Tuesday, April 15, 2014

From the Ashes of Winter Comes April Bloom Day!

Welcome to Garden Season 2014 at Idyll Haven!  I know I've been remiss in my blog posting.  Truth be told, time and inspiration are in short supply around here in January and February.  Work is busy and I'm not a huge winter fan.  What little time I did have was spent hiking with a great group of people I met on Meetup.  Winter hiking is fun in small doses.  Given the choice I'll take spring, summer or fall.  In the name of balance I do plan to continue to hike with this bunch through garden season.  Stay tuned to see how that goes. 




Usually I can start getting out in the garden in March but not this year.  Winter went out kicking and screaming and took the month of March down with it.  Fortunately April has been somewhat kinder.  Temperatures are starting to moderate.  A few plants have started poking their heads out of the burrows but not many..

Out of morbid curiosity, I went back and took a peek at my 2013 April Bloom Day post.  The garden was most definitely further along but most notable was the abundance of heavily blooming Pieris.  For whatever reason that will not be happening this spring.  Maybe I forgot to toss Hollytone on them last year or they are just pouting over the late cold in March.  'Valley Valentine' appears to be the only bloomer and is sporting about half as many flowers as last year.




Every spring I vow to plant more bulbs come fall.  Every fall I get too busy with leaf and garden cleanup and never follow through.   Remind me in August to place an obscenely expensive bulb order.  That way the skinflint side of me will kick into gear and never allow them to go to waste even if I have to take a vacation day to plant them.  I will plant more bulbs this fall.  I will.  I will.  I will. 

Years ago I had this great idea to naturalize Chionodoxa in the front lawn.




It has since colonized in a few of the garden beds.




After they bloom I plan to scatter a few around the back gardens and hope for similar results.




Hellebores are reliable standbys in the early spring garden.
















Pansies are not a garden staple here but who can resist their cheerful faces?




Big Blue Foot gets the prize for being the first planter out of the garage this season.






A lone daffodil tries to decide whether to take a chance. 





Forsythia 'Fiesta' is also slow to shine this year but the good news is now I can hack back what's left of my token roses.








My favorite and earliest grape hyacinths.



 A few shy Pulmonarias have seeded under a weeping Acer palmatum 'Viridis'.  In a few weeks they will no longer be visible.




Bare ground is still abundant leaving few opportunities for wide angle views.  Better luck next month.




Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting my most favorite blog meme.  If you get a chance, head on over and and check out what is blooming today in gardens all over the world.

Happy Spring!

Sue~




16 comments:

  1. Looks great! I particularly like your hellebores. You have a nice variety. It's so nice to have the garden back and to be back in the garden, isn't it?

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  2. Those pinkish hellebores in the close-up are delicately pretty.

    Hiking, working and gardening? No problem. Just cut out the sleeping.

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  3. Hello, and welcome back!

    Lovely shots, Sue!

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  4. Hey, Sue, I'm delighted to see both you and your garden are back. And looking good.

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  5. Well it's looking like spring in your gardens Sue. You are way ahead of me in the garden cleanup category. Love those hellebores.

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  6. Considering that hellish winter you had, this is pretty impressive ! Happy Bloom Day..

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  7. I've missed your posts. Glad to see you back!

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  8. Welcome back, I look forward to watching your garden come alive.

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  9. Oh, love your blooms and the Glory of the Snow is so very blue. I was wondering why it never blooms when the snow is on the ground and, drats, it snowed. Ugh!

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  10. I'm glad to see you're back, Sue! I've missed your garden posts. The Pieris looks pretty impressive to me - I'll have to go back and check it's photo from last year. I have the same issues with bulbs. In spring, I always rue my failure to plant more the previous fall. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a bulb service that reminded you to place your order and, better yet, came in and planted the damn things for you? - oh, and labels would be nice too!.

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  11. I'm glad to see you are posting again! The chiondoxa are certainly pretty flowers and will look lovely naturalized. I think spring is off to a good start in your garden!

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  12. Welcome back! I bet you could find some cheapo discount bulbs at the garden centers now so you don't have to spend big bucks putting in an order. Plus, it will make it harder to forget to plant them if you already own them. I love the wider foliage on your muscari. What is the striped leafed plant in front of the hellebores?

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  13. So glad you and your garden are back! Lots of great blooms happening in your garden right now. I make the same promise every spring about ordering more bulbs but by fall it's easy to think that the tropical lushness will be around forever and simply forget about planting bulbs for spring. Maybe we should order now, while we're thinking about it and be surprised when the boxes arrive in the fall.

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  14. I am glad you and your garden survived this vile winter. Welcome back to both of you!

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  15. You're back! And blooming beautifully. Good to see your garden looking so strong.

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