Welcome to Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for April 2017.
Here in my USDA hardiness zone 6a garden in central Indiana, I look around and ask the question we gardeners always ask.
“Where did all these weeds come from?”
I’m kidding.
I look around and ask “Are the blooms ahead or behind compared to last year?”
I checked back a few years by reading old bloom day posts and confirmed what I already knew.
We are well ahead this spring, as far as blooms go. Perhaps a week, maybe more.
As far as weeding goes, we feel very much behind. Or there are way more weeds.
And then comes the question, “You’re retired, I thought you’d be caught up on weeding?”
Well, I’m quite busy these days, but that’s a story for another post.
For now, let me quickly regale you with a litany of blooms. Just the highlights this time, as this fast-moving spring is keeping me hopping and I’ve got a lot to do before the Easter bunny hops into my garden for the big egg hunt on Sunday.
Ready?
Set?
Spring!
Epimediums have been blooming for a while. A tiny flower, they are often called Fairy Wings or Bishop’s Cap. I need more of them.
This big white trillium, Trillium grandiflorum, has just opened up. A lovely bloom!
Nearby, the Muscari sp., grape hyacinths, are starting to fade a bit but still bring lots of color to the garden. If allowed to go to seed, grape hyacinths will self-sow and show up in other areas of the garden. I’ll let you decide if that is a good thing or a bad thing.
The trout lilies, Erythronium americanum, are fading now. This flower will also colonize, which I think is definitely a good thing.
Oh my, the last of the ‘Lady Jane’ tulips are still standing tall, but their days are numbered.
The slighly mis-named Summer Snowflakes, Leucojum aestivum, are all over the place it seems. Are they naturalizing or did I plant them all over the place? I think a bit of both. I’m happy they are happy in my garden.
Now here’s a stunning flowering shrub if I do say so myself. These big orange blooms belong to a flowering quince I like to call ‘There’s a tag around here somewhere’. I should do a whole post on the plants around here with that name.
I planted tulips at the end of each vegetable garden bed so they would look pretty for Easter. By golly, I think they will still have enough bloom left on Sunday to make a good showing.
Years ago, I planted a row of daffodils along the edge of the vegetable garden so I’d have some for cutting. I always thought they were all yellow, but here they are all white. I have no idea how one tulip ended up there. Unless… you don’t suppose a squirrel dug up one bulb from the vegetable garden bed and planted it there, do you?
You just cannot have a spring garden without Virginia bluebells, Mertensia virginica. The pink buds open to become blue flowers. The foliage then dies back and disappears within mere weeks. If you don’t have room for some Virginia bluebells in this climate, you are gardening all wrong.
Rue anemone. Thalictrum thalictroides. I rescued these about six years ago from a wooded area that was going to be dammed up to form a lake. They have survived less than optimal conditions here (too much sun for them) but are still coming back in the spring and blooming for me.
Nearby, another plant recused from the same area with a bud showing so it qualifies for bloom day. This is Trillium erectum, also known as Wake-Robin or Red Trillium.
And what do you know? It’s the first bleeding heart, Lamprocapnos spectabilis, in bloom. Another one whose variety name is ‘There’s a Tag Around Here Somewhere’.
Same for this Phlox subulata.
I have woodland violets blooming in my lawn, and see the clover leaves? I’ll spare you a picture of dandelions. In fact, I’ll confess to pulling a few dandelions while taking bloom day pics so those camera-hogs wouldn’t be in every picture.
Under the oakleaf hydrangeas is a little puddle of Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’. It will be completely shaded out once the hydrangeas leaf out, but today is its day to shine.
It’s not April without the blooms of the crabapple ‘Guinevere’. I can tell spring is ahead just by this one tree which is usually just starting to open up for bloom day. It’s been blooming for a week now. Within the next week, all those petals will drop and cover the ground beneath. It’s a lovely sight.
Lilacs! Yes, the common lilac, Syringa vulgaris, is blooming. Other lilacs will soon follow.
Daffodils? Yes, we have daffodils for April bloom day.
Tulips? Yes, of course. These are unusual hybrid tulips because they’ve come back for the last ten years or so. Most of the hybrid tulips don’t do that around here. They die back after a year or so. I guess these tulips just like it here.
And so does Viburnum carlesii. They can overpower a lilac with their scent and often do. It does make weeding nearby more pleasant when these are in full bloom.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t share my fruit trees and shrubs in flower.
There’s honeyberry, Lonicera caerulea, a nice shrub that can be grown instead of blueberries, for those of us without acidic soils. I should have a nice crop this year, its third year in my garden, because there is another, different variety nearby to ensure cross-pollination.
I’m excited to see the pawpaw tree, Asimina triloba, is blooming. I should write an entire post about pawpaws. These trees, like honeyberries, don’t self pollinate, so I’m not hopeful about getting any to harvest this year because the other pawpaw tree isn’t blooming yet.
My apple tree is also blooming. I sure hope there is another apple tree in someone else’s garden nearby to pollinate this one.
And finally for bloom day, the first columbine blooms. This tiny little columbine is Aquilegia flabellata and it is no taller then three inches, if that. I’ve had it in my garden long enough that the variety name is probably ‘I Lost That Tag’. I’m just happy it comes back every year.
And that’s a taste of April blooms from my garden.
What’s blooming in your gardening in the middle of April? Are your blooms ahead or behind last year? We would love for you to join in and show us.
It’s easy to participate in Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. Just post on your blog about the blooms in your garden on or about the 15th of the month, then leave a comment here to tell us what you have waiting for us to see and a link in the Mr. Linky widget so we can find you.
And remember… “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year.” ~ Elizabeth Lawrence
You have lots of blooms for April Carol and I especially like your 'Lady Jane' tulips and Quince. I also love the new look of your blog! Spring was a bit delayed here, but with some April rain at the start of the month and the onset of warmer days, the blooms are starting to show. It seems that spring is finally here! Happy Bloom Day and as always, thanks for hosting!
I have to admit, I'm jealous us that you're ahead a week or more, we're behind and it's killing me…
I have the echo DG…we're behind you in the PNW. It's been so wet. Record setting wet. Then a crazy windstorm and large hail to just make it sting a little more. So much for the soft misty spring rainfall of my childhood. Your blooms are inspiring and I enjoy looking at all ofyour different bulbs! Happy GBBD!
Hello Carol. I am covered in colorful tulips and daffodils today.The amazing thing is I have enough variety that some daffodil has bloomed February through April.
Happy Bloom Day. It's always fun.
I'm delighted to hear that your honeyberries fruit. I planted 5 of them, and not one has fruited yet. Perhaps this will be the year. I will have a word with them… and Leucojum… I wouldn't mind them spreading themselves around the garden. Isn't that Chaenomeles/Muscari combination amazing?
Very nice to join you all. It seems that the Spring is one or two weeks ahead in many places. It is really great to see different Epimediums. These are plants everyone should consider for their garden. I have featured a couple. Just learnt a new name for Erythroniums. Trout lilies! We always call them Dog's tooth violets. Looking at your blooms we have a very large overlap of plants.
You're a bit ahead of us in the cold-spring-this-year northwest. A clump of violets showed up in my garden and is slowly spreading but not fast enough for me so I've been planting pots of violets in the lawn hoping that they will take over and smother the grass. Who wants to mow? As for dandelions – biodiversity is a good thing, right? Your tulips are gorgeous! "There's a tag around here somewhere" made me laugh out loud. It's nice to know I'm not alone in that. Happy GBBD and happy Easter to you.
Wow Carol, so much is happening. I'm seriously envious of your trilliums. I do so wish I could grow them successfully. And tulips for that matter. Two came up this year. Can you believe that? Two!
I see we have quite a few blooms in common this month, so April is the time our gardens are most closely aligned this year. Here it is National Gardening Week which is encouraging everyone to get busy in their gardens. Not a bad idea!
Have a great Blooms Day and Easter everyone!
Love is time of year when all the plants are bursting forth, so exciting. Also like the new look to your website, sorry if it's was updated a while ago my blogging has been a little sporadic over recent months
Lovely April blooms Carol. What a joy.
It seems that the garden is chocked full of blooms this April. I have quite a few 'there's a tag somewhere' plants myself. I am happy to learn other people also have them. I blame squirrels for every mishap in the garden that I can't blame Annie. Happy GBBD.
You have so much in flower at the moment, very much like us here over the "pond". I think we are a little ahead of last year, we have had some very warm spells. I have grown Trilliums for the first time this year, I'm hoping they will spread in the woodland, they are such beautiful flowers.
A wonderful post packed full of lovely things. I'm glad I'm the only one who loses tags. I'm trying to be more organised! Thanks for sharing and encouraging us. Back to the weeding and planting now. x
Great picture of the pawpaw flower – I have those too, but they are hard to photograph. And I also have only one tree that is blooming as yet. Great flowers – what a spectacular time of year!
At USDA Zone 4-5a, South Dakota is definately behind you in spring. Of course that makes Garden Bloggers Bloom Day more delightful to see what's ahead! You have beautiful flowers! Happy Spring! Brenda in South Dakota
Everything is alive in your garden now! I can imagine the joy of the fairies.
Lilacs! You are a bit ahead of us, but spring is here even in upstate New York. Loved all your flowers. And, as I comment, April the Giraffe (who lives less than 30 minutes from me) is giving birth. What a wonderful GBBD this is!
I burst out laughing at the name "There's a tag around here somewhere." I have a lot of plants named that here myself. Beautiful bloom day dear Carol.~~Dee
Wow! And I thought spring was booming in my garden! In addition to the tulips I can't grow, I covet those epimedium. Thanks for hosting the event that is GBBD, Carol!
Another blog I follow led me here so I had to thank you for the Bloom Day post and links. Fantastic pictures and it's lovely to see what everyone else has flowering now. I'm in the English Midlands so we have a fairly mild climate and a few things are definitely earlier than they were last year.
You have so many more blooms than me, Carol. Beautiful pictures. I love the new look of your blog. P. x
As other PNW gardeners have said, you're a bit ahead of us with our cool, wet, late spring. I'm happy things are finally starting to pick up speed, except for the weeds. Like you, I have a lot of weeds this year, mostly from inadequate bed preparation last summer leaving bits of orchard grasses alive to regrow. Your blooms are lovely!
I looked back to 2012 out of interest rather than last year, and everything is way ahead. The forsythia is over, the Ribes in full glory and the Choysia looking like a floral bouquet. It has been really warm, although cooled down a bit now. It love GBBD, both sharing my flowers and looking at others.
You have so many awesome plants that would never grow here in Northern California. Almost makes me want to garden in a climate that has a real winter. ALMOST :-).
Hi, Carol, this is Christina from Organic Garden Dreams, blog party entry # 33!
There is so much in much in bloom in your garden right now, it is such a joy to see! I love the blue grape hyacinths, so for me your question if it is a good thing when they self-sow is only of rhetorical nature ;-).
In my garden lots of roses are blooming, but I know that the garden is one or two weeks behind, because usually most roses have reached their spring flush peak by now, but this year they are delayed.
Thanks for hosting this great meme, it's fun to participate and see everyone else's gardens.
Happy Easter!
Christina
Like you, I went back and looked at the last few year's of bloom days and can easily see we are 2-3 weeks ahead of our "regular" schedule – though I question if there is really any "normal" year any more in this climate change era. Thanks again for hosting GBBD and see you this summer!
Thanks for hosting, Carol. It's always good to be able to compare the garden from year to year and this meme really helps me to do so. Interesting too to see what is flowering in other people's gardens
Than you for hosting Carol. It's lovely to see all the different plants in your garden. I absolutely adore those little Summer Snowflakes 🙂
Love the quince bush! It is so enjoyable to look at everyone's gardens. Thank you, Carol!
Dear Carol,
while reading some blogs about gardening today, I stumbled upon your blog and discovered Garden Bloggers´ Bloom Day. I think it is a lovely idea! I really like your garden pictures. I especially like your Lady Jane tulips. The tulips in my garden also started blooming and I shared some pictures of them on my blog today. It is lovely that spring has finally arrived!
I wish you a happy Easter weekend and great weather for gardening!
Best wishes,
Lisa
What a fabulous variety of spring bloomers you've got, Carol! I'm envious. I always look forward to GBBD. Thanks for hosting.
Carol, I like your new blog look. As is typical at this time of year, my garden is 4-6 weeks behind yours, with spring bulbs just beginning to bloom here in Maine. Your blooms remind me what I have to look forward to in the weeks to come. Happy Spring! -Jean
I just love going outside this time of year to see what's blooming today that wasn't blooming yesterday. I am pretty sure your quince is one of the Double Take quinces, but not sure which color it is.
Hi Carol, your post puts up a good list of the things which should be blooming right now. I failed to post our Virginia Bluebells. I agree they are a stalwart of the season. Another couple of things that we have in common are the Rue Anemone (check out my green one) and the Viburnums with their wonderful fragrance.
Where did all these weeds come from? I love your blooms, especially the tulips. I have just a few selected blooms on my blog… i need to go pull the rest of the weeds before pictures can be taken! Thanks for hosting GBBD!
You're quite a bit ahead of me! That's okay–it's reminding me all I have to look forward to in the next few weeks! Happy Bloom Day!
What a great array of blooming gardens! April bloom is early this year; I already have peony buds and they usually don't bloom until mid to late May.
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Your garden is way ahead of mine! I'm envious, but am reminded of what I have to look forward to in the coming weeks. Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos and Happy Spring!
My second time joining the bloom day, thank you for hosting! I too am behind with the weeding…
I love seeing your garden unfold as the weather warms. My garden has some new blooms this month but nowhere near the amount and color you are showing. Clearly, I need more bulbs!
Your garden has exploded with blooms! Happy Bloom Day!
So lovely..
I love spring!The flowers are blooming…
Happy Bloom Day everyone!
I miss the violets which were in the garden when we came. Gently swept aside by the new plants that I have added. My autumn garden is wearing purple.
I have bleeding heart, columbine, daffodils, and what i think are Spanish bluebells.
How lovely! I've been inspired to blog about Bloom Day too! Thank you so much! And your book is on it's way to my door!
Such a crowd celebrating April Bloom Day. Somehow I couldn't get my link to actually link, but I only have a single primrose to show off so not much is lost. I loved your beautiful and numerous bloomers this day – and the new website design. Very handsome.
I loved seeing all the blooms. It really is a beautiful spring here in Kentucky. My favorite time of the year!!!
Carol,
your garden seems to have taken on a new lease of life: Such fresh new treasures. Me too, have enjoyed my exocorda Macranthis very much this year. Such a grateful little shrub.
So enjoyed finding you today. We in the deep south have had a horrible time with weeds this year as well. I counted at least four new varieties I have never seen before this spring. So very frustrating. Even a contracted lawn service has not ridded us of some. Your yard is a showplace. Thanks for sharing.
Gorgeous blooms, Carol! I'm a little late to the party, but I couldn't pass up one of my favorite Bloom Days of the year. I agree we are ahead of most years, and with these warm temps all the spring bloomers aren't going to last long. So I'm going to enjoy them as long as I can. And yes, I'm going to be out there pulling weeds, too:)
What a cool idea to show what's blooming in the garden. I am visiting from Christina's blog "Organic Garden Dreams". I would love to participate, so I'll have to get moving and get some recent photos of the flowers. You're right about things being earlier this year. I'm in Northern Ohio, and we had a very mild Winter, so I'm attributing it to that.
My garden flowers are way behind this year. Hoping they catch up soon. Thanks for hosting!
We garden in the same zone, and I just have to say I love your garden. You have so many colorful blooms, I'm always so inspired by your pictures. I really like that Trillium grandiflorum. I've been wanting to grow some for years. So pretty 🙂
Hi, I just found your blog through another blog friend. I love to garden. Tried to link up, but I'm not seeing my photo. Not sure what I did wrong. Love your gorgeous garden!
hugs,
Jann
Long time no see. Thanks for hostessing. Getting back into blogging. Very rainy, chilly spring here, but my bulbs are glorious.