Early Daffodils are fully open

You are ahead of me, PM2. My very earliest daffodils are only starting to open, and it turns out that there were more of the small bulbs remaining than I expected. I just needed to be patient.

Wow, I am surprised you are that far behind me. All my crocus are gone by, the snow drops are pretty much formed seed pods, The honeysuckle leaves are fully open and I can see unfurled leaves with a lot of flower buds on the lilac. Hyacinths are up but haven't fully colored up yet. I was noticing today that most shrubs are already showing some small growth on them. Kolkwitizia has open leaves too. I'm waiting for the best day and good light to take some more photos. So glad it's spring!

It's such a beautiful spring morning today here where I am in Fairfield County, little dashes of color popping up all over the place.

This is probably the most exciting thing: the flowers on my camellia (April blush, i think?) has finally opened. This is its second spring and there are many, many more flowers than last year.

Here is a lemon glow camellia which I just planted, less than a month ago. I'm impressed that with being transplanted it has still managed to flower!

The pink splotches next to it are corydalis Beth Evans. I find they have an amazingly vivid color/presence for such a small flower!

Another new planting is this illicium, I think it's called sunshine. Even though it is still only small it just illuminates the area of the garden where it is planted, and I love how the yellow looks with the pinky heuchera and the blue of the chinodoxa. I'm excited for when they all fill in.

Pulmonaria, with the orange new foliage of spirea behind it

And the buds of this Daphne (eternal summer? Endless summer? Something along those lines) are swelling and about to open

(I planted the Daphne last fall and it was annoyingly leggy and sort of gangly when it arrived ... hoping it can be fixed with some judicious pruning?)

Finally, my army of milk Jugs... :)

I really enjoy this board and seeing all your pictures! Thanks for allowing me to share 😊

So nice to see a new visitor, Nemira! It is a beautiful spring morning here too. We had a shower overnight and everything is glistening with rain and the sun is out and not a cloud in the sky.

I envy you your Camelia. I tried to grow that here, even the hardy for my zone, just didn't even make it through one season. They are gorgeous and yours looks particularly healthy. I also love that Corydalis Beth Evans. I'm going to have to keep my eye out for that one. And look up Illicium too.

Looks like you already have a milk jug or two sprouted. Great way to increase your plants.

Not looking as exuberant as other years, in the garden this year. Except maybe for the lilac Avalanche that has about 4x more flower buds than last year. Oh, and I have noticed that I have a lot of reseeding from Penstemon and Monarda. But I do like how each season provides it's own surprises, with reseeding, you never know what the composition is going to look like.

I also noticed rabbits munching on plants. I saw two of them in the yard the other day. I sometimes cover plants over night with a milk crate that I know they show interest in and that seems to work well. But I just noticed two plants I never noticed they eat before - Virginia Blue Bells and Alchemilla. This year a lot of my milk crates are full of fire wood kindling. [g]

Here's the Alchemilla that looked great a few days ago.

And here is a new Hellebore just coming up in mid April. I don't understand why they are reported to be early growers and bloomers. I do have some that show a few blooms in March but the whole plant is never all the way up.

Does anyone recognize this, I can't remember what it is?

Clematis was pruned back to new growth only at the base and it's coming up strong.

Sedum 'Black Pearl' - I divided mine last year, I really enjoy how dark the leaves get, so now I have two. [Edit: It's 'Blue Pearl' not 'Black Pearl']

Hyacinth 'Jan Bos' almost filled out. LOVE this color and hope to plant more in the Fall.

More Hyacinths, not quite full yet....

Thankyou for the lovely welcome, Prairiemoon. The trick with camellias, i think, is to plant them in a sheltered location. I say this because I planted another camellia the same year I planted that one and by the end of the winter it looked like... THIS!

The difference between them was remarkable, and I can only chalk it up to the fact that the successful one was tucked away in a corner near a big Rhododendron, protected from the winter winds and sun.

Yes there are actually sprouts in all my milk jugs at this point i think! Very exciting to see so many plants come from so little.

Nemira, that is about what mine looked like. [g] I also had covered it with a milk crate full of leaves and it didn't help. I don't actually know that I have a sheltered place. I think I tried to put it in what I thought might be one but nope. I do think I have a few tunnels where the wind comes from the West. Even up against the foundation, there still seems to be a wind corridor. As the garden matures, maybe I'll discover a sheltered spot and try them again. Good idea.

I did winter sowing intensely about 3 years in a row. It was very exciting when you get so many sprouts.

Wow, Prairiemoon, that Hyacinth 'Jan Bos' is stunning!

I love the dark foliage sedums too, and you have inspired me to make more from my one.

I *think* (but am not completely confident) that the green foliage plant you asked about might be bleeding heart. Hopefully someone else can confirm!

Nemira, You could be right about Bleeding Heart. Thanks.

I've had a number of dark leaved Sedums over the years, but this one is my favorite at the moment. I bought it from Bluestone Perennials and while the flowers are not spectacular, the foliage is worth it.

Sedum 'Blue Pearl'

I agree with nemira that your mystery is bleeding heart, Dicentra eximia, though there are a few other plants with similar leaves..

@nemiractfairfieldcountyzn7a, I defInitely have zone envy! both the Illicium and the Camelia are beautiful.

I have found the dark foliaged sedums get eaten to the ground by the voles, though it does not happen with the lighter and greener ones, so I will have to enjoy yours.

You're right Dee, crocus are really satisfying and so welcome after a long winter. I love your first photo - great to see a nice big patch of them! I bought many species crocus that were different sizes and colors and squirrels or something dug them up and left me barely any. But I put some crocus in a long time ago under my front Maple in a bed of vinca and for some reason those always come back. I hope I haven't just jinxed myself...lol.

I don't remember the name of the purple varieties, but it is the very vivid purple and one that has some highlights inside and one Jeanne D'Arc that is a very big white one, and they all reseed prolifically. I have my front full sun bed on the other side of the driveway and the crocus in the vinca bed keep reseeding into that bed only to see the rabbits eat them down to the ground before they bloom. But for some reason the rabbits leave the crocus in the Vinca alone. I also have 'King of the Striped' that keeps surprising me here and there and i really enjoy that one.

PM2, I love that incredible pink flower in your photo with the black pearl (Great name, btw). Is that a rose?! It looks so unlike most roses. Anyway I'm enraptured by the huge flowers and the combination with the sedum is amazing.

Dee, I too love the clump of purple crocus. They look almost like a bouquet!

Nemira, That is a rose. It's called 'Savannah' and it is an unusual color between a pink and an apricot. In person it's almost irredescent and fragrant. I'm always trialing roses for their ability to grow no spray because I grow organically. This one had some disease issue the end of the first season. I was surprised it came back the next year, and it did okay. But this spring I see at least 3 dead canes and new growth started about 2 ft off the ground. So, I'm wondering if I am going to have to replace it. I have a couple of others that are doing better than this one. It is a really pretty rose and I might try another one.

Oh, and I had that wrong, it's Blue Pearl not Black for the sedum.

PM2 I had also planted lots of named crocuses YEARS ago. Mine didn't really get bothered by critters, but I planted the majority of them in my lawn, and in some spots the soil was literally an inch deep on top of a layer of rock! So my guess is improper drainage and not enough soil to sustain them. I used to plant more each fall, and I still do have a good number of them scattered about, but I haven't planted any more in years. I've kind of been put off of bulbs. For some reason I hate planting them lol. Especially crocuses - you have 50 crocuses and that's fifty little holes lol. Every spring I say I am going to add more and then don't!

That big clump is kind of a mystery. I think it got unintentionally transplanted from my front garden (with the shallow, poor soil) to the side yard where it is, because one year there was suddenly this clump of crocuses there lol! Had no idea where they came from! But they like that spot and now each spring that's one of the places I look for first blooms.

That's great that your crocus reseed. I don't think mine ever have. :(

I am happy to report that my Julia Child made it through quite well and is putting on some great new growth. Some of my other new plantings are still awaiting opinions lol. A few things (some deciduous hollies in particular) look dead but hopefully they're just slow to wake!

:)

Dee

Dee, that's funny, I really don't enjoy planting bulbs either. I always say every spring when I see what I have, that I need more and I'm going to add more. But - I usually have something come up that takes my focus off gardening and I don't get to it. And I just said the same thing yesterday - I REALLY need to add more bulbs this Fall...lol. What I've tried to do is dig up some of my patches and either pot them up after bloom, or separate them and pot them up, then I plant them like a perennial later in the season. Costs less and increases what you have and I'm moving a clump instead of all those individual holes.

Exciting that 'Julia Child' is doing well this spring! Mine is too. Made it through the winter in good condition and I was able to prune it into a nice full but open shape and it has lots of leaves opening up this weekend. I just need to add some compost and alfalfa meal, hopefully tomorrow.

So far, I only see two dead plants - hummingbird perennials that I planted last Fall. I don't know what happened, they were supposed to be hardy. I haven't dug them up yet though. I always wait and often I've been pleasantly surprised that they aren't dead. You know you can check to see if there is green if you scrape off a little bark? Or prune a tip and see if the interior looks alive.

It is so exciting to see everyone's gardens start to pop! I am also Fairfield County, 7a. The native pollinator garden I put in last year (with mostly plugs) is off to a great start. And I just got my "Monarch Waystation" sign - a bit early for them yet but the milkweed is peeping through the soil. I'm slowly expanding it to get rid of as much "lawn" as possible. And i just put out this to alert the neighbors that it is intentional:

Golden Alexander (which had faint blooms all through the winter, odd?)

Blazing Star just coming out of dormancy, the purple spikes of this was a favorite of mine last year:

Solomon's Seal which has done a great job taking over shady areas:

Surprised to see a bloom already on climbing hydrangea:

Bleeding heart, one of my faves, not quite open yet:

You're much further along than we are, brdrl. I do have Solomon's Seal showing up and it is a welcome sight. I added some variegated plants near my Lilacs and they are a little slow to show up and I just noticed today, all of a sudden they are up about 6 inches already. I'm very glad they are establishing for me. but the bleeding heart is barely breaking ground so far.

I will be interested to see your pollinator garden as it grows through the season.

Another week left in April, anyone have more going on in their gardens? I'm going to head out and take some photos this morning, but probably the same photos I post every year. Not a lot that's different I guess.

Not a whole lot going on here. I haven't been able to get out in the garden due to an unexpected surgery - nothing worse for a gardener than to have two weeks off in spring and not be able to get out in the garden lol! I have lots of stuff poking up through the ground and breaking into leaf and bud, but not a lot of blooms. Some quince in bud, and my Quail daffs, which I love so much, are in bloom, but that's about it.

I did notice with some alarm this... laurel??? ... that I planted a few years ago looking awful this spring. Bad photo - in full sun so kind of washed out - but I will have to post a thread to see if folks can tell me what's wrong. I still can't even remember exactly what this is, lol, and now it's looking terrible! This is about two and a half feet tall, with the photo looking down on it; hard to get perspective, I know.

Oh, and I did see this yesterday. Have no idea what it is or where it came from

:)

Dee

I enjoyed seeing everyone's pictures. Took some pictures yesterday - will take more this pm and post them.

Took a little walk today - always love to see the bluets in my lawn! They're scattered all over, many in little clumps like this

:)

Dee

Dee, that first photo looks like a perennial I have and I'm trying to remember the name. Airy plant. I have some just coming up and they look like that. Hmm....I just googled 'airy perennial' and it came up - Gaura! Could it be that? Have no idea what that second photo is. The clump of bluet is so cute!

Dee, I don’t know what that first shrub is, but I don’t think that it is Gaura. Maybe compare to cherry laurel? There are some small versions and you would be on the edge of its hardinesss, so it might just be winter damage.I have no idea on the second.

You could try posting both on the Name that Plant forum.

I am visiting family, so I only have one photo from my yard, trailing arbutus just starting to bloom.

But a couple of cheats from the Denver Botanic Gardens, one of my favorite spots to visit and learn new plants when I am here, and it is wheelchair accessible which is a plus for us. I love the gentle arch of this bridge and the ceramic finials on the posts.

The Chihuly sculpture was another favorite.

I always love anything Chihuly! That's a nice one. Your family are lucky to live nearby to a Botanical Garden. Is Trailing Arbutus the state flower of Massachusetts?

Babs I was thinking my mystery shrub was a laurel as well. I did post about it last year and that's what the consensus seems to be. I'd have to google the thread since I remember being confused that the laurels were either 20 feet high (too tall) or three feet high (too short lol) and I would have planted something here that would be about 5-6 feet. Anyway, now my issue is that it looks awful!

Speaking of awful, AFTER I posted the picture of the bluets I realized that I said how they are scattered throughout my "lawn" - and then took a good look at the photo I posted. Yep, you guys caught me lol. I never did try to hide the fact that I don't really care much about a traditional lawn, and that my "lawn" is full of violets, buttercups, various grasses, dandelions, mosses and lichens, wild-strawberry-ish plants, and various weeds. And apparently, judging from my above photo, an awful lot of woodchips lol. Oh well!

Nic pics from the botanic gardens. I always say I'm going to go visit more gardens and I never seem to get to it....

:)

Dee

Rainy/misty spring day today - picture below taken from inside our house

My Garden 2022 · More Info

Pictures below are from last week

My Garden 2022 · More Info

My Garden 2022 · More Info

My Garden 2022 · More Info

My Garden 2022 · More Info

My Garden 2022 · More Info

Magnolia above has major magnolia scale problem - sprayed with horticultural oil in the fall and twice this spring just before the buds opened.

What great view you have from your house. It's just my kind of view, with an elevation and a mix of evergreen and deciduous and a flowering tree in the mix. Photo #3 - I love that tree, it's so graceful and the dark bark against the pastel color flowers, is quintessential spring. Is it a cherry?

Sorry to hear about your Magnolia. I hope the oil treatment does the trick.

And I was just thinking....whatever happened to Deanna? I haven't seen her post here in a long time! Anyone hear why she might be absent?

RTHawk, stunning view in that first photo! The view from inside the house is so valuable, and yours is so private with varied textures and color.

PM2, AFAIK, Deanna is busy with kids and work, and likely at this time of year, prepping the sailboat for the season.

PM2, I think it is a cherry. It was planted by the previous owner so I don't know exactly what it is.

NHBabs, the view (most of it is "borrowed landscape") is what most attracted me to this house (we moved in about 10 years ago). You wouldn't know from the picture but just down that hill is a busy major street.

Took a stroll yesterday and still not much going on in the garden in terms of bloom. I decided to finally get a shot of my hellebores, now that they've been in bloom for two months lol. Not bad for two-month-old blooms!

Also, my pathway in between my cinderblock beds is starting to bloom - somehow ajuga made it's way over here and really likes the spot. I leave it - it's pretty tough, tough enough to get walked on and still look decent. Certainly looks better than the weeds and leaves that collect here!

Was hoping to get some clean-up done today but I'm hearing that wind howl (again? still?), so we'll see!

:)

Dee

Why does Houzz swallow posts sometimes? I just posted with a few photos...only 5, so that doesn't seem like too many - and I hit submit - pause pause pause, then it looked like it posted, then I refreshed the page and it disappeared. Try it again....

Veronica 'Georgia Blue in a patch of phlox subulata...

Hellebores, Hyacinths, Daffodils underplanted with Leucojum....

A patch of vinca just blooming with Epimedium coming up and just filling out and blooming.

Late blooming 'Thalia'

Just planted pot of spring annuals.

I love the Georgia Blue and was just out front today trying to figure out if mine is dying out or just late to bloom. My purple creeping phlox, which is nearby, is definitely dying out.

Your pansies are wonderful - I always seem to wait too long to get them lol. Then I don't want to spend my limited funds on them because I figure they'll be done.

And the vinca is always so nice. I really think this is an underappreciated plant. It really is beautiful in spring and one of the earliest things, so it's so nice to see it and I always seemed to be surprised at how nice it is!

:)

Dee

Dee, I love the Georgia Blue too, but it doesn't seem to spread as much as I would have liked. I think my soil is a little heavy. I should divide it and create the size I want I suppose.

The vinca does spread a lot. I'm fortunate to have it in an area with fence on one side, street on the other and driveway on the other. It is carefree and good looking all year. It can get loose only on one short side, so it's easy to just trim that off every spring to keep it in bounds. Right now, I seem to have some small critter living in there. Everytime I walk near the edge of it, something rustles away through it. And I found a hole chewed out of the side of my plastic compost bin and saw something climb inside it. Oh well.

I have had phlox in some areas that just died out a few times, then I have it facing West in an area with less wind and it spreads so much I have to keep cutting it back. But there is only one variety that comes back consistently and it is that light blue color. I've had others that don't last. I did add more this year along the street side of my front bed on a slope. I have the light blue already and I added a bright pink and a couple of Basket of Golds. It looks puny this year but next year I hope it will look really good.

I love creeping phlox and envy my neighbors who have swaths of it draping over walls! I have neither decent phlox nor a wall to drape it over lol.

So today I did something I've never done in my gardening life. I went to the garden center and bought some annuals before Mother's Day. I don't usually do this because it's just way too early here. But the last few years one can go first thing in the morning the day after Mother's Day and there is nothing left. I don't know if it's a supply issue or the supposed new hordes of gardeners since the pandemic, or a combination of both. So by the time I usually go, early June, there's definitely nothing left.

So I bought a few annuals for my pots, and then got home and tried to figure out how to keep them. This was my solution:

The frame contributes nothing lol. It was an old cold frame I dragged out, hoping to start my dahlia tubers early, only to find out after dragging a window from the very back of the garage that the window is too small to cover the frame. So the frame is there till I find another window or decide to move the frame back.

But my setup is a plastic bin upside down. Right now I have it propped up on bricks, because the sun IS warm, although the wind is horrifically cold - worked outside in my winter coat and a hat today! Tonight I'll go remove the bricks (or pop them under and inside the bin for some radiant heat. I have a smaller bin all ready to go over that flat of impatiens, with two containers of water for radiant heat as well. I think it's probably overkill - it's supposed to be about 40 degrees tonight - but these babies were in a very warm green house so I don't want them going into shock lol. So hopefully I'll get them through next week and the danger of frost!

Also, here's a pic of my Quail daffodils. Love these late little bloomers!

:)

Dee

Dee, I have bought annuals early for the very same reason for years. I put them in a garden cart and wheel them in and out of the garage or put them in flats I can move in and out depending on weather.

More recently there is a small, quite local greenhouse that actually has a sequence of plants that he rotates in as the weather is appropriate, I I have found plants there at a good time.

As always, I am appreciating everyone’s photos of plants and blooms that are so much farther along than mine.