April GBBD Blooms

It looks like our dangers of frosts or freezes may be past, so the spring blooms can continue to open much earlier than normal, as long as they don't get hailed on, or worse.  We had some strong thunderstorms today, the 14th, and part of the front yard had some standing water on it.  We still have severe weather watches, and some parts of our state have gotten hail.  I took most of the photos for today's post the 13th.  I did go out this morning, and took photos of all of the planting areas, just in case they were destroyed, so I would have something to remember them by, and maybe help remember where things were planted so I can watch for them to come back from the roots.

These flowers were not blooming until in May last year.

This clump of columbine is in the planter in front of the house.  I don't remember if I planted it there, or if it got there from the seeds of another one.

I am really enjoying the prairie alumroot, heuchera richardsonii.  This, and the other two, not pictured, were tiny when I planted them last year, but they have grown nicely, and the blooms are prettier than I expected them to be.

I am assuming the zizia aurea plants will grow, even while blooming, as have some of the other native plants I've added.  These are only about a foot tall, and should get another foot or two taller.

The native columbines are loaded with blooms.  I didn't see any new ones in this area, but did find a few on the east side of the house.

This is a silene.  When I was looking around on my blog to see what was blooming when, I found where I stated that I bought this after seeing some on Gardening with Grace.  Grace, it's blooming!

I don't remember what kind of euphorbia this is, but I sure do like it!

I think these are the irises my daughter-in-law gave me a few years ago.  The perennial geraniums are blooming.

Bergenia and geum, 'prairie smoke' are unlikely garden friends, but they seem to get along with each other OK.

The irises on the east side of the curb area are blooming, too.

I love the butterscotch color on this one. It seems old fashioned to me.

This was the last of the tulips to finish blooming.

The hellebores did well this spring, and even though they are finished blooming, they continue to look good.

A friend of mine gave me a start of this verbena from where she lives in the country.  It sure is a spreader, but I was glad to get it, as I had some a long time ago, and I don't remember what happened to it.  I've tried growing 'Homestead', but it did not survive winter here.   In a book I have on Wildflowers of Nebraska and the Great Plains, I think I found this one's name, Verbena bipinnatifa.

This is the first bloom on the scabiosa.

The amsonias are very close to blooming.

The buds on the gas plant are pretty, but when they open, they will be quite showy.

One can usually depend on dianthus to bloom in the spring.

These are the first irises to bloom in the curb bed in front of the vegetable garden.  They are small and graceful.

I like the bleeding heart, dwarf comfrey, and brunnera 'Jack Frost' together. 

I found out there are white bleeding hearts that are wildflowers, but I'm not sure if all white ones are.  Do you know?

A few days ago, a neighbor girl asked me what these flowers are called.  When I told her they are candytuft, she grinned, and said she likes candy.

I am pleased that the rabbits are not able to get to this woodland phlox, and it is beginning to bloom.  I have a couple clumps that I moved to the new area, that are starting to grow with wire baskets put over them to keep the rabbits out.

I had to do some looking to remember the name of this herb, lovage, which was reminding me of the ziza.  I had to laugh, because Monica the Garden Faerie had told me that in a comment last May.

The next photos were taken Saturday.  The first of the reblooming irises has opened.

I've never seen helenium hoopesii before, and am please that this one is ready to bloom.

The grandsons, Larry, and I went out between rainstorms, and one of the times, I saw a spiderwort bloom.  I did not make it out with a camera, though.

To see what others have blooming, visit Carol, of May Dreams Gardens' Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day,