Due to feeling a little like Piglet in the episode of Winnie The Pooh where his house floats away because of the continuous rain, we will be opening for the season on Wednesday, May 8th. Our hours will still be Wednesday through Sunday, closed Mondays and Tuesdays. We are seeing lots of green shoots and swelling buds and even blooms from the ephemerals, but the ground is so squishy, saturated from the rain! I dare not complain, however, who knows what the upcoming season may bring in the way of drought. Here in the northeast, as many of you know, July and August have been terribly dry over the last three years. I am thankful that the groundwater is being amply replenished at the moment!
So, outdoors I go to fill the sales area with horticultural goodies and to continue potting up plants from the stock area. Even though our wardrobe staple consists of rain pants and rubber boots, we are so excited for the new growing season! Spring! We’ll welcome her every way we can!
Here are a few plants waiting for their spot in the nursery and a few that are already blooming in the gardens…

Trillium grandiflorum flora plena

Salix boydii

Saxifraga cotyledon

Cardamine glandulosa

Eranthis hyemalis

Helleborous thibetanus

This Morning At Fernwood Nursery

Cardamine glandulosa

We are busy getting the nursery tidy and ready for customers on May 9th. Every morning, after looking over our chore list, we go out to discover what’s coming up in the gardens. The Hepaticas, Hellebore, Eranthis hyemalis, and Leucojum are all in bloom. Cardamine glandulosa is also in flower. This low growing plant spreads, forming loose clumps of purplish green foliage and a deeper purple flower. Quite lovely.

Cardamine glandulosa

The woodland peonies are breaking ground. We love watching the transformation of these plants. They are truly attractive right through the season, from when they first come out of the ground, to their glorious blooms, and then right through to their highly ornamental seed pods in late summer, early fall. Both these plants will be available at the nursery this season, along with other garden treasures. It’s nice to be out in the gardens, wouldn’t you agree?

Paeonia veitchii