Wednesday, April 15, 2009

April's In Bloom!


It's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day once again, and finally we have real flowers blooming in the gardens outside! We've emerged from the depths of winter relatively unscathed, in spite of it coughing up its one final breath this week. Monday and Tuesday brought damp wet, cold, dreary conditions and we were whining as hard as it was raining at times.

Arabis alpina 'Snowcap'

I went out at the end of the work day on Tuesday, to check on blooms for Bloom Day, and there was a new one that I hadn't expected. I hadn't even seen it coming. The Rock Cress (Arabis alpina) has begun to show its petite white blooms that it will wear for the next couple of months.








The daffodils are still looking good, although a bit waterlogged at the moment, like everything else. It's just the early ones that are blooming, but the mid- and late season daffs are putting on buds.









'Sagitta'


'Tete-a-Tete'
(and Luna)


'Jetfire'


'Rip van Winkle'


'Replete' is in full bloom, but I just can't post another photo of its ugliness. If you really want to see them, you can see a photo here that I took yesterday.



Though the Chionodoxas that first bloomed are looking weary, they're at their best in another location where they opened later, beneath the cypress shrubs.


Last week's cold temperatures had me pulling out the sheets and covering the Magnolias and the Snow Fountain Japanese Weeping Cherry tree (Prunus 'Snow Fountain'). Once we got over that, I took the sheets off and the weekend's warmth and sunshine brought out the blooms.

They're still opening and though the cold did a bit of damage to the 'Leonard Messel' Magnolia, it would have been worse had I not covered them.



Magnolia x. loebneri 'Leonard Messel'



Hyacinth 'Festival Blue'

There are hyacinths and there are grape hyacinths. We have some of both. While I wish the larger hyacinths would multiply, they really don't much. The grape hyacinths? Can't get rid of 'em. I tried one year and everywhere I dug, those teeny tiny bulbs showed up everywhere.

Grape Hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum)
with a stray Striped Squill (Puschkinia)

I finally decided "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" where they're concerned. It's not that I don't like them whatsoever, I just don't want them everywhere. But they have a pretty short season, so now I just let them do their thing.


Another bright yellow spot in the trellis garden is the lone blooming Primrose (Primula x polyantha). There are also a red one and a blue one, but they aren't blooming yet.

In Ohio, Vinca minor is considered to be an invasive vine. You can go to just about any rural cemetery that's located next to a woods or creek and find it growing in abundance. It's still sold in nurseries and garden centers, however. I'm not sure how that is, but I wasn't going to buy it when I saw it every other day, out and about. We have a bit of it at the back corner of Max's Garden (around that other invasive - Morrow's Honeysuckle) and we can keep our small patch of it under control easily by just tearing it out when it starts to creep out of bounds.

Vinca minor


In one of the triangle gardens, the Donkey Tail Spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites) has settled in very nicely after planting it for the first, last spring. It's begun to bloom and while I wasn't sure I was going to like it when I got it, I couldn't be happier with it. It's one of those "plant it and forget it" kind of plants, and I like the unique appearance it has. It's dramatic, like those giant agaves, except that it's not nearly as large or spiky.

Donkey Tail Spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites)


The wonderful Hellebores are weathering the weather like the troupers they are and we'll enjoy their blooms for quite a few more weeks.



Finally, the wonderful spring wildflowers are just beginning to come to life. First to bloom in the Wildflower Way garden is the Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), with many others soon to follow suit, but I'll leave those for a future post.



Be sure to visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see her list of other Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts.


35 comments:

Pam/Digging said...

You knew I'd home in on that donkey tail euphorbia, I bet. I'm wondering why it's taken me so long to start using them. I really enjoy the few that I have.

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

Beautiful Kylee! Great photos your garden blooms, I especially love the Donkey tail spurge.
xoxo Tyra

ABC in THE GREENHOUSE IN TYRA'S GARDEN

Karen said...

How did I never end up here before?! Well, I'll have to get caught up. Thanks goodness for Bloom Day, it takes me places I've never been before. Love seeing your bloodroot open, I saw a closed on on Carol's post and don't think I've seen it before, so now two in one evening, lucky me! I agree about muscari, they go all over the place but I love them so let them be. Great shot of the magnolia blossom, also love the wacky 'Rip Van Winkle' daffodil. Wow, great array!

Nan Ondra said...

It's wonderful to see that you're enjoying so much color, Kylee, even with the damp weather. I wish I could sniff your arabis bloom; that's one of my all-time favorite scents. And that euphorbia photo is awesome. Thanks for sharing!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Great blooms Kylee. I loved seeing Luna behind the daffs too. Pets in the garden really make the garden seem lively.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Kylie I love that Rip Van Winkle daff ! I think I may have to get some myself in the Autumn .. the Donkeytail spurge is amazing .. and of course the hellebore is a favorite of mine .. I actually have some blooms coming up too !

Heather said...

Rip Van Winkle is my favorite. What an interesting flower. You yard looks great. I too, finally have some early daffodils blooming. Yeah!

Katie Elzer-Peters said...

Wow! You should be a professional photographer. I love the euphorbia! That is awesome!

F Cameron said...

It looks like you're enjoying a colorful spring garden!

Have a great day!
Cameron

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

You do have a lot of pretty flowers! I love 'Rip Van Winkle', I've never seen or heard of that variety before.

Tessa at Blunders with shoots, blossoms 'n roots said...

I love the bloodroot! Such a welcome sight in spring. Happy GBBD!

sweetbay said...

Beautiful daffs. I must try Chionodoxa, it's such a lovely shade of blue.

Happy GBBD!

Cathy S. said...

Great Blooms- Happy bloom day!
Love the photography too.

Gail said...

A lovely post and great blooms...I like the look of your garden, it feels peaceful and calm, even with spring's bright touches...gail

Dee/reddirtramblings said...

Kylee, it looks really good at your place. Lots of color and beautiful greens coming up too. I have a terrible problem with Japanese honeysuckle. It is impossible to get rid of, but I just keep whacking back what I've got and hope it doesn't go any further. I've tried everything to make it disappear. :0 Happy Bloom Day.~~Dee

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

I love 'Rip van Winkle,' it is so different. I too had been heading outside nightly with a sheet, but I used it only to protect the Tree Peony. The Magnolia avoid all damage by waiting until today to bloom. 'Leonard Messel' is such a great color.

Cindy Garber Iverson said...

Such a gorgeous profusion of spring blooms!!!! I'm so glad that you're finally getting to enjoy some springtime delights.

Cindy

healingmagichands said...

Your place is looking great! Basically, what is going on in your garden is what was going on in my place about two weeks ago. What fun to step back in time to that early daffodil freshness.

Phillip Oliver said...

Nice photos - I've always loved 'Jetfire' and everytime I see 'Rip Van Winkle' I want it. It is very unique.

Anonymous said...

Ohio spring is really coming alive now Kylee, isn't it wonderful? I'm glad you were able to save your magnolia blossoms. I was so worried about my redbuds and crabapples, but they came through fine. Good thing too, the three crabapples are too big to cover with sheets. I suppose I could have tried to cover the redbud, but I just kept my fingers crossed instead.

Kylee Baumle said...

Pam ~ Well, since they resemble agaves in the shape of their "leaves," that doesn't surprise me that you're drawn to them! Funny thing about it being in my garden - last year, when I planted it, it was a second choice because the Euphorbia I wanted was out of stock, so I took this one instead, even though it didn't grab me. I'm so glad I decided to go with it now!

Tyra ~ Thanks, Tyra. It's photogenic, isn't it?

Karen ~ Welcome to Our Little Acre! I hope you'll enjoy yourself and return many times!
Bloodroot is one very special plant. Here is a post I did where you can see the "bloody" root of it.

Nan ~ Amazing when the world wakes up from winter, isn't it? You know, I didn't know Arabis was fragrant! I'll have to get down and sniff it! Thanks for telling me!

Lisa ~ Oh, my garden wouldn't be complete without kitties!

Joy ~ 'Rip van Winkle' is a small daffodil and not really a reliable performer. This year I had three of them bloom. Last year, it was only one! I like the greenish cast they have though and they're definitely unique!

Heather ~ Yay! I'll have to visit and see your blooms, too!

Katie ~ Oh goodness, what a nice thing for you to say! I do enjoy photography and luckily my garden and cats give me plenty to photograph!

Cameron ~ Yes, I'm loving every day of it, even the rainy ones. :-)

Catherine ~ 'Rip van Winkle' seems to be garnering a lot of attention!

Tessa ~ Welcome to Our Little Acre! Bloodroot is definitely one of my favorite wildflowers!

Sweet Bay ~ Oh you really must get some Chionodoxa. They come in a few different shades, but my favorite is the intense blue. They just seem to glow!

Cathy ~ Thank you!

Gail ~ You know, my garden is calming to me, too. And I've had others who have visited it say the same thing. It's no wonder I love to just wander through it and take it all in. I'm so grateful to have such a place.

Dee ~ I'm so sorry that Japanese Honeysuckle isn't behaving for you! We have some on a trellis near the house and it does fine for me and I'm happy about that. Now the bush honeysuckle, as you know, is another story!

Mr McGregor's Daughter ~ Our tree peonies are fine during the cold. I think everything made it through this last cold snap unscathed for the most part. I hope this is the last of the nasty weather!

Cindy ~ Spring has definitely sprung! :-)

healingmagichands ~ Isn't that one of the great things about blogging?

Phillip ~ Thanks! 'Rip van Winkle' is unique for sure. I hope you'll get some!

Kylee Baumle said...

Robin ~ I just LOVE this time of year! I'm glad all your things made it through the cold weather. I'm thinking we should be good from here on out. Hope so, anyway!

Shady Gardener said...

What a wonderful collection! Sometimes, Kylee, I think the photos are extra-special when there's a drop of water (or fourteen) here and there! :-)

Layanee said...

Isn't spring great!?

Anonymous said...

Fantastic blooms in your garden Kylee! I planted Rip Van Winkle years ago but it never looked as good as yours does. We are getting quite a bit of rain right now too, but remember April Showers bring May Flowers. :)

Kylee Baumle said...

Layanee ~ You bet it is! :-)

Frances said...

Hi Kylee, such fantastic shots of your blooms! That spurge died immediately for me, but that was several years ago, maybe time to give it another try? The arabis is intriguing too, I have only seen it in the pinky purple color. Love the white. Funny you would want to get rid of the grape hyacinths, sometimes things are just TOO easy to grow. HA I do wish the large hyacinths would spread like that too. Or maybe not, imagine them all bunched up together with those large flower heads. Maybe smaller is better in some cases. Happy spring to you and Happy bloom day. The little cherry tree is a gem. :-)
Frances

KayGee said...

Great blooms for Bloom Day! The "rip van winkle' is very interesting!

Rose said...

I was lamenting the rain at the first of the week, too, Kylee, but it certainly gave you some great photos. I like that Donkey Tail Spurge! It's certainly unique. Everything in your garden is shouting "spring." But I'm worried now--I planted some "Replete" daffodils last fall, but they haven't fully opened up yet. They don't exactly look like the catalog photos, do they?

Unknown said...

Yahoo! April certainly IS in bloom for you, my friend. Here, we're somewhat behind, but things are working towards a happy bloom report for NEXT month. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. (Plus i'm not home so I don't know what else is in bloom besides what I reported on a few days ago.

RURAL said...

Kylee, thanks so very much for all the effort and creativity you put into Anna's project Gardening by Letter. I loved receiving all those amazing cards, letters, and items.
It was wonderful!

Jen
Muddy Boot Dreams

Aiyana said...

I had to wait four minutes for 64 items to download (and I have high speed internet!) but I'm glad I waited! Your photos are beautiful. I especially like the Euphorbia myrsinites. It is similar to the Euphorbia rigida we grow here. It only looks good in spring, but in my view, it's worth keeping just for the short-lived chartreuse flower clusters.
Aiyana

Brenda Pruitt said...

Such exuberance from the blooms! Makes you want to smile at each and every one of them.
Brenda

"Daffodil Planter" Charlotte Germane said...

Great photos!

How so you like Narcissus 'Sagitta'? I haven't tried it and like the looks of it.

Yvonne said...

I really enjoyed the tour of your beautiful spring garden. Cheers/Yvonne

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