April Bloom Day

Front yard two days after Easter.

 

The 15th of the month is Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, hosted by Carol Michel at May Dreams Garden.

It was 23 degrees on Easter Sunday, and frost was visible on the grassy areas. The Kwanzan cherry tree in front was not fully open yet, though it was trying! After a few more days of warmer temperatures it's fully open now. The daffodils, narcissus, and creeping phlox are putting on a show. This is probably the best my front yard looks the entire the year.

 

Thalias, Tazetta and Poet's Narcissi with cottage tulips.

Creeping phlox with Thalias.

The spring flowering bulbs really help, considering the limited room in the front. The back yard is also starting to come into bloom, with the daffodils 'Pink Perfection' and others under the redbud tree. Our native redbud trees (Cercis canadensis) are all blooming, lovely clouds of purple-pinks peeking out from under the eaves of the woods.

'Pink Charm' daffodils

Redbud tree in the back yard, early morning.

View of the back yard in the evening.

 

My 'Texas White' redbud tree put forth a few blooms, but it hasn't grown enough yet to be much a display. It needs a few more years of growth to reach the size of the lovely specimen I saw at Blandy Farm last week.

 

'Texas white' redbud.

 

The bed with the "Mount Hood' daffodils that I expanded is not as full as in other years, as would be expected after dividing the bulbs last autumn, but in another year or two, they'll be spectacular.

'Mount Hood' daffodils with grape hyacinths.

'Mount Hood' daffodils and grape hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum)

The double flowering quince is lovely this year, but it's putting out underground runners and sprouting everywhere in its vicinity--I'll have to dig those out, I don't want my shrub to spread any farther.

 

Double flowering quince

Blue star flower (Ipheion)

 

I found a few blue starflowers blooming--I'd forgotten these after the deer decimated them a couple of years back, these four seem to be the only survivors. My Carolina Silverbell tree continues to grow, it's now taller than I am, with the flowers as charming as ever. This is a hard-to-find item at nurseries, I feel very lucky to have been able to obtain this specimen some eight years ago. Being native to the eastern US, I wonder why it isn't more frequently planted?

                                    

Carolina Silverbell tree (Halesia tetraptera)

  

Carolina Silverbell flowers

The Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) I planted three years ago is blooming, but it will be a few more years before it makes much of a display. The Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) planted at the same time is much farther ahead in terms of size, but then the deer have left this one alone, while I had to put a barrier around the Serviceberry to keep the deer away from it. Once the Serviceberry gets a bit larger, I hope to dispense with the barrier. A good growing summer season would help!

 

Serviceberry flowers.

 

Pagoda dogwood in bud.

 I almost forgot to show you my Lewisia 'Little Peach'--this tiny plant is a native of the California mountains that has lovely small flowers. I keep this plant in a pot, as it needs very well-draining soil.

 

Lewisia longipetala 'Little Peach'

 

This is just the beginning of the spring season, more flowers are yet to come in the months ahead--I can't wait for the Merry Month of May!

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!

Spring Progression

Front yard on April 8

Last year I posted a very similar photo of my front yard with the Kwanzan cherry tree in full bloom. That photo had been taken on Easter Sunday which was on April 21. This year's was taken the morning after a big rainstorm on April 8, nearly two weeks earlier. Interesting that the seasonal spring progression is so much earlier this year.

The back yard on April 8

Double flowering quince

As the back yard beds become more populated, the whole ensemble is more floriferous: the narcissi and daffodils are naturalizing and spreading nicely in their beds under the Redbud tree, the double-flowering Quince is covered with blossoms, and both the Primrose (white flowers) and purple Bloomerang lilacs are loaded with flowers buds.

The daffodils and grape hyacinths are prospering, despite the squirrels' constant activity replanting the grape hyacinths in the most unexpected places. I particularly like the light blue variety, and there are also some white ones in the mix.

Mt. Hood daffodils and blue Muscari

Blue Grape Hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum)

The Carolina Silverbell tree is now about five feet high and with more flowers than ever before--a thing of rare beauty! I bought this tree from Wayside Gardens as a small sapling that was about 12" high. I notice that they no longer offer this native tree for sale, and am told they are hard to find. The tree will reach around 15 to 20 feet at maturity.

Carolina Silverbell tree (Halesia tetraptera)

Close-up of flowers

We planted two new native trees on the east side of the house last fall: a Downy Serviceberry tree (Amelanchier arborea) and a Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia). These were acquired from a nursery located in neighboring Rappahanock County. The Serviceberry produces small, edible berry-like fruits--I wonder if we'll get to taste these, since I hear they're a favorite of birds, and I'm sure the deer won't be far behind.

Downy Serviceberry tree (Amelanchier arborea)

Flower buds of the Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)

I saw a Pagoda Dogwood on last year's trip to the Bruce Peninsula and thought it had such a beautiful form, I really wanted one for my yard, so when I found one at a local nursery, I snapped it up. It will be interesting to see what the flowers will look like, since the one I saw in Canada was not in bloom. These two trees will need a few years' growth before they begin to look like much, but eventually they should be spectacular.

Clematis montana 'Apple Blossom'

Another purchase from Wayside was this Clematis 'Apple Blossom' which I've been training on a trellis at the side of our house. This is the first spring that it has bloomed profusely. Another pleasant surprise was the early-blooming dwarf iris 'Bluebeard'.

Dwarf iris 'Bluebeard'

And this is just the beginning of the flowering season! Soon the other clematises, the roses and the Alliums will come into bloom. I can't wait to see what they'll be like this year!