As I sit here, overcaffeinated and wondering how to start this season’s Spring Blooms presented by Wild Birds Unlimited updates, I keep bouncing back and forth between channeling my inner weather anchor, or writing this as if I were in the fictional world of Lady Whistledown.

Lenten-rose (Helleborus ‘True Love’) inKatharine B. Sutphin Border Garden

Because let me tell you, Dearest Gentle Readers, this season is shaping up to be hot, literally, and like the best gossip should continue to evolve and keep us on our toes. Friends, this year Nature is fanning the flames. I swear it’s not just my propensity for hyperbole, either (Chad Franer, our Tom and Nora Hiatt Director of Horticulture, groans every time I call it “apocalyptically warm”). As of March 22, this season is 15 days ahead of the 30-year average.

What does that mean for you, fair reader? Color peaks will arrive faster than usual. These updates will feel more urgent. When I say visit often, starting now, I mean it! My predictions of what might be blooming on any given week will be less confident than in years past.

Displays in the Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse looking 'picture' perfect

Typically for this first update I’m pushing y’all to seek warmth in the Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse and enjoy their team’s stunning displays of bold tropical plants and orchids. You should still do that! It’s dreamy in there, and will continue to be the best spot to soak in some warmth, humidity, and eye candy. I can’t think of a place I’d rather be on a chilly morning or to shelter from a spring shower. (Heads up—the Greenhouse will be closed for Flower & Vegetable Garden construction Monday 3/30 through Friday 4/3.)

Hyacinthus ‘Woodstock’ at Glick Fountain

It’s an annual tradition that right around now I think to myself, “I could really use a few extra weeks of winter. I’m not ready”. We bundle up against the cold and wonder when it will start to feel like spring as we tuck annual plants among frosty bulb foliage. I thank my lucky stars I’ve got just a bit more time to place plant labels and schedule final plant deliveries.

Jewel-toned early blooms dot across a tawny landscape as everyone anxiously awaits the first sweeps of daffodils and hyacinths. That’s what every March has felt like for almost ten years, but this season is dragging me out of that comfortable routine kicking and screaming.

Tulips ‘Jaap Groot’ and ‘Purple Prince’ begin blooming alongside grape-hyacinth (Muscari aucheri ‘Blue Magic’) outside of Garden for Everyone

No matter how far “ahead” we feel in mid-March, the tulips have always shown up like clockwork, peaking that second week of April. I’m not sure that will hold true this year. My gut says we’ll see tulip peak by April 6, but I’ve been proven wrong every year I’ve catastrophized about things being “too early” so what do I know?!

Muscarilatifolium ‘3 Graces’

Even with all that uncertainty, I can share what I’m observing right now, and that’s really what you’re after, isn’t it? We’ll likely see the daffodils and hyacinth shows crest and start to diminish by my update next week. You’ll want to catch them in this brief window while they’re still here. Similarly, grape-hyacinth (Muscari spp.) are blanketing areas of The Garden with their cheery clusters of flowers bobbling atop skinny stems.

The highlights of this week include a couple of Senior Horticulturist Patty Schneider’s areas. At the front of Lilly House, icy blue hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis ‘Chicago’) contrast with lemon-yellow daffodils (Narcissus ‘Pacific Rim’, above), punctuated with my personal favorite little daffodil (Narcissus ‘Kapiti Peach’).

Lilly Lawn greening up with a smattering of Narcissus ‘Mount Hood’ in bloom

At the other end of the Allée, around Glick Fountain, bright yellow masses of daffodils and fragrant mauve hyacinth march their way from left to right, following the sun with their progression of blooms.

The Horticultural Society Overlook Garden is overflowing with pockets of sweetly-scented hyacinth, the echoes of seasonal displays past. The double daffodils (Narcissus ‘Replete’, above) in this year’s display areas add a bit of ballgown-style flair and set the stage for the pastel party Katie Booth, Senior Horticulturist, has in store for us.

The real star of the show this week is Curator of Herbaceous Plants and Seasonal Garden Design Irvin Etienne’s NCAA-themed Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion planting out front. The hardscape around the front doors, the glass from the building, and the heated walkway all make this one of the earliest blooming spots on campus. There are three cultivars of tulips (Tulipa ‘Madame Lefeber’, T. ‘Orange Emperor’, & T. ‘Yellow Emperor’) in bloom right now and will be underplanted with pansies any day now. It will require surgical precision by our staff and volunteers to avoid knocking those blooms off in the process! Here’s where I make a crack about the cliché of tiptoeing through tulips and you all roll your eyes…

Did we mention there are tulips showing color? On week one of Spring Blooms? I’m having a hard time believing it, but the photos caught them red-petaled.

Narcissus 'Brackenhurst' in Horticultural Society Overlook Garden

Until my next update, horticulture staff will be hustling around The Garden, trying to get annuals and greens in the ground without damaging the bulb displays in their advanced state. I’ll be watching the weather and shaking my head, reacting to it like the fictional ladies of Mayfair would to any exciting updates on unfolding drama (scandalized and craving more).

And the plants? Well, they’ll keep on going, blooming and bringing a little early spring joy.

Happy spring!

Jaime Frye