Brookside Gardens Outdoors - March 2013

My walk around Brookside Gardens this month was brisk; it was quite cold. There was some progress toward spring since last month’s walk. More twigs have brightened in color. Sometimes - it is the growth from last year that is the most brilliantly colored.

And there are more bulbs up. The snow drops are beginning to fade.

The shelf fungus on an old stump that I check from time to time had been damaged. Pieces had been torn off. I left the pieces where they were and noticed the gill structure that is so hard to see when they are still attached to the stump.

The witch hazel that was blooming last month is still blooming - a welcome bit of color among other trees that are still winter bare.

The buds on the rhododendron are swelling. They are primed for spring.

In general the scene near the front of the conservatories was a good summary of the outdoor state of Brookside in early March: cold wilted ivy, a sprinkling of daffodils, and witch hazel.