala 1800s Nashville. It's all here - - -



The Antiques and Garden Show of Nashville February 11-13
http://www.antiquesandgardenshow.com/home.php



Nashville Lawn and Garden Show March 4-7
http://www.nashvillelawnandgardenshow.com/
Four days for $15, unbeatable price! And a coupon on the website.



"Message in a Bottle" Recycling Bottles into Art and Hope, an exhibit and public art event by Tina Ahyoka March 6 and ongoing
http://blendstudio.wordpress.com/exhibits/message-in-a-bottle/
Tina Ahyoka is creating a community based participatory art project. It starts with a gallery talk. Then you help create the work of art (made from reclaimed glass), which, when finished will be a permanent sculpture at Long Hunter State Park
Free

March 6- April 30
A series of short classes on flower and vegetable gardening presented by the gardeners of the historic Grassmere Croft house, located at the the Nashville Zoo. http://www.nashvillezoo.org/visitor_home_gardens.asp is the Nashville Zoo website with some general information about the historic gardens at Grassmere, which are maintained by the Davidson County Master Gardeners
http://www.dcmg.org/custpage.cfm/frm/18003/sec_id/18003/news_id/12687 is the current schedule of topics and classes for 2010. (note that the Zoo website shows 2009 class dates, as of today's posting)
Included in cost of admission to the Zoo

Helleborus

Helleborous aka Lenten Rose
Here's our reliable winter color...The plants here are some version of Helleborus orientalis. There are so many bloom colors and varying leaf shapes in the Helleborus genus. Grow them in shade. They propogate themselves easily by seed. Or you can divide the root crown. Drought hardy and the leaves are tough and stay green into winter. After the bloom gets going, next year's leaves emerge. So you get all year green foliage, unlike many other flowering perennials.

Here are mine on Monday, February 1, 2010. Buried in snow and with quite a bit of winter burn on last year's leaves, I'll go out on a less rainy day, when the blooms are a little taller, and cut back some of the rattier looking leaves to show off the blooms.

Look for the blooms pushing up through the pile of melting snow . . .

On Friday of this same week, with the snow melting.... still a bit messy, but great blooms. Now if I could just spot some Crocus emerging!