Posts mit dem Label harbingers of spring werden angezeigt. Alle Posts anzeigen
Posts mit dem Label harbingers of spring werden angezeigt. Alle Posts anzeigen

Montag, 21. März 2016

Floral variations of spring


It's somehow springtime in Germany, 
but most of the time we still have winter temperatures and far too little sunshine.

So many harbingers of spring, except for snowdrops and crocuses, take their time to flourish this spring season.


But step by step you can find more and different spring flowers.

A very early flowering species is Helleborus niger - the Christmas or Easter rose - with a great variety of blossom colours.




Floral Easter decorations - with feathers of the guinea fowl.



Recent Saturday we found even more harbingers of spring - any idea in which famous German (tourist) town I took the photos???


There, along the Philosophers' Way, we found some of our springtime favourites as well...





... the very first magnolia blossoms 2016 and...


...almond blossoms.

Some of them started flourishing already before Christmas 2015 because of the very mild temperatures in December.


Happy & peaceful Easter to all of you! 

 




Montag, 29. Februar 2016

At eye level with crocuses


Long time no see, long time no hear, dear blog friends!

Today I want to report back to you with some harbingers of spring which have been really flourishing for more than one month already here in the south of Germany.

[Crocus on ice]
 
These crocusses I took last Saturday in the Botanical Garden of the Wuerzburg University where you can find more than just one species of crocuses and other early flowering plants.




Next to these purple beauties I found a spot with some goldish yellow crocuses as well.
But honestly I must say the purple species are my favourites.



Good bye February - welcome March!



Dienstag, 4. März 2014

The world in purple, yellow and white


Are you prepared for a spring color therapy???

--> Here we go!!!


This beauty in purple is

Crocus tommasinianus (woodland crocus, Tommasini's crocus, early crocus),
often referred to as 'tommies', were named after the botanist Muzio G. Spirito de Tommasini (1794-1879), who was Mayor of the city of Triest.
They are native to Bulgaria, Hungary and former Yugoslavia. 

And to the garden of the botanical institute of Wuerzburg university.



 Crocus tommasinianus is often referred to as early or snow crocuses, but these terms are shared with several other species, although C. tommasinianus is amongst the first to bloom.


I took the photos on Sunday, 23rd February in the garden of the botanical institute of Wuerzburg university. All the crocuses were already fully in bloom.
I can't remember any earlier time of flowering of these harbingers of spring in Germany.
Last year it was the first weekend of March when I took the very first of these crocuses there.


Ok, let's change the color to a bright yellow...
 


What do you think?
These yellow, even golden crocuses look like "catchers of the sunshine", don't they?
Especially in front of the dark background of their bed.


Now let's change the shade of your yellow color...


... to a more pale version.

This blossom carpet is knotted by Eranthis / winter aconite.

Species in this genus are spring ephemerals, growing on forest floors and using the sunshine available below the canopy of deciduous trees before the leaves come out.


Most of you certainly haven't seen of these spring beauties before, haven't you?

Narcissus romieuxii is an early flowering species of daffodil.

It blooms in mid to late winter. There are many subspecies and cultivars, with flowers in many shades of white and yellow. This narcissus species originated in the Atlas Mountains region of Morocco.


Here I used a texture to rework my photograph of Narcissus romieuxii- but textures only seem to be a girl's [femal photographers] best friend.
I'm absolutely not sure if this photo really needs a texture.
What do you think?

***   ***   ***   ***   ***

Let's reduce the color to the minimum - white is beautifully and delights the eye... ;-)


Spring Snowflake (Leucojum vernum).

The snowflakes are native to central and southern Europe, from the Pyrenées to Romania and western Russia, but they have been introduced and have naturalized in many other areas, including the east coast of North America.


It flowers one or two weeks later than the snowdrops, i.e., from mid-February to March, as soon as the snow melts in its wild habitat.


Last but not least: 


A beautiful group of Helleborus niger, commonly called Christmas rose or black hellebore,


What's up with the springtime flowers in your part of the world?


Montag, 17. Februar 2014

First harbingers of spring 2014 in Germany


Snow in the south of the USA,
snow in wide areas of Japan,

...
...
...

and snowdrops (but NO snow at all)
and many other early flowering plants
in Germany
in the month of February 2014.


;-)



This year's winter weather is really crazy!

While many countries left and right of Europe have to suffer the consequences of a severe winter with plenty of snow,
our German winter is one of the mildest we ever had.


I can't remember the last time I took photos of crocuses in the middle of February!

All the other spring flowers around - winter aconite and helleborus niger - are valued in cultivation as one of the earliest of all flowers to appear.

But crocuses?


Last year I took crocuses in late March and April!!!


 Helleborus niger - commonly called Christmas rose or black hellebore.
Here's the white version of the flower, borne on short stems blooms from midwinter to early spring.



Eranthis hyemalis - the winter aconite - native to woodland habitats all over Europe.

Or: native in the garden of my father-in-law.

;-)




Montag, 8. April 2013

...more, more, more harbingers of spring!


On Sunday we had sunshine - Yeah!

And more and more we can find harbingers of spring,
although we still have winter temperatures in large parts of Germany.


On Saturday we visited the "Esslinger Garden Days", an enjoyable event in the pedestrian area of the old town of Esslingen, a city in the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.



Several exhibitors presented their products around the topics garden and gardening, among them several flower shops and market gardens with a presentation of the first early flowering plants and flowers.


Pansies in little bottles, tulips and willow catkins were my favourites to take photos from.
But mainly I had my hands in the jacket pockets to keep them warm.

 

At home I took some photos of the almond branches we brought with us from our Easter excursion,
in the meanwhile the buds opened their white and pink petals.


Enjoy your workweek!
Enjoy springtime!