Enchanting April

My front yard yesterday evening.

 

My front yard today, Easter Sunday.

April is when my front yard looks its best. This year my Kwanzan cherry blossoms are just starting to open, but aren't fully unfurled yet. I expect the morning rain will speed them along. The Thalia and Poet's Narcissi exude their lovely scents, and the creeping Phlox keeps on spreading, sometimes in the most unlikely places, like under the barberry 'Admiration' which is just leafing out.

 

Creeping Phlox peeks out under the barberry 'Admiration'

 

 

The east woodland garden is getting ready for its annual display, with the Carolina Silverbell tree and the Pagoda Dogwood buds swelling, but it's not quite there yet. A Rhododendron and a Jacob's ladder under the Japanese maples are also getting ready for the show. I'll photograph those when they bloom.

The backyard looks lovely with the redbud tree in full bloom, and lots of Narcissi and Daffodils along the length of the bed. Narcissus and daffodils are the one plant family that deer do not eat, as they're poisonous, so these plantings are free to multiply.

Not so with the flowering Quince, which needs to be protected by a barrier or the deer would eat every bud! They nibble away at my spring bulbs: Glory-of-the-snow, Muscari and Spanish bluebells, but leave the Scillas and irises alone.

 

My back yard from the deck.

The back bed with Daffodils and Narcissi

Double flowering quince

Back yard from ground level, with double flowering Quince in front.

  

Closer to the ground, several of the dwarf iris 'Bluebeard' have opened up. Next to them, a couple of  'Prince Alfred' daffodils bloom with some Grecian windflowers (Anemone blanda).

  

Dwarf iris 'Bluebeard'

'Prince Alfred' daffodils and purple Grecian windflowers

The Fothergilla is blooming, with its honey scented-flowers, and clumps of Thalia Narcissi and Mount Hood daffodils dot the beds. 

Speaking of beds, I've spent most of the week cleaning and weeding them, pruning branches and old stems, fertilizing and mulching. The more I plant, the more work there is to do! My plan to eliminate more of the lawn dictates it.

At  times I wish I had the money to hire one or two reliable helpers, but I can't afford it. Besides, the old adage that "if you want something done right, it's best to do it yourself" applies.

 

 

Fothergilla in bloom

Clump of Thalia Narcissi

The west yard looking towards the back.

 

This is just the beginning of the flowering season--so many more flowers to look forward to during the enchanting month of April!

 

November Color

The back yard in November

 

Our fall hasn't been as colorful as on other years, but the trees finally started to turn in earnest in late October. The first few days in November was when I took this photo-- the oaks in the back woods were at the peak of their color. But after last night's high winds, much of the foliage is gone today. 

My Japanese maples have been putting on quite a show too, and Viburnum 'Brandywine' is still looking wonderful, though the birds have eaten most of the berries.

  

Japanese maples in the east woodland garden.

Closer look at Japanese maples

Japanese maple "Amber Ghost'

Viburnum 'Brandywine'

The days continue to be mild, despite overnight temperatures dropping below freezing, we haven't really had a hard frost yet. The inch and a half of rain we got last week prompted the autumn-blooming Crocus speciosus I planted in early October to finally bloom. Such a lovely sight!

 

Crocus speciosus

 

Most of my tropical plants are back inside the house, and the tropical Salvias are under a blanket of mulch which I hope will help them to survive the winter outdoors. Most of my mums are looking a bit beat-up, but these potted ones under the front porch are holding their own.

 

Mums by the front porch.

 

The pink asters with the yellow centers that I got as a mother's day gift re-bloomed, with a little smaller size flowers the second time around. The Blanket flowers 'Arizona Sunset' (Gaillardia) in the front yard are still blooming.

 

Pink florist's asters.

"Arizona Sunset' Gaillardia

I missed photogaphing the spectacular color of the Fothergilla shrub, most of its leaves have now fallen. A few aromatic aster flowers linger on.

 

Aromatic asters with Fothergilla beyond.

 I wonder if there will still be any flowers in an other week for November's Bloom day?

 

Late Fall Color

Viburnum 'Cardinal Candy'

 

This year we've had a very colorful fall and the show isn't over yet. There's still color in them there leaves! 

Fothergilla with aromatic asters.

Some plants are just beginning to reach their peak of color now in early November, like the Fothergilla in the photo above. I wish the asters next to it were a bit bloomier, but the color combination never fails to amaze me. 

 

Aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium)

My original aromatic aster continues to produce prodigious blooms--the pollinators love it, it's about the only flower that lasts this late into the fall.

 

Japanese maples on east side

Japanese maples l. to r.: Bloodgood, no Id, Full Moon

Much of my labors in the garden each fall consists of expanding and consilidating my flower beds. This year it was time to dig up the Mount Hood daffodils under the Japanese maple 'Amber Ghost' that were over-crowded. I extended the bed out and joined the 'Texas White' redbud tree to make it part of the same bed before replanting the daffodils and grape hyacinths beneath the trees.

 

Reworked bed with 'Amber Ghost' and 'Texas White' redbud.

Next spring I'll consolidate this enlarged bed with the one behind it, for one much larger island bed. The Shasta daisies in the Badlands bed didn't bloom much this year, despite the generous summer rains, so I'll probably transplant those and put them in the grassy strip that will unite those two beds on the west side of the back yard.

 

The "Badlands' in late October.

Other spring-flowering bulbs also need to be dug up, thinned and re-planted. I hope the glorious weather will hold out long enough for me to get this done before the ground freezes hard. I wonder what sort of winter is in store for us?

 

The front yard in late October.

Frosty Morning

Full-moon Japanese maple 'Shirasawanum'.

Japanese maple

Last night the thermometer dipped into the twenties. When I got up in the morning and looked out the window, I saw that Jack Frost had painted a scene of fantastic beauty outside! Looking out over the east side of the house, the tops of the three Japanese maples shimmered in the early morning sun, making such a lovely sight, I couldn't resist going out to record it with my camera before it all vanished!

The hoarfrost had outlined every leaf and blade of grass, turning each tree and shrub into a work of art: the Japanese maples, the hollies, the grasses, even the mulch!

 

Berry Poppins hollies.

Japanese maple 'Bloodgood'

Going into the back yard, in the Little Indians bed, the 'Bartzella' peony and the purple Chrysanthemums, with the catmint behind, created a beautiful array of subdued colors and shapes.

Peony 'Bartzella' with mums.

Dried flowerheads of Swamp sunflowers.

Even the seedheads of the Swamp sunflowers were artistic, outlined with ice crystals. The Bottlebrush Buckeye tree with its yellowing leaves was a wondrous sight, as was the Beautyberry 'Early Amethyst' with its small purple berry clusters.

Bottlebrush Buckeye

Beautyberry shrub

 

The just-planted lamb's ear's furry leaves were heavily coated with ice. The Fothergilla's leaves, just starting to turn, next to the frozen aromatic asters, were another study in subtle shades.

 

Lamb's ears leaves.

Fothergilla with aromatic asters in front.

Walking around toward the west side of the house, the berries of Viburnum 'Cardinal Candy' looked like they might be special seasonal decorations. The Japanese maple 'Amber Ghost' and even the fallen leaves on the grass were gorgeous!

 

Viburnum 'Cardinal Candy'

Fallen leaves

Japanese maple 'Amber Ghost'

In the front yard, the dainty leaves of the 'Princess' holly looked like another classic winter decoration. The sprigs of red barberry 'Admiral,' next to the gray-blue foliage of lavender, another work of art! I could go on, but I'm repeating myself, so I'll just let the photos speak for themselves.

'Princess' holly

Barberry 'Admiral'

Diervilla 'Kodiak Black' and oat grass.

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' and Itea 'Little Henry'

April Showers

The back yard in April.

 

As the garden resurrects with much-awaited April showers, the seasonal sequence of flowers continues to unfold: the Forsythia, daffodils, narcissus and other early spring bulbs, then as those are beginning to fade, the flowering trees start to display their loveliness. This week the Redbud (Cercis canadense) in my back yard has unfurled its rosy boughs and the plump buds of the double flowering quince are opening.

 

Double flowering quince

I still have the deer barriers up, so the quince can't be admired as it should be, but I don't want to take any chances until there's enough other vegetation for the deer to browse--otherwise they will pounce on my gourmet "salad bar" in favor of the more ordinary grub found in the woods.

The Kwanzan cherry tree in front has yet to fully open, only a few blossoms have opened so far, while the white dogwood, which hardly bloomed last year, is loaded with blossoms opening much earlier than usual. Last year the cherry bloomed in the first week in April, but then came two hard frosts that blighted many a tender shoot.

 

Front yard

Earlier this spring the thermometer dropped alarmingly low for two nights, just as my beautiful yellow Magnolia 'Butterflies,' whose buds had already shed their fuzzy winter coats, were starting to open. The flowers were completely ruined! Mother nature can be so treacherous at this time of the year...

 

Ajuga 'Black Scallop'

Still, life goes on in the garden... the Ajuga 'Black Scallop' planted last year is spreading nicely and starting to bloom. The tiny bells of the Carolina Silverbell (Halesia tetraptera) tree are unfolding, and the Allegheny Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis) is in full bloom. It will be some years before the Serviceberry attains enough growth to make much a of show, but it's making progress.

Carolina Silverbell tree (Halesia tetraptera)

Allegheny Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis)

One of my Bergenias (AKA "Pigsqueak" in these parts) managed to survive the frost and produced flowers, while the buds on another plant just a few feet away didn't make it. Why would that be? This one was closer to the house wall, perhaps the wall retained enough heat to help the buds survive?

 

Bergenia 'Winter Glow'

The dwarf iris 'Bluebeard' has come into bloom so early that it's coinciding with the flowering of the grape hyacinths. I have several varieties of  grape hyacinths: the ones with the light blue caps are M. aucheri, the ordinary purple are M. armeniacum, and some white ones, M. armeniacum 'White Magic.'

Dwarf iris 'Bluebeard'

Grape hyacinths (Muscari aucheri and M. armeniacum)

The Fothergilla shrub is starting to open its honey-scented blossoms, and so many other shrubs planted last year are breaking dormancy now. I'm planting a number of annuals from seed this spring, as well as the usual bedding and potted plants. I'm curious to see how these new ones will enhance and fill my flower beds this year.

 

Fothergilla gardenii

 

 There's so much more to come, I can hardly wait!