Hooray, early spring flowers are blooming!
Miniature yellow daffodils are looking bright and cheery (as are the weeds... I've clearly got some work to do in there!). Tulips and tree peonies in the background promise to bloom sometime soon.
 |
| Narcissus 'Tete-A-Tete' |
Siberian squill adds some rich blue under the maples. As you can see, these are very sparse still - they were planted just last fall. Hopefully they will eventually spread to form a spring carpet of blue. The vinca in the background also has a lot of ground to cover too - come on guys, let's get cracking!
 |
| Scilla siberica 'Spring Beauty' |
Pale
chionodoxa (Glory of the snow) is blooming gently against the dark backdrop of yew.
 |
| Chionodoxa 'Pink Giant' |
Many trees are flowering or budding as well. My
Amelanchier is a cloud of soft gray leaf and flower buds. I'm not sure what species or cultivar this is - we inherited it with the property. It produces sweet purple berries in summer that are appreciated equally by both the birds and my 5-year-old.
 |
| Amelanchier buds |
Brilliant lavender-pink pearls adorn the
Canadian redbud. I love how the color of the buds complements the silvery bark.
 |
| Cercis canadensis buds |
Even the chartreuse flowers of the large shade
maples look like heavenly froth at this time of year. Heralds of spring!
 |
| Maples flowering above thuja |
Here are a few lessons I've learned so far this season:
1) I planted hellebores, bergenia, and hyacinth in what turned out to be the coldest, darkest corner of my new garden. D'oh! Everyone else's plants are blooming already, but mine are just barely making new growth... :-( Next year, I will know better.
2) The free wood chip mulch I got from my municipality is good for paths, but not for perennial beds. The young foliage has a hard time poking through and it just looks too coarse. My mulch budget is basically zero so I'm not sure where to find a free alternative. I am composting a large pile of fall leaves for leaf mold, but it will not be nearly enough...
3) Next year I need many MORE early spring bulbs, such as aconites, crocus, snowdrops, iris reticulata, and LARGER early daffodils (I love the minis, but they don't make much of a statement in the empty vastness of early spring). There are plenty of bare spots between perennials that could be doing some work right now!
Spring!
ReplyDeleteWhat could be better than the blooms awakening in Springtime;;-)
Alice
To me it is the happiest time of all - we appreciate the smallest flower or leaf, because we are not yet jaded by the overabundance of summer.
DeletePretty blooms, and good lessons. Since you get your mulch free - compost it! Just pile it up, and it will heat up in the middle and make beautiful compost. It will take a while, but that's all it will cost you. And yes, I think every year I need more spring bulbs. When I'm planting them, I think there's too many, but in spring - not enough!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the mulch idea Holley - I'll definitely do that! The coarse mulch should break down in a year or two into something more suitable.
DeleteI planted several hundred bulbs last year - but now it hardly seems like anything!
I love your Amelanchier, it wont bloom in our garden. I have a constant battle with myself regarding Spring flowers versus Summer.
ReplyDeleteAmelanchier is one of my favorite trees. I had decided long ago that the first thing I'd plant when we bought a house was an Amelanchier. I was so pleased to find a mature one growing on the property of this place!
DeleteIt would be nice to have an estate-size property with room for separate spring gardens, summer gardens, etc... Although I guess then one would need staff as well!
I love your Amelanchier, it wont bloom in our garden. I have a constant battle with myself regarding Spring flowers versus Summer.
ReplyDeleteYour spring garden is beautiful. Instead of composting the leaves, grind them up with your lawn mower and use them for mulch. They then break down to compost in the beds. That is your source of free mulch.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea - thanks Carolyn. I'm not sure my pushmower will grind up leaves (I don't use a power mower)... but we'll give it a try and see!
DeleteI love the picture of Cercis canadensis. I've specially read about and will try to plant it in my garden, it's hardy tree.
ReplyDeleteHello Nadezda, yes, it is hardy and a lovely tree in all seasons. It has large green leaves in summer, and they turn a pleasant yellow in fall. The dark silver bark and spreading shape of the branches make it pretty in winter too.
DeleteI think that I have learned parallel lessons: I planted some of my tulips in too much shade and they are refusing to bloom and because money was in short supply, I did not add many new bulbs. My spring display is not as nice as I would like. Oh well! There is always next year... We learn from our mistakes.
ReplyDeleteThat's actually one of the things I find most enjoyable about gardening - the continual process of observing, learning new things, and adjusting (hopefully for the better!)
Delete