April 2026 Bloom Day

White-haired Leatherleaf flower (Clematis albicoma)

 

It's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, the 15th of the month is the day when we share what's blooming in our gardens, hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Garden blog. Welcome to my Zone 6B Virginia garden!

The month of April started out normally, but has been unseasonably hot and dry, with a killing frost just as the new flower buds and leaves of many plants were emerging, causing a lot of damage in my garden. My cherished Carolina Silverbell tree was budding out when its tiny bells were blasted by the frost. Ditto for the yellow Magnolia 'Butterflies' and  'Viridis' Japanese maple, so sad! That's two years in a row that we've had such killing frosts.

Thus it was a lovely surprise to see  the flowers of my White-haired Leatherleaf flower (Clematis albicoma) pop up in the front garden. The plant seems to be doing well in its half-buried pot in the flower bed. This native plant is found in the wild in only a few counties in Virginia and West Virginia.

The Kwanzan cherry is about finished blooming, and so are the daffodils and Poet's Narcissi but the creeping Phlox seems to be spreading nicely--from just three plants of different colors that I put in some years ago, its is re-seeding itself all over under the tree. 

 

My front yard yesterday

 

The Jacob's Ladder in the east woodland garden is also finishing its flush of spring bloom, while the Foamflower (Tiarella) is starting its display.

 

Jacob's Ladder with one Mayapple.

Foamflower (Tiarella 'Sugar 'n Spice')

 

My Hellebores are looking blowsy and a bit faded in the heat, and a few spikes of Ajuga 'Black Scallop' are showing under the Japanese maple tree 'Bloodgood'.

 

Hellebore 'True Love'

Ajuga 'Black Scallop' 

 

The daffodils and Narcissi in the back bed are about done flowering, as is the Redbud tree. The double-flowering Quince is coming into its own.

 

My back yard from the deck 

Flowering Quince with juniper 'Anna's Ball'

The possum-haw Viburnums (I have two) blooming way in back have reached a respectable height, out of the deer's reach. Yesterday a dear friend came over with her power saw and we cut down out a patch of Japanese bush honeysuckle from this corner of the woods in back. This invasive plant was threatening to choke out the patch of native witch-hazels growing back there. With those now gone, nature's balance can be restored.

 

  

Possum-haw viburnum (Viburnum nudum)

 

The irises and peonies are starting to develop buds, but not ready to open yet--a week or two more for those.

 

A friend gave me this lovely arrangement of Pansies and Candytuft to decorate my back deck, and I had also bought more Pansies for another pot. The deer eat these mercilessly, so growing them in pots is the only way for me to enjoy them.

 

  

 

Pansies and Iberis arrangement

More Pansies

 

I have a few blooms indoors, African violets and such, but I've posted photos of these for several months, so I'll spare everyone here. With such a dry spell, I'm having to water my garden a lot just to try to keep everything alive, if not flourishing. Thanks for visiting!

 

 

April Bloom Day

The front yard.

 

It's April 15th, Bloom Day for garden bloggers, hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Gardens blog. Today's crazy weather has brought a brief shower and lots of wind--my photos were taken yesterday evening before a thunderstorm, when the weather was milder. My USDA zone 6B Virginia garden has been very dry, and any little bit of rain is a help, but we've not been getting nearly enough for the season. Still, between now and the end of May is when my garden is at its best, come and make the rounds with me. 

The 'Kwanzan' cherry tree in front of the house is in full bloom, though the daffodils and narcissus are mostly past theirs--only the Poet's Narcissus remain, while the creeping phlox is just starting to bloom.

Aside from the cherry tree in full bloom, the most delightful surprise awaiting me yesterday was this one tiny bell of the White-haired Leatherleaf Flower (Clematis albicoma) that I've been growing in a pot, heeled into the front bed. This clematis species is a native of only this area and parts of West Virginia, and rather rare--it grows in shale barrens that can reach 180 degrees in temperature at the height of summer. I bought it two years ago and have been nursing it in hopes of seeing its lovely tiny bells--I'm hoping it will put our a few more before its season is over. The seedheads are very attractive too.

Clematis albicoma

Closer up.

My other native Clematis (Clematis viorna) in the long island bed in the back keeps getting eaten down to the ground by deer--I'm going to have to relocate it to a less-accessible spot to see if it will eventually grow. It's that or fencing off the entire yard, far too expensive a proposition.

On the west side of the house, a small clump of blue Grape Hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum) somehow escaped the depredations of the deer, and the Grecian windflowers (Anemone blanda) nearby which deer don't seem to care for, have begun to spread.

 

Blue Grape Hyacinths and Grecian Windflowers.

 

The general view into the back yard shows numerous clumps of white 'Mount Hood' daffodils and Thalia narcissus in several beds. The trees were just budding out when a sudden frost last week burned all the new growth back, but they'll recover eventually.

Overlooking the west side of the house.

Moving down into the back yard, the back bed full of a mix of daffodils makes a wonderful seasonal display. The deer never bother these (they're poisonous), and these back beds are where over the years I've put in the extra bulbs that get thinned out from other beds.

 

The back yard.

The back bed.

 

The Redbud tree (Cercis canadense) is just about finished blooming, and so are the 'Pink Charm' daffodils. My double-flowering quince usually blooms earlier but this year it seems to be at its peak right now. The blossoms will continue, more sparsely, until late spring.

 

Double-flowering quince.

 

More Grecian windflowers in the back yard.

 

My dwarf iris 'Bluebeard' got blasted by the frost, they're not worth showing, but the little Anemones nearby are so cute. 

Moving on towards the east side of the house, my serviceberry tree still has a bit of bloom. As you can see, its hasn't grown out of the deer's reach yet, so the barrier stays up.

The Carolina Silverbell tree--my pride and joy--behind the serviceberry, also got its tiny bells blasted by the frost, so sad!

Serviceberry tree (Amelanchier laevis)

The Hellebores are still hanging on to their flowers--'True Love' has formed a respectable clump. I'm looking for a 'Niger' Hellebore to plant in this bed--I'd love to have something in bloom during the winter.

The Jacob's ladder I planted last fall is lovely, protected by a wire cloche when not being photographed, and the sprout of wild Mayapple next to it was a take-home goodie from a botanical art class I took last spring.

 

Hellebore 'True Love'

Jacob's ladder (Polemonium reptans)

Along the front walk my 'Mara de Bois' strawberries are blooming--accidental edible landscaping from a strawberry pot that got loose--here's hoping for a good crop! The potted plant is a Lewisia that is getting ready to bloom.

 

Strawberries blooming along the front walk.

 

This spring has been busier than ever for me, with a one-woman show at a historic mansion and farm in nearby Millwood. My show opened on April first, and will be there until the end of May. Below is the invitation to my show.

 

In addition, I have four paintings on display at another art show in Millwood, Art at the Mill, but I'll get into that in another post.

Thank you for visiting and Happy Bloom Day! Despite its ups and downs, and the crazy weather, I just love this time of the year!