The Late Spring Garden

I'd have to say we've hit the peak showtime for tulips in my garden. I could have called this post "tulipmania" as I have in the past, but there is more going on in the garden as we head into late spring and anticipate early summer. The garden is loving the brief sun and pervasive rain we have had on this Victoria Day long weekend.

As spring starts to make way for summer, the feeling of the garden subtly changes. No more early spring flowers like hyacinths and daffodils. Even the early tulips' days are numbered.

Early Tulips, Dying Off



Instead we have a plethora of late tulips, and the aquilegia and iris are starting to bloom. And the purple leaf sandcherry bush is full of tiny, delicate whitish-pink flowers.

Purple Leaf Sandcherry



Aquilegia



Both 'Cherry Garden' and 'Grape Orbit' are standard dwarf bearded irises, but 'Grape Orbit' looks more the part, with smaller leaves and shorter stems than 'Cherry Garden'. Both these varieties do much better in my garden than tall bearded irises.

I am always tempted by tall iris, and have planted many in my garden, but they hardly ever last more than a single season. The white iris so confidently called 'Immortality' was nothing close to that in my garden. (Hint: It died. Twice. Well, both times I planted it, I mean.)

Iris 'Grape Orbit'



Iris 'Cherry Garden'



An often overlooked companion planting in the garden right now is moss phlox. It clumps nicely, looks great against rocks, and makes a great background to highlight the tulips.

Two Varieties of Moss Phlox



'Black Hero' Tulips and Moss Phlox



Tulip Combo ('Queen of the Night' and 'Zurel')



'Zurel' Rembrandt Tulip



'Blue Heron' Fringed Tulips



Unintentional Double Tulip



'Ballade' Tulips



'Jackpot' Tulips



A Pink and White Fringed Tulip



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Bouquet

These orange tulips that come up in my garden ruin my purple, pink, and white colour scheme. I swear they were a mislabelled batch of bulbs I picked up from somewhere, because I would never have willingly planted orange tulips in my carefully crafted garden. Anyway, they are still beautiful flowers, so I usually cut them as soon as they bloom and have a nice display in my kitchen for a few days.


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Too Cold for Tulips

Well, we had some lovely sunshine throughout the week, but as soon as the weekend started, so did the rain. I think it has stopped raining for now, but it is very cold. I couldn't really photograph all the tulips in their glory, because they are folded closed against the dull sky and chilly wind.

Tulips Closed Against the Cold



The lovely pink early tulips which were so beautiful a week or so ago are finally entering their last days. The petals are starting to curl outward in anticipation of when they will fall off the stem.

Early Tulips Almost Done



In the meantime, the late tulips are just starting to show their buds. These are old bulbs now, and the flowers will probably be quite small and unspectacular when they do bloom.

Late Tulip Buds



Let's not forget the daffodils. It seems I have planted enough varieties now that they bloom over time, like the tulips. So I have some that are finishing while others are only just starting to open. There are some large yellow double daffodils in the back yard that are very top-heavy and have fallen over in the rain. They are quite lovely for yellow flowers though. (I would have to say that bright yellow is not my favourite colour for flowers -- or anything, really.)

Easter Bonnet Final Days



Huge Yellow Double Daffodil



Daffodils with Zurel Tulip



Three-Headed Daffodils



The hyacinth is well and truly done, and there is something weirdly fascinating about its decay. The flowers as they fade remind me of dried out husks of dead spiders, or strange sea creatures floating in the ocean.

Hyacinth Decay



There are still a few magnolia blossoms left to be enjoyed, but for the most part the wind and the rain has cleared the tree of petals and light green leaves are beginning to take over.

One of the Last Blooms



The elm leaves are emerging, as well as the magnolia. I find the brand new leaves as delightful as flowers when springtime comes around. They are only around for such a short time.

Springtime Elm



Magnolia Leaves Emerging





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Copyright © all rights reserved. All text and images in this post belong to 1-2-3 Go Garden! at kbgardenblog.blogspot.com.

Time is Fleeting

Spring passes quickly, but if it didn't we wouldn't appreciate it as much.

Magnolia in Bloom


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Although the magnolia is in full bloom and still looks beautiful, signs of change are evident.

Signs of Change


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Petals are falling.

Fallen Petals


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In the backyard, the leaves are emerging on the maple tree, and soon it will be out in full leaf.

Emerging Maple Leaves


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Tulips and daffodils co-exist, while the hyacinths are dying back. Columbine (Aquilegia) is starting to get buds.

Daffodil and Tulip


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Different Daffodils


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White Daffodil, Possibly Mount Hood


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You might start sensing a theme in my garden. I like purple and white.

White Tulips


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I call this my "prosaic garden shot" because the tulips are looking a bit bedraggled. I am not sure what went through the garden munching on tulip leaves, but it certainly left some of the tulips a little worse for wear.

Tulips a Little Worse for Wear


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These pretty tulips emerging from the periwinkle are a bit more poetic.

"Poetic" Tulips and Periwinkle


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Well, there is a lot more to look at and anticipate in the garden, but I will wait a while yet until it changes again with the passage of time.
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Copyright © all rights reserved. All text and images in this post belong to 1-2-3 Go Garden! at kbgardenblog.blogspot.com.

Spring Flowers

Now the rain has cleared, the sun is out, and I finally have some spring flowers to show. For example, these tulips are new in the garden, springing up from bulbs freshly planted last fall.

Tulips


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And as if they weren't pretty enough on the outside, they are also pretty on the inside when you look down into them.

Inside the Pink Tulip


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This pair of Easter Bonnet daffodils are my old reliables. They come back every spring. I think they started out as a group of five or six, but these two are the ones that remain.

Easter Bonnet Daffodils


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This bunch of double daffodils, on the other hand, are new this year from bulbs just planted in the fall.

Double Daffodils


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The magnolia is finally blooming.

Magnolia Bloom


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The sempervivum planters survived the winter fairly well, and the self-seeding pasque flowers are blooming prettily.

Sempervivum Planter


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Pasque Flowers


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And the garden under the elm in the backyard (presided over by the open-handed Buddha) is starting to fill out.

Garden with Open-Handed Buddha


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I must just mention as I look at this photo that I am disappointed with the mulch we put down in the garden last year. The colour is light, almost like sawdust, and it has not decayed naturally over the winter as the darker mulch we usually buy has done in the past. I really am not satisfied with this look.

The closed-handed Buddha is surrounded by vinca (periwinkle) and blue hyacinths. His head needs washing.

Closed-Handed Buddha


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Finally, I leave you with a photo of some red-twigged dogwood with variegated leaves emerging.

Red-Twigged Dogwood


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If that doesn't make you think of spring, I don't know what will.

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Copyright © all rights reserved. All text and images in this post belong to 1-2-3 Go Garden! at kbgardenblog.blogspot.com.

So Late!

Everything is blooming so late in my garden this year. Daffodils would normally bloom in the last week of April, or even slightly earlier -- and indeed they are blooming elsewhere in other people's gardens. Just not mine.

Well, that is to say, the unknown hybrid daffodils under the elm finally bloomed today. All others are stubbornly closed, or half-closed anyway. Probably waiting for some sunshine, which is in short supply this spring.

Unknown Hybrid Daffodils


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The hyacinths have been blooming a while. My bulbs are so old some of them are naturalizing. They come in rather shabby looking, but every year I say the same thing: I haven't the heart to replace them with something fresher.

"Blue" Hyacinths


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White Hyacinths


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Purple Hyacinths


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The periwinkle is starting to bloom with its carpet of purple flowers, and I found a volunteer pasque flower in amongst the sedum, several feet uphill from the parent plant. It's blooming, but the others are not yet.

Periwinkle


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Pasque Flower "Volunteer"


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Speaking of late blooms, the magnolia is not yet blooming, even though the buds are finally emerging. This is another garden staple that we would expect to be showing itself in its full glory by the end of April. We've still got a couple of days to go, from the look of things today.

Magnolia Buds


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The only good thing I can say about this rain is that it makes for some romantic rainy photos, like this one standing under the Camperdown elm tree, and another of the emerging tricolour leaves on my Harlequin honeysuckle.

Under the Elm


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Harlequin Honeysuckle


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I'm really hoping we get some decent (and long-lasting) sunshine soon, so the garden can get back on track. It's hard to blog a soggy mess.
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Come on Spring!

Spring is late in coming this year. I'd love for the full spate of blooms to start appearing, but all we've had so far are the crocuses.

This year the crocuses did well, though. The bulbs were planted in Fall 2009, and made a poor showing last year, but this year we got the full effect. (The photo was taken on April 12. Most of the crocuses are past their prime now.)

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You would think we'd be seeing some hyacinths and daffodils popping up to take their place, but no. I guess they are waiting until Easter to show themselves.
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Copyright © all rights reserved. All text and images in this post belong to 1-2-3 Go Garden! at kbgardenblog.blogspot.com.