Some Early Blooms Feb 29, 2020

Verbenas are early bloomers.  Below is Moss Verbena.  This is very easy to grow from seed, and I have it seeded everywhere - the Rose Garden, the Long Border and the Star Garden.  It gets a lot thicker with flowers as the spring season goes on, and it blooms pretty well throughout the summer.  I eventually cut it all the way back in the real heat because it starts to look scraggly even though it is blooming.

 Below is Homestead Purple Verbena.  It is a very early spring bloomer, loaded with buds right now.   It has only just begun its bloom period.   This verbena is an excellent evergreen ground cover, but the blooms are gone before April is over.  Butterflies are incredibly attracted to this verbena.  Much more so than Moss Verbena.  It brings in the Tiger Swallowtails, there was one in the garden all day yesterday.

Below, this is Star Flower, a tiny little bulb.  Once it finishes blooming in the early spring, the greenery dies away and it disappears until the next winter when the greenery comes back.  These bulbs multiply quickly, and I have planted them in every garden,

Finally, a surprise early bloom from Peggy Martin rose.  This rose is in full bloom in April.