Spring Garden Flowers

 

Pale Dutch Iris

As April turns into May, the progression of spring flowers in my garden begins to peak. Right now the pale Dutch iris are coming into bloom, their perky blossoms brightening the front garden. The bearded irises in this bed (mostly yellow) are ready to burst into bloom, along with the flowering onions (Alliums)

 

Dutch and bearded iris with giant alliums.

Bearded iris 'Blatant' with Dutch iris.

 

My azalea 'General Semmes' is blooming profusely in the shade of the cherry tree in front of the house. The native flame azalea, in an identical pot just a few feet away, had all its flower buds eaten by deer during the winter, but they never touched 'General Semmes.' Why, I can only guess--one is a native and the other a hybrid, perhaps this influences the way it tastes to deer? The Lewisia "Little Peach" growing in a pot in front is lovely too.

Azalea 'General Semmes'

Lewisia 'Little Peach'

Going along the west of the house, I found a few sprays of lilies of the valley under the maple tree. Although they're supposed to be poisonous, deer do eat these, so only the flowers under a wire cloche survive. 

The circle of Spanish Bluebells (Hyacinthoides) under the Zelkova is blooming, but as usual, the deer eat the foliage before the flowers emerge, and often dig up the bulbs as well, making for a less than stellar display. I wish I could find a physical barrier to keep the deer away from this bed... all of my beds!--spraying with deer repellent works only for a very short time.

 

Lilies of the valley (Convallaria majalis)

Spanish Bluebells under the Zelkova tree (Hyacinthoides hispanica)

 The Clematis vine climbing up to the deck is offering its dainty pink flowers. It looks wonderful from the deck, draping itself over the railing.

 

Clematis montana 'Appleblossom'

 

My lilac 'Purple Bloomerang' is in full bloom, but the other lilac (behind the purple) has only a few panicles of white flowers.

Lilac 'Bloomerang'

More 'Blatant' irises are blooming in the long bed in back--they seem to have recovered from the attack of two years ago. The two prune-leaf Viburnums way in the back near the woods are covered with flowers.

Iris 'Blatant'

Pruneleaf Viburnum in bloom.

A happy surprise in that part of the yard: the buckeye tree that I grew from seed collected from a hybrid at Blandy is offering its first spike of flowers. From the looks of these, this is likely the Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra) rather than the red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) parent. My tree is still quite small--under three feet tall, and must be protected from the deer until it reaches sufficient height to be out of their browsing level.

Flowering spike of buckeye tree.

Ambling back towards the house, my Rhododendron 'Southgate Brandi' is blooming nicely under the Japanese maple 'Bloodgood.'  I love the pink-tinted new foliage of the full-moon Japanese maple (Acer 'Shirawasanum') and its curious flowers. My Japanese maples suffered a lot of die-back with last year's drought, and I'm hoping they will recover some during this growing season.

Rhododendron 'Southgate Brandi'

Japanese maples and fringe tree.

Soon the 'Blue Barlow' Columbines and the Virginia fringe tree (Chionanthus virginica) in the east bed will be bursting into bloom. This is always a stunning combination, along with the maples and the pagoda dogwood. This spring I joined the two strips of flowerbed into one, but I haven't had a chance to improve the soil and plant some new spring ephemerals yet. I hope to eventually turn this bed into a small wooded area with shade-loving plants underneath. It's evolved so much from its first year, when all I had planted were the full moon maple and the Carolina Silverbell tree.

 

East bed expansion with pagoda dogwood on the left.

Foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia) under the maples.

There's so much work to do at this time of the year for gardeners! Trying to re-plant all the plants that had to be dug up for the veggie garden enclosure, re-edge some beds and get some vegetables in the raised beds is probably more than I can manage in the next week or so. Happy spring!

April 2024 Bloom Day

Front yard in the morning.

 

Welcome to my garden on this April Bloom Day, a day late! The 15th of each month is the day we share photos from our gardens and link our posts to Carol Michel's May Dreams blog, and April is certainly the month when the flowers in my garden are at their most beautiful! But it's been such a busy time for me that I'm a day late in posting this.

This year, my Kwanzan cherry tree didn't have its usual profuse display of blossoms... perhaps last year's severe drought didn't promote enough bud formation, and the extraordinarily windy days just before Bloom Day blew down some of the buds that were about to open. This year's display is less spectacular than usual, though the Poet's Narcissi and creeping phlox are holding up well.

 

Cherry Laurel 'Otto Luykens'

 

The Cherry Laurel provides greenery to the left front of the house, and the scent of the flowers permeates the area. 

 

Lewisia 'Little Peach'

 

Also in front, my Lewisia 'Little Peach' is offering its first flower of the season. I really like this little alpine native of the California Sierras. It survives easily in this climate but my soil is so clayey, it's safer growing in a pot where drainage is not a problem.

Going around to the east side of the house, the Hellebores are still in flower, but the star of the show is my Carolina Silverbell tree. Each year as it gains height, it gets better and better.

Carolina Silverbell tree close up.

Carolina Silverbell tree (Halesia tetraptera)

In the photo above you can see my new spring project in the background--a permanent enclosure for my vegetable garden. From now on, the rabbits and deer won't be getting in. The contractor is almost finished, but I haven't had a chance to plant anything in there yet. I may have the opportunity to do some of that this week but I'm rushing to complete a couple of paintings for art shows that I have to deliver soon, so my studio time will have to take priority over the garden.

We had to dig up all of the herbs and decorative plants I'd put in around the original veggie patch so that the foundations for the posts could be dug and poured; I'll have to gradually repopulate those areas, but there's plenty of time for that after I get some peas and chard in the raised bed inside.

 

Foam Flower (Tiarella cordifolia)

My Foam Flower is blooming and spreading in the east bed (I've forgotten the name of this variety).  Moving along to the back yard, the redbud tree is in bloom, with an assortment of narcissi and daffodils around its base in the back most bed. In front of that, the double-flowering Quince has a lovely display.

 

The back yard seen from the deck.

From the ground level, with the new enclosure.

Double-flowering Quince.

Dwarf iris 'Blue Beard'

Close up of 'Blue Beard'

My dwarf irises were out in force a few days ago, but by yesterday, only three flowers were left, so I snapped this photo a bit earlier than on Bloom Day.

I seldom get to see the blooms of my Fothergilla--alas, the deer love to eat them!--but last winter I put up a barrier around this bed to keep the deer from decimating the arbor vitae right behind it, and closed off their access to the Fothergilla, so for the first time since I planted it, I'm enjoying the flowers and their marvelous scent!

 

Fothergilla gardenii

Our weather has been so warm here in zone 6b that the Thalia Narcissi faded rather quickly, but there are still some left in one of the beds on the west of the house.

Thalia narcissi.

 

All of the trees and shrubs around here are budding out--I love the look of those tiny buds unfurling! Can't wait for more flowers as the season progresses. Happy Bloom Day to all of us gardeners!

Flowers Galore

My front yard on April 24

 

Here's my annual photo of the front yard with its Kwanzan cherry tree in full bloom, which I like to post every year. This year the cherry blossoms didn't open fully until last Sunday, a full week after Easter Sunday. In other years it has bloomed a couple of weeks earlier, so that the progression of the other flowers in the front changes according to the timing of the cherry: the narcissi, the creeping Phlox, tulips and the dogwood have bloomed simultaneously on some years, on others, not so much.

This is the most beautiful time of the year for me, when just about everything comes into bloom. On the east side of the house, my Carolina Silverbell tree grows more beautiful every year! The 17-year locusts damaged the Japanese maples quite a bit last year, and they lost some growth at the tips of their branches, but hopefully they will recover this year.

 

East yard with Japanese maples and Carolina Silverbell tree.

Carolina Silverbell flowers.

My hybrid Rhododendron 'Southgate Brandi' has just opened its flowers. This one is growing nicely, thanks to the winter protection of my barriers--otherwise deer would have devoured the buds as they were developing.

Rhododendron 'Southgate Brandi'

Ajuga 'Black Scallop' ground cover.

 

I am hoping soon to see the flowers of another Rhododendron I planted several years ago, 'Anna Rose Whitney' has not produced any blooms before.

The back yard from our deck.

The redbud tree in the back yard was in full bloom this past week along with the double flowering quince. The border of narcissi in the back bed looks fuller this year than last. Sadly, my beautiful Korean fir 'Horstman's Silberlocke' died sometime during the winter--probably from lack of water during February's dry spell while I was away. I didn't know that when clay soil dries out, it can actually begin a reverse osmosis process where the soil will take moisture away from a plant's roots. Last week I received a new tree to replace the dead one--hope springs eternal in a gardener's heart!

Lewisia longipetala 'Little Peach'

Lewisia

 

The Lewisia continues to bloom prolifically, it's such an interesting plant. Originating in the alpine areas of California's Sierra Nevada, it's quite rare in its native environment, but the modern hybrids, such as this one, are a great addition to rock gardens. I keep mine in a pot because it needs excellent drainage which my clayey soil can't provide.

 It's so wonderful to see tender green shoots sprouting everywhere! Lots more blooms to come in May!

Easter Monday Snow and My Sketches

Kwanzan cherry tree blossoms.

 

It snowed earlier in the week on Easter Monday, just as my Kwanzan cherry tree in front was starting to unfurl its lovely blossoms. Rain had been predicted, but snow--I was surprised, to say the least! Many trees were just starting to bloom: the Carolina Silverbell tree, the redbud, the flowering quince, the dogwoods, all those delicate  and precious flowers...fortunately the temperature was hovering just above the freezing point, so I hope the blossoms haven't been too damaged. I'll have to check on them later on today. Another frost is coming tonight, so there's even more chance of frost burn.

 

The back yard on Easter Monday.

Easter Monday snow on the front yard.

I like to take photos of my Kwanzan cherry tree in bloom, which usually happens around mid-April. On some years that coincides with Easter time. This year's shot is all the more memorable because of the snow!

Sometime last week my yellow Magnolia 'Butterflies' managed to produce a few of the blossoms that had lagged behind enough to escape the frost burn that blighted the rest. It was disappointing to lose so many flowers, the tree had been covered with buds--so sad!

 

Yellow Magnolia 'Butterflies'

My neighbor's weeping apricot tree was such a vision of loveliness last week that I asked permission to cut a branch for the sketch below. I used colored pencils, but didn't get an exact color match--the blossoms really are a little more coral and strong in color. But the delicate frills and details of the flowers would not have "read" if I hadn't used a light touch.

Weeping apricot tree blossoms, colored pencil sketch.

Mahogany tree seed pod (Swietenia mahagoni)

Above is a seed pod of the mahogany tree which a friend form Florida sent me--she sent a box full of fascinating seed pods and botanical oddities collected at the Montgomery Botanical Research Center in Miami that I'm trying to identify. The amazing geometry of the mahogany seed pod was very challenging--I re-worked my drawing completely several times in order to draw it accurately, and realize that I still didn't get some details of the curvatures correctly. The actual seeds are arranged inside the capsule in such a way that each winged seed fits in like a jigsaw puzzle inside each section.

 

Lewisia 'Littel Peach'

The Lewisia 'Little Peach' that I bought last year is covered with buds that have started to open/ The small flowers are a lovely soft yellow fading into peach. I couldn't resist making sketch of it for my botanical journal.

 

Lewisia sketch in my journal.

Recent pages from my botanical journal.