Here's some of what's blooming in my garden this February. Mostly the same as last year but some of the camellias in last year's February bloom day post aren't ready to open yet.
This NOID camellia along with the inherited specimen present in a lot of older gardens in our neighborhood are the first of the Japonicas in my garden to bloom each year. The C. sasanqua 'Yuletide' is still full of bloom as well.
Galanthus have spread all over the garden (yea!) let's hope the Cyclamen coum behind will be just as prolific.
Helleborus orientalis 'Onyx Odyssey'
One of the first Hellebores I planted years ago.
Unnamed double pink seedling.
Jasminum nudiflorum
No open flowers on the Abutilon megapotamicum but buds still present. If we don't have any freezing temperatures, this one will just keep going.
Cyclamen coum
Petasites fragrans
Rosemary
The first crocus of the season are crocus tommasinianus or tommies as some like to call them. Just today, I noticed a few of the other crocus beginning to show some color as well.
Primula vulgaris.
Viburnum × bodnantense ‘Dawn’
Garrya elliptica
Arctostaphylos somethingorother
Lonicera fragrantissima is covered with bloom this year. The fragrance is divine!
Speaking of heavenly fragrances, Chimonanthus praecox is also adding to the olfactory treat out in the parking strip.
On the other side of the walkway is Daphne odora adding sweet notes.
Euphorbia
Grevillea victoriae
What to pick to bring in this Monday? Closest to the back door and easiest to access were these camellia blooms.
This large glass container has been gathering dust in a corner for several years now. Although not a classic martini glass shape, it'll have to do for today's cocktail, a Pink Martini.
Of course, one needs a bit of ice to make a martini!
Add a whisper of bitters and a lot of love.
Add gin. Stir or shake, it's your choice. I personally have never heard gin complain of being bruised in the shaker but I'm not a purist. Strain. Olive or no, it's your choice. Today I've added an unusual garnish.
To make a pink martini. Throw in a few compact disc cases as cocktail napkins and you've got a party. Pink Martini is also the name of one of my favorite musical groups from nearby Portland.
Happy new week, Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, and Happy Gardening all!
I love that Onyx hellebore. Does the Abutilon ever stop blooming? This is going to have to be the year I get one. And a perfect vase to boot!
ReplyDeleteYummy arrangement. Your garden must be incredibly fragrant at the moment. And I simply cannot imagine living where a rosemary plant blooms. Such a lucky guy!
ReplyDeleteHappy GBBD! What a treat to see your garden with new blossoms, specially camellia and hellebore.
ReplyDeleteI love 'Amado mio' music too Peter!
I'm so glad you've got a Garrya elliptica, getting to see beautiful flowers on yours almost makes up for not having one of my own.
ReplyDeleteI love how you put the odd pieces of glass together for a very seasonal arrangement. Love Pink Martini, too.
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are a joy to see this morning! Thanks for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteYou do know how to celebrate Bloom Day!
ReplyDeleteOh, that Daphne odora... I love that fragrance. I wish the hellebore blooms were facing upward, or at least side ways; both your doubles are magnificent and could also make a nice martini float (if you have the heart to clip them off).
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure Thomas Lauderdale would be thrilled with your 'Pink Martini'. In my imagination, I am experiencing olfactory overload...a condition much to be desired.
ReplyDeleteIt's looking like the beginning of spring there with all those blooms! I just love that Onyx hellebore. Beautiful and unusual looking! And a very nice martini!
ReplyDeleteThat is my kind of martini: headache free.
ReplyDeleteAnother Wow!, too for the 'Onyx' hellebore. Thanks for the beautiful GBBD post.
Like Jessica, I especially noticed the Onyx hellebore - is it really that lavender grey colour in real life? Gorgeous! And what a great martini - sorry - vase! Wonderful idea, brilliantly put together. Thanks for sharing, Peter.
ReplyDeleteA wonderfully creative whimsical vase....looks like spring is treating your garden to lots of blooms.
ReplyDeleteI still have last week's alstroemeria in my vase on Monday. Too busy or too wet to get outside to even snip a camellia. We had to start over with our daphne odora so I have no sweet little blooms to bring in this year.
ReplyDeleteThe pink martini is very well done! I love that onyx hellebore too but, if our current heat (near 90F this afternoon) is any indication, I guess further hellebore acquisitions are off the wish list. Wait! Maybe instead of a greenhouse, what I need is a flower refrigerator!
ReplyDeleteWell done Peter, sneaking in a Pink Martini is the icing on the cake--or the olive in the glass ? Your Cyclamen are beautiful, and that H. Onyx Odyssey --ooo la-la ! Happy Bloom Day !
ReplyDeleteYour concoction is plenty intoxicating! you are just about 10 days ahead of us in so. Everett, so I'm so pleased to see what is opening like crazy. The garrya is something I've always found enchanting. I'm crossing my fingers so the squirrels don't eat my hellebores, and not too much of the camellias, this year. Yours are luscious.
ReplyDeleteSilverLake Sue
It's looking very spring-like in your garden, Peter! I wish my little seedling Chimonanthus were big enough to bloom. I came across one in a garden in Portland last week and the smell was divine.
ReplyDeleteGreat cocktail for Valentine's and so restricted too considering the fantastic material in your garden...
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are beautiful with a delicate beauty you don't see the rest of the year. Late winter early spring flowers are precious. And your vase...just perfect! <3 <3 <3
ReplyDeleteYour is about the 3rd Chimonanthus I've come cross lately and I am beginning to wonder if it is fate. I need to do a bit of research as to whether it would do well here before I add it to my garden but for now it's on top of my 'maybe' list.
ReplyDeleteYou've a varied selection of blooms there Peter and so classy loooking along side that Martini. Tell me did you think of Shir Shean (in a broad Scot's accent) at time of writing ;)
your garden must be a real pleasure to walk around; and fragrant too. Very pretty arrangement.
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