April Flowers

While we are having some April showers, we are also enjoying April blooms.  I just put up a post that was a few days in the making.  I don't know if I've ever put up two posts in a day, but I am excited about the flowers that are blooming, and want to show them before or expected frost comes.  I'm not sure how they will fare.  So, here's post number two for the day:

I planted bulbs a few years when I first put in some of the beds, but haven't for some time.  I like the pops of color, and am thankful these have come back, but I don't have enough room to have many.  I can't remember what this one is.  Please let me know if you can identify it.  (Thanks to Glenda the first one, and others who identified this as Siberian Squill.)

These flowers are in different areas, and did not show up in order, so I'm just going to post them this way.  I'm only going to label them if they are not daffodils.

Grape Hyacinth:

Hyacinth:

Prairie Smoke geum:

Grape Hyacinth, and do you see the Hellebore?

Here it is!

Hyacinth:

I'm not sure what these beauties are, either.  (Glenda and some others also reminded me these are Chiondoxa, Glory of Snow.  Thanks!)

Have I mentioned that I love Hellebores?

I think this one is my favorite right now, and look how well some of the blooms are facing out instead of down!

There are Pasque Flowers in several beds, and they are blooming at different times.  These are another favorite of mine.

The Virginia Bluebells on the east side of the house are doing well.  I hope they spread more next year so I can divide some of them to put in other areas.

Again, happy spring, and I hope it comes quickly to those of you farther north than here.

A Hodge Podge Post

The first two pics were taken today.  I don't remember what kind of tulips these are, but yesterday, only one was open.

Basket of Gold:

The next few are from yesterday's yard walk.  (Heidi is on the left side of the pic.)

The peonies grew from a few inches to this size in a few days, too fast for me to get my supports put in place.  The 2 hellebores are on each end of the back of the bed by the house.  They will get shade when the tree leafs out, which it is in the process of doing.  There is a row of coral bells across the front of the top bed.  The lower ground cover is the dreaded lamium some have called a thug.  I've managed to keep it, the lambs' ears, and lily of the valley within the space I give them.  There are a couple clumps of painter's pallete and a few odds and ends growing there, too.

This is the bed on the east side of the house.  The plants are out of the egress window, and I hope to post on which survived, and which didn't.

I've decided these mystery plants, to the right front, are the poppies I thought I'd dug up, or maybe they are ones that didn't come up last year.  To its left and going around clockwise are wallflower, iris, daisy, some kind of cone flower, and the Dutch irises I planted last fall, that haven't bloomed yet.

Now, this is what I went out to take pics of today!  I was very upset when I drove by my new daffodils, and saw only one clump of flowers on it.  As I was walking out, I figured if there were still stems on them, it was a critter that ate them, but if there were no stems, some rude person cut them for themselves.

Did you notice that it was neither of my theories?  The poor things had wilted and fallen down.

Here's the brave one that was still holding its head up:

Here's the culprit:

We've gone from highs in the 50s and 60s to record and near record highs.  I've had a cold, which has caused my asthma to flare up, so it was too hot for me to garden after work today.  I am hoping to go out soon, as it is supposed to rain this weekend.  I am pleased that the stems came back up when the tree gave them shade from the west.  The flowers don't look in very good shape, though.

Here is an amsonia coming up, that Tom was wanting me to show:

Here is a shot of the bed that was started last June:

These were some of the bulbs purchased from a neighbor girl to raise money for her cheerleading gear.  This is their second day in bloom.

I think these are money plant, but they could be bells of Ireland.  Do you know what they are?

These blooms on the woodland phlox were not open yesterday.

More Daffodils

I took lots of pics on today's yard walk, and was going to have a "Happy Earth Day" post with them, but after gardening until dark, I did not have time to put it together.  I can't remember which blogger talked about what I think was jonquils having more than one flower on a stem.  I said I thought I had something like that, and today, saw that it was in bud.

I can't remember why I looked out again after dark, but saw that the buds were open.  I haven't read my instruction manual on how to take pictures in the dark for awhile, so don't remember what it said.  I messed around with editing these to make the blooms more visible.  

Here's an attempt to be "artsy".  So much for an earth day post.  LOL

So, if it was you, or you know about these, let me know if they are jonquils.  I could look it up, and may tomorrow, but now, I need to make myself call it a day.  (It was in the 80s today, the first time since October, and is supposed to be tomorrow, then go back to more seasonal temps.)

Happy Gardening!

Daffodils

This post is to remind me why I grow daffodils when I'm tired of waiting for the leaves to die back.  The first ones to bloom are finished, and there is one clump not blooming yet.  Some of these are in my collages, but the pics are from today.  I've shown each from the clump, then closer.  I wish I knew their names, but haven't kept good records.