quote primroses violets

"Long as there's a sun that sets
Primroses will have their glory
Long as there are violets
They will have a place in story..."
- William Wordsworth

quote primrose

"Through primrose tufts in that green bower
The periwinkle trailed its wreathes
And tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes."
- from Lines Written in Early Spring by William Wordsworth

Green Thumb Sunday #2

My second attempt to do a GTS post, the first time on a Sunday:

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Two primroses, a teacup violet outgrown it's teacup, a sweet marjoram, and a few succulents. I buy a few primroses at the grocery store every year in January to perk up the winter doldrums with their leafy greeness and crayon colored flowers. They'll be planted later in the garden and most of them come back for at least a few years and they'll bloom for me in cool moist weather.

Same with the sweet marjoram. If you keep your eye out for them, the potted herbs in the produce department go on sale occasionally. You can get your investment back if you grow a sweet marjoram or rosemary, keep it pinched to make it branch, and plant it in the garden come spring. Come Spring.

first wave of spring in my Michigan backyard

The primroses from Januaries past... they are hardy.


I always call these Dutch irises, I. reticulata, I think... my memory for the Latin nomenclature is shot these days.


Hardy cyclamen has a nice big tuber this year... not the easiest plant to situate, but I think it likes this spot.

wintergardening

Colorful blossoms, lettuce-y green leaves: grocery-store primroses. A legit part of my food budget, primroses satisfy without calories!



Don't throw them out or try to carry on in pots after they are done blooming. Instead, plant them outdoors in the spring.
Many will rebloom and overwinter outddors. I have the best luck (overwintering) with white and yellow, but I keep trying the colorful ones. Hope is a good thing, and trying new things is what not giving up is all about.



Sonnet by V.B.Benedict
[from a 1976 Primrose Quarterly]

When barren winter seems about to die,
And withered leaves decay upon the earth,
Release from aching discontent have I
With Primula rosea's bright rebirth,
That gaily mock the February rains,
Seemingly to increase with every day.
Now it is a joy to live once more
Anticipating treasures yet to see:
Acaulis sweet and polyanthus friends adore,
And marginata blooming in the scree.
No loneliness is mine nor time to grieve;
These mark the potent season's full reprieve,
And life is rich in sight and song and mirth.