The Whistling Gardener

by Steve Smith

Steve Smith is owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville, located at 3915 Sunnyside Blvd., and a respected local expert on all things horticultural. You can reach Steve at 425-334-2002 or by e-mail at info@sunnysidenursery.net.

Ask any Midwesterner about winter in the northwest and I suspect you will get a universal guffaw. Our winters are mostly a joke to the rest of the country. But to us they are the real thing, and we can't wait for spring to come. So as we grind through the long dark days of December, January and February we find ourselves looking for signs of a spring yet to come. The word for these signs is HARBINGER.

For me, there are definite harbingers in my garden that give me hope that spring is just around the corner.

Early blooming bulbs are a harbinger for me. Little white dangling snow drops are currently in full bloom as are the short and stocky yellow winter aconites. Hardy Cyclamen coum are coming into bloom and grape hyacinths will be close behind. As the tips of my tulips and daffs emerge from their long summer slumber, I am encouraged that spring will soon be here. With a little planning, you can have spring bulbs blooming from January until late May, but that is a discussion for next fall when you can actually buy and plant them.

The return of many species of birds is a reminder that another nesting season is upon us. Little chickadees and nuthatches, hairy and downy woodpeckers, flickers and even a red breasted sapsucker have all returned to my feeders. Also flocks of red-shouldered black birds are massing in the trees and gorging on my suet. Last night I heard the calls of a killdeer eluding some predator. It is time to start looking in my gravel for a nest with 4 eggs before I accidentally drive over it or crush it with my feet. No doubt, returning birds are a harbinger of spring for me.

Winter and early blooming trees are a continuous sign that nature never sleeps in the northwest. My Viburnum 'Dawn" has been in flower since November. Arnold Promise Witch hazel is in its full glory with yellow, fragrant spidery blooms. Speaking of fragrance, Sarcococca is a fabulous evergreen shrub ideally suited for a shady spot that blooms in late January. Plant one near your front or back door where you will enjoy it every time you come in or go out of the house. Winter daphne is another evergreen shrub that is unsurpassed for fragrance. Those cold days and nights in December knocked all the leaves off mine, but the buds seem fine and are going to be open very soon. I can hardly wait for its intoxicating smell.

Swelling buds on plums are a sure sign that spring is coming. Plums are the first of the fruit trees to bloom for us but are rarely in color until March. You can see their buds swelling now (peach trees are on about the same time line) and it is exciting to know that in another month we will enjoy clouds of pink cotton candy-like flowers from the flowering plums that line so many streets in our towns. Larches and weeping willows are also showing signs of upwelling sap as their buds begin to enlarge and give us the first glimpses of new foliage. Contorted filberts are tasseling now and with the slightest breeze we will see clouds of yellow-green pollen wafting through the air. (This is probably not happy news for those with allergies). And who can forget the common but reliable forsythia. So many trees and shrubs that we take for granted display a wonderful spring dance if we just take the time to notice.

My all time favorite perennial, Gold Heart bleeding heart, has risen an inch or two out of the ground already and may very well be my most treasured harbinger of spring. In just one short month it will be another foot tall and then soon to follow will be those magical heart shaped flowers. Its gold foliage will then persist clear up until August. This plant hits a home run every year for me.

So as you can see, I have many harbingers in my garden that remind me that spring is coming. Hopefully so do you. Otherwise it's going to be a long haul until you can plant those impatiens again.

Steve Smith is owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville and can be reached at 425-334-2002 or online at info@sunnysidenursery.net.