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| 'Valerie Finnis' grape hyacinth is SO blue! |
The Daily DuBrule
I planted these gorgeous sky blue 'Valerie Finnis' grape hyacinths along the edge of my driveway for my husband. He LOVES the color blue and these are the real deal. Put them next to purple or "blurple" flowers and they just scream blue. And look at those totally curly leaves. There isn't anything about this hardy perennial bulb that I don't like.
Today there was a blue them running through my life. As I drove up Rt. 79, north of the Madison rotary at Rt. 80, I kept seeing a particular plant in bloom along the side of the road. It took me a while to realize I was seeing blueberries in flower. Gorgeous, striking, pinkish white flowers that glowed in the muted light the world was giving off as Mother Nature was trying to send some rain our way. No luck on that front. I ran my soaker hoses on the seedling beds all afternoon as I worked on plans and estimates in my home office. It's very dry out there. A big brush fire has been raging in the fields behind Natureworks for two days. Scary stuff. Anyway, back to the blueberry bushes. I love these plants! I got home and immediately got out my camera to take closeup pictures of the flowers on my twelve plants. They were destroyed in the winter of 2011 when tons of snow split them all in half. This year they are lookin' good!
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| Blueberry blossoms opening today |
I have prepared a bed for 12 MORE blueberries. This native shrub loves my heavy, wet clay and naturally acidic soil. I love the harvest, so does my husband, and we share it with the birds, especially the cardinals who perch the peak of the back garage roof and swoop down with obvious glee to eat the berries. Glad to oblige.
I have grown blueberries for several seasons (a little stand of four plants!), and this is the first spring I am noticing the subtle haze of pink in the tightly budded flowers all over the bare branches. Your photo captures the opening buds perfectly. Why didn't I notice them in prior years --- they've always been there!
ReplyDeleteLaurrie, I have been in love with blueberry flowers for as long as I have known about them. My new game is to try and spot them everywhere I go. This is the week to do that! There are lots of native blueberries around if you look... Nancy
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