Pre-spring in Only a Few Words

Today I photographed a few pre-spring scenes in the garden. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I will let them speak to you on their own. If only I could convince a certain editor...

(As with most images on this blog, click on photo to see a larger version.)

The catkins hanging down on the contorted filbert, Harry Lauder's walking stick (Corylus avellana 'Contorta') looked exceptional in the afternoon sun.

The seven son's tree (Heptacodium miconoides) bark is beautiful and I finally photographed an example of it to share.

The hellebores are in their glory right now and this fairly new cultivar, Helleborus x nigersmithii 'Ivory Prince' is downright lovely.

Comments

[Les]

I do like Ivory Prince, we have sold it at work for 2 years now, and it has performed well in our gardens too. I also love the foliage. My only complaint is that it is proported to be sterile and will not seed around, which is only one reason I like other hellebores.

[JeanneK]

I love the twisty branches and the catkins on Corylus avellana 'Contorta'. Gorgeous. My garrya elliptica has some silvery catkins also but not nearly as many. And of course they are not as obvious because the leaves on the garrya are evergreen, which is nice in of itself though. Nice pic!