Bleeding Hearts w/ Brunnera

We are still in the heart of the spring time blue and purple time of my garden thanks to the forget-me-nots, brunnera, Virginia bluebells,  pulmeneria, violets and chionodoxa. Once the weather warms there will be a lot more orange, but for now the cool colors are in control. There are little spots of pink thanks to my bleeding hearts which look lovely against the cool colors surrounding them.

Violets

Columbine

I have a soft spot for violets. Their delicate flowers and a sign of spring to me. All of mine are rescues from the lawn and have since self seeded (they are one of the first things that I planted in my beds). They look lovely now but will most likely be eaten later in the summer by the bunnies. I am okay with this since they are good about reappearing again, and since I prefer the bunnies to eat these over some of my other plants.

Ostrich Fern w/ Hosta

Variegated Solomon seal

The hostas, ferns and Solomon seal are also almost all out as well. The Ostrich ferns have arisen out of no where and are looking very tall and straight. The weather has been extremely dry for this time of year so it feels like some of the growth has slowed and with no rain in the forecast for another week, I am not quite sure what that will mean for the plants. I did water some of the newer plants on Sunday, and it looks like I will need to give everything another drink soon. The plants are use to lost of moisture this time of year, so I am concerned about what this will mean as late spring and summer approach.

Allium Karataviense Sprouting

My Allium ‘Karataviense’  have started sprouting. I was inspired to plant these by this picture from Tovah at Plantswise:

Alium 'Karataviense' with Caramel heuchera (coral bells)

Since I already had a bunch of the heuchera caramel I decided to add the allium. What I am surprised at so far is how beautiful the leaves are on the ‘Karataviense’. Most alliums do not have particularly impressive leaves, in fact the leaves often disappear by the time that they bloom but these leaves have purple edges and striping. I can’t wait to see how they look once they are flowering. Here is the link back to my rendering in the fall of how I hoped that they would look.

What is blooming in your garden right now?

Shade Garden with the Yellow Blooming Kerria Japonica

It has been another exciting week in the garden. The weather has been chilly (okay, seasonally appropriate) so I haven’t spent as much time as I would like outside. Fortunately it is warmer today, so I hope to get some more garden chores done. My Kerria bushes are in full bloom and looking lovely! They will require a good trim after the bloom, but I love that they are near the back and side gate, so they can welcome everyone in.

Virginia Bluebells

Bleeding Heart

My Virginia Bluebells are up and blooming. They are stealth plants, they arrive out of nowhere, pop up quickly, bloom for a bit and then disappear until next spring. I do love them though! The trick is remembering where they are since they are hiding for a good part of the year and I am always trying to fill the space. I think I may try moving a few to a more shady area under the cedar tree. I think that they would be a nice contrast to the bleeding hearts, which I love for their long lasting drooping blooms.

Flaming Purissima Tulip

Autumn Fern

The Flaming Purissima that I planted in the front yard are all done blooming but the ones in the back are still in their prime, looking lovely mixed with the daffodils. I also planted 3 Autumn Ferns this week (from Home Depot). I had admired them at the Philly Flower Show earlier this spring and was excited to see them at HD for a reasonable price. Hopefully they will do well in their new home by our shed.

Variegated Pieris

Blueberry Bush

In the side garden (which needs a LOT of love) I planted a variegated Pieris last fall (on sale from HD). I put it in quite late and without too much thought except that I thought it would be nice to add a little more evergreen texture on the slope. So far it has rewarded me with the splendid magenta-red color (I have to go look up the exact variety). I also planted 2 blueberry bushes in the same area (on either side of the new steps). They now have buds (which will become blueberries). I had been reluctant to plant blueberries because I had heard that they were difficult to grow, but so far they have had lovely red leaves in the fall and some nice white buds. We will see who gets the berries first this year, the birds or the kids. This area is suppose to be our new veggie area, with a raised bed. I just need to get in gear and put it in (which requires cutting down the pre-made kit). I also need to decide if I want to battle the pachysandra  that has taken over here. I hate it, but it is somewhat useful on the hillside that is difficult to access.

What is blooming in your yard right now?

Arbor w/ Forget-Me-Nots in Foreground

It has been another beautiful week in the garden. More and more plants are growing and there are new buds to be seen. A couple of my River Birches are just about to leaf out, which is very exciting! I love their beautiful leaves and it provides a lovely buffer from my neighbors.

Euphorbia (Wood Spurge)

Forget-Me-Nots

My Euphorbia came from the Scott Arboretum Plant Exchange a few years ago. At first I was not to excited by it, but it seems to have settled in now and is producing its lovely flowers. I have heard that it is poisonous (especially the sap), so I need to keep the kids away. The Forget-Me-Nots are also from the Plant Exchange. They are biannuals, so you need enough to produce seeds for the following year. I seem to have finally gotten the right mix, I have even had to pull some out. I do quite enjoy them.

Trillium

Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts

In the full shade area my trillium are up and looking lovely. They only appear for a short time, so I have to make sure to enjoy them while I can. Once the summer heat comes they disappear until the next year. I planted these from bareroot that I bought on ebay. I thought I had killed them since they didn’t sprout the first spring. So needless to say I was very excited when they sprouted the following year. My bleeding hearts only started sprouting last week but I already found the buds of the flower on one of the plants. I love bleeding hearts, and I have divided mine several times to get more. They are such a classic spring time flower.

Paw Paw Tree Flower Buds

Lastly my Paw Paw Tree started budding up this week. The flower will turn a lovely deep purple in a couple of weeks. The only downside is keeping the squirrels away, who definitely think these buds are delicious! This is especially important if I want any Paw Paw fruit this summer. We usually get about 3 fruits off of the tree, but I am hopeful we can increase our yield of these sweet custardy potato shaped fruits.

Â

Â

Even though it seems like everything has sprouted in the garden, I am being surprised daily by more plants popping up. When new plants sprout it is like a little present. : )The surprise of this week are the Tulip Turkestanica. I bought these on a bit of a whim last fall when I placed my big bulb order from Brent and Becky’s Bulbs. For some reason (I obviously didn’t pay attention to the label) I expected them to bloom a little later. So while I have been waiting patiently for my Chionodoxa to bloom these popped up and started blooming. They are small and delicate, but I love that they have multiple flowers on each stem. These are also suppose to be reasonably good repeat bloomers.

Â

Â

Unfortunately my Barr’s Purple Crocuses have mostly been eaten by the bunnies. They looks stunning for about 2 days before they were slowly eaten over the next several days. I only have 2 still in bloom. The rest have been gnawed down to a little stump. Fortunately my daffodils are still hanging in there (I was afraid with the heat that they would wilt).

 

Â

My Lungwort (Pulmonaria) is looking lovely, both varieties are blooming and the ‘Majeste’ variety is putting up an extra lovely dark purple bloom.

Â

Â

My muscari (grape hyacinth) are also in bloom and the ‘flaming purissima’ tulips are just about ready to go. These were a recommendation from Tovah at Plantswise. She recommended these as reliable repeat bloomers. I love tulips, but I get frustrated when they only come back once or twice before they disappear. So far so good!

What is popping up in your garden?

Barr's Purple Crocus

With the warm weather and the 10 day forecast, I think we can safely say that winter is over and I better start moving on the garden. It rained last night and the garden is ripe for some attention. I started weeding last week and hope to get some more pulled tomorrow. I am also already thinking that it might be time for mulch since some of the soil is looking a little bare.  There is lots to look at in the garden now!

My Barr’s Purple Crocuses that I planted last fall are up. They caught me off guard because their leaves are quite small so I didn’t see them until they started blooming last week. They are suppose to be squirrel resistant (we will see!).

Daffodils

Lungwort

Front Planter with Sedum

My daffodils are also in full swing and will probably peak this week. I am hoping that they don’t wilt too quick with the warm weather. The lungwort (Pulmonaria Saccharata ) are a good 2-3 weeks ahead of last year.

Additionally a LOT of my plants have sprouted. With the mild winter it is looking good for most of plants surviving (if not thriving).

Goals for the garden in the next week: weed, mulch, pull out the ivy in the hedge, pull out miscellaneous vinca and pachysandra. It is a little wet today and I don’t feel like getting to soggy, but I am hoping by tomorrow I can really get in there with the kids (who really enjoy pulling out the weeds).

What is blooming in your yard?

*This is my first time joining the monthly Bloom Day at Carol’s May Dreams Gardens. It is quite interesting to see what is blooming in other people’s gardens all around the world!  I recommend stopping by  Carol’s May Dreams Gardens to see the list of all of this month’s participants.