Spring finally, officially at least, arrives on Friday. Snow has mostly melted away here, although there’s more in the forecast in the coming days and our last frost date is still nearly two months away. But we have snowdrops aplenty and, thanks to a few branches cut from a very large ‘Ottawa Early’ Forsythia and the flowers that very eagerly popped out of plumping buds when I brought the branches indoors just a week ago, I’m able to join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden with a vase of fresh blooms. It’s sitting on a bookshelf in front of a Haida print called Raven’s Delight…I think the view through the twigs to the art brings a bit of intrigue to the flowers….
You might think the prop today is the lovely shell I brought back from the Bahamas a few decades ago…but really it’s a mini-me Forsythia vase… short twigs in an Ikebana bowl that is sitting, this week, on my kitchen window sill, reminding me that in a few weeks the view of my now very brown garden will instead be very colourful. Have a great week everyone!
Oh, what a sweet ikebana vase Chris! Glad you are finally seeing signs of winter coming to an end!
Thanks Cathy – daffs and Hyacinths are poking through…
Both the vases are delightful Chris, and the Ikebana arrangement a master piece.
Thank you Noelle!
I love forsythia, Chris. Where can I find some?
Hi Seona! Pretty much every garden centre will be selling the shrubs in a month or so if you’re aiming to plant one…the variety I have is Ottawa Early, but there’s a number of great cultivars. For cut branches I’m not sure….
Cheerful Forsythia! The first I’ve seen this year. Here, 2 small patches of Snowdrops are up, a few Crocus leaves & a patch with Daffodil leaves. Rodents are being blamed for all the other -eaten- Crocus bulbs. Thoroughly enjoy everything Spring has to offer! Pansy time at the nurseries, very soon!
I’ve given up on planting Crocus because of the chipmunks and squirrels…there’s a few random flowers still, from early attempts, but nothing like the drifts I used to see at a previous home 🙁
I do like the exotic look of the art through the branches.
😊😊
I still remember the excitement of being allowed to go out as a child and cut the first forsythia branches. We forced them in vases, as well, oohing and aahing as they came out. I very much like the artwork, but the forsythia in the Ikebana bowl is its own work of art!
What a lovely memory! I’ve been telling friends here to step outside with some clippers and do the same thing – it just makes the house so cheery, especially on a morning like this, with howling winds sending new fallen snow into nooks and crannies outside and keeping temperatures well below zero. But I have a fire and a vase of Forsythia so All Is Well !
Both delightful, Chris, the generous vase with the intriguing artwork behind, and the mini-me version. It’s great to have you back on IAVOM!
Thank you Cathy! It’s been a long cold winter, and it’s not quite over!
The cusp of spring, awaiting it with bated breath!
And then there’s today — minus 17 with the wind, a few inches of snow…. 🙂
Forsythia is so pretty. I happen to be in Washington presently, so have noticed it around the neighborhood. It blooms earlier and not as profusely at home, which is probably why it is rare there.
I wonder if it needs a longer colder dormancy period to bloom well? Maybe not, since the flower buds are formed in the summer….most of the hybrids have no nectar or pollen, apparently, so are of little use to bees etc, but they are a great way to welcome spring, especially after a long cold brown winter.
No; I think you are correct. Regardless of when its floral buds develop, forsythia performs better where winters are cooler. It is splendid in the Pacific Northwest, not so splendid around San Jose, and barely mediocre (and rare) in the coldest parts of Southern California.
I had pretty good Forsythia in Atlanta. However, no success forcing it – ever! I love the look of the branches in a Vase, sort of architectural.
Thanks! I’m always surprised by how quickly the buds expand and break open…like they’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for any excuse to just strut their stuff!