After a very cold February, I’ll admit that I was quite relieved when March finally arrived. With it, was a very much welcome increase in temperatures. It seems that the cut flower garden has suddenly burst into life. Since we have a week of rain in the forecast, I wanted to quickly venture outside today and take some photos of how things are progressing. 
This week marks the arrival of the first anemone blooms. In the past, I’ve had the anemones start blooming as early as February. Though these flowers are a few weeks later than normal, I can’t help but be excited by the collection of colors that I’ve seen so far. This group of ‘Pastel Mix’ anemones has shown some of the prettiest tones that I’ve ever grown.
As you can see from the photo above, many of the anemone stems are still very short. It always seems that the first blooms are a little on the shorter side. Hopefully, as the weather continues to warm, we’ll get some nice long stems that can be used in flower arrangements.
Some of the fall planted pansies have also started to bloom. One variety, ‘Mulberry Shades’ from the Nature Series, is performing exceptionally well. Every single plant is putting up multiple flowers. Much like many other spring flowers, the stems will get longer and longer as the season progresses. 
For now, I’m going to continue enjoying the pansies as an ornamental plant until I am able to use them in arrangements. The colors of this variety are so intense and vibrant; they definitely do not disappoint. 
I also spotted the first ranunculus bud today! It’s no secret that ranunculus have long been one of my absolute favorite spring flowers. I really hope that we’ll be able to harvest armloads of blooms for arrangements. I’m especially eager to see many of the new-to-me additions that I’m trialing this year. 
Among the first daffodils to begin blooming this season were the ‘Cassata’ daffodils. Most websites seem to classify this one as an ‘early’ daffodil. Since I planted it along a south facing concrete wall, it’s not much of a surprise that they have started to open so soon. The overall appearance of Cassata daffodils sometimes changes as the bloom matures, but it seems that mine always maintain this very bright yellow color. 
This year, I’m really eager to try my hand at hybridizing my own daffodils. As a total plant nerd, breeding my own new daffodils only seems like a logical step. So far, I’ve collected some pollen from the Cassata. Now, I’m waiting patiently for another variety to open. 
Last, but certainly not least, I had to mention the Dutch irises. The plants have nearly doubled in size over the past week. I can only imagine that we’ll begin seeing the blooms sometime very soon.
That’s it for this update. I hope that it was helpful. Have any signs of spring started to show themselves in your garden? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below. Thank you so much for stopping by!
