A day without rain and clouds...yay.

this is a new Hellebore. Only the one flower stem this year. It was a small plant last year from NH Hostas. LOVE this flower, can't wait for it to get large and full of flowers.

I can't remember a spring when the bulbs were so full of flowers. All this rain has been beneficial.

The sun was out for 5m this morning and I managed to get a few more photos. It is starting to look like spring. The birds are back, they were chattering before sunrise this morning.

I tried to get a photo to show how much the Vinca was shooting up new shoots this year, but you can't really tell from the photo. Standing next to it, I am amazed. This plant is so vigorous and resilient. 2 years ago, didn't we have drought conditions most of the summer? I remember looking at this bed and for the first time ever, it was wilting. And now it is coming back like gangbusters. And covered with flowers. I should have taken a photo of the street side, where it has escaped into my neighbor's yard. He doesn't seem to notice or care, and I think it looks good, so I've left it there.

Robins were in the birdbaths this morning... Saw a Mourning dove, Cardinal pair, heard some Woodpeckers the past week.

Thyme2Dig, Your Hellebores are beauties! I love the one that is pink and white and looks like a water lily. And the cream and rose shaded blossoms. So pretty!

I haven't finished taking photos of the Hellebores, because they still haven't opened all the way. Which always confuses me when some people say their Hellebores are opening in February. It's just about May before all the leaves unfurl on mine. I'll take more photos soon.

Another Hellebore, that looks just like the one you were talking about, but this foliage is dark. The other is in more shade. I don't know if it is the same plant. This actually has more leaves than last year.

The two above, the pink and the white were part of a Dave's Garden Coop purchase of Terra Nova plugs back in 2009. I'm not sure which is which, but I bought.....

Helleborus ‘Jade Tiger’

Helleborus ‘Berry Swirl’

Helleborus ‘Golden Lotus’

Helleborus ‘Yellow Mellow’

I know they aren't 'Yellow Mellow'

Imagine, this is how big they are, after starting as plugs in 2009. I think they should be huge by now, and divided a couple of times to boot. I don't get it.

There is a series of Hellebores - the Wedding series. That is what I bought from NH Hosta in 2021. So, this is their 3rd season and they were small plugs just about. They're still SO small!

I bought......

Dark and Handsome

This link has a photo of the plant too....

Dark and Handsome plant

and....

Dashing Groomsmen

and

New York Night and New York Night plant

this Hellebore is from the Honeymoon series. This is evidently the plant I posted a photo of above.

I see they are available under the Proven Winners label, and that Bluestone offers it for $21.95. But I'm surprised the plant I bought from NH Hostas looks a lot prettier, happily. The stamen are much more pronounced and the flower is larger than it looks in that photo. Also they hang down in a bell or cupped shape. And I bought a starter plant for $14. each for the first two, and $18. for NY Night in a 4.5" pot. Unfortunately, I just looked at their site and the only Hellebore they have right now, is....

'Rio Carnival'

Hellebore 'Rio Carnival'

and they are sold out.

Hey PM2, it makes me sad how expensive Hellebore are. I was fortunate to gather a collection at a nursery in NC that had great prices, but now I cringe when I want to buy one.

Thanks for all the names above.

Here are a couple shots from today.

I really love Jeffersonia. It starts this amazing purple and as the summer progresses the leaves get bigger and green.

This is a section of a small shade garden. The Trillium is 'Roadrunner'. I'm pretty sure I got it at Garden Visions. The bloodroot in the very middle of picture is pink bloodroot. It has always looks white but this year when the flowers were just starting they really were tinged pink! And if it's not my imagination I think they might be in this photo. The trillium is pink-ish flowers.

Epimedium and other shade plants will follow in this border once this is all out of bloom.

Thyme2dig - I am sad that the nurseries are chockfull of expensive plants and products. If I were starting out, I’d need to focus on growing from seed and divisions and plant swaps. Everything is getting SO expensive.

Your Hellebore with the Jeffersonia is so tall! It reminds me of one of mine that I love. That’s a good amount of flowers and I think when all the foliage fills out, you are going to have great size to your Hellebores. Do you think they are larger than last year?

I don’t think I am familiar with Jeffersonia. Very pretty color. It looks very happy there.

And look at that Trillium! I love the name…lol…and it does look like it’s traveled for you. Your Hellebores look like the Foliage is just coming up. I LOVE the color and form of the blooms on the rose Hellebore on the right. It’s a beauty!

Is that blood root blooms triangular shape? I think mine look more like daisies when they open. Am I looking at that right? I hope I have not mixed up which is the Trillium and which is the Bloodroot. [g]

I have to say that my yard must be normally even drier than I think it is because this year, finally my Hellebores seem to have gained some size. It has to be all the rain we’ve had. I haven’t taken more photos yet, because I ‘ve been working on cleaning up my front bed. It’s almost cleaned up. I have more moving around to do and another late start on veggies.

I saw Jeffersonia at Soares Nursery in Falmouth, MA yesyesterday. i should have bought it! I bought one years ago but it didn’t make it.

Thyme, what a lovely hellebore "plate" lol! I have been eyeing some of those hellebores in the Wedding series but they are on the expensive side.

I have some rather promiscuous hellebores. They were given to me by a fellow Garden Webber who got them in some kind of trial or overflow or something like that from a breeder. Hmm, maybe it wasn't a trial because they were unnamed. They are in shades of purple, some quite dark, and I like the nice early blooms to cheer things up. Anyway, they seed around quite a bit, so I am always giving some away. Makes me hesitate to buy more, although perhaps I should take out these and get the ones I really want - like those Wedding Series ones!

Not much in bloom now. My poor daffs got zapped by rain then freexing temps so they have gone a bit early. A flowering almond is about to bloom, and the above-mentioned hellebores are still going, and that's about it.

Even though there are not many blooms, this is my favorite time in the garden. After cleaning out the beds, everything is so new and fresh and green, and there is so much hope and anticipation! (Even if it WAS 33 degrees this morning lol!)

:)

Dee

Hmm, funny. I post to this thread, then go to my email and open one from Avant Gardens. Their blog post was about hellebores, epimediums and - jeffersonia! I had never even heard of this and now in the space of a half hour I've read about it twice lol. Maybe it's an omen...

:)

Dee

Dee - Hellebores are expensive. And with a plant that is so slow to grow larger, I don’t know when I would have a division to increase. Seedlings are great to increase, but all of mine are of the older Sunshine series and not the new hybrids for some reason. I haven’t had the Wedding series long enough to see if they reseed well. I hope they will.

I’m going to move some of my Hellebores to place more of them together and closer together to get a bigger impact.

Sorry your Daffs went by early. That’s no fun. The weather is not what it used to be. I think mine have been about average time. I just noticed my Flower Record that I plant together with Ceylon, has gone by. But Ceylon is still looking good.

Did I mention that I have added Leucojum bulbs in with the Daffs? It really extends the bloom. I cut off the dead Daff heads and the white bell flowers are above the Daff foliage for another few weeks. And planted near Epimedium and Hellebore, it’s a pretty, long blooming combo.

I really enjoy just the cleaned up beds, too! Exactly - everything is so green and new and vigorous. And especially this year, after all the rain we’ve had. I was just puttering around out there and sat for awhile and I was thinking of what it all looked like just 2 weeks ago. Today it really looks wonderful. Foliage is filling in, the Hydrangea and Roses are pushing out new foliage already. I still have the last of the Hyacinth bulbs and Basket of Gold just opened and it’s looking really clean and neat and happy.

I’d take another photo, but for some reason I’ve been disappointed with the photos my camera has been taking lately and I don’t know why. I’m usually happy with them.

I see on the map that you have a frost warning! We seem to have escaped that so far. Which makes no sense, since you are further south. Odd.

I am in southeast MA and we are having frost nearly every day! I am pretty sure that I bought my jeffersonia at Avant Gardens.

It was 35F here this morning, but already it is 42F with the sun up. Almost a frost. I suppose 90F days are right behind the late frost days. [g] I would think by now, I would be expecting this kind of volatile weather. And that it will continue to worsen too in a gradual way. But is it me, or is it just human nature to get lifted up by good weather and then get disappointed all over again, when the new weather patterns continue? I suppose I haven't accepted it.

Anyway, I think we are probably in the clear of cold mornings soon.

The sun is out this morning so I thought I'd try to take a photo or two of Hellebores. Most of them have fleshed out as much as they are going to, but this morning in the cold, they are not exactly ready for their picture. [g] I did get one that looks great! Best it has ever looked. It's probably double what it usually is. It's Hellebore 'Mellow Yellow'. I credit all the rain we've gotten.

PM2, your front bed looks great! And that yellow hellebore is so beautiful. I can't get over how expensive plants are these days. Thank goodness we have established gardens. No way I could create the gardens now at these prices. I don't know how anyone is doing it. I've been seeing hellebore for THIRTY NINE dollars in multiple places! It's almost like PW sets the pricing for nurseries. I feel as if they're going to take over all plants (although seems they already have).

So glad to hear some conversation about Jeffersonia! Love this little plant and it is so purple when it first emerges and blooms. Then turns green and the leaves get quite a bit bigger.

Here are some pictures to finish out April for me.

Tuteurs are up....it's Spring!

Last year I made a point to plant quite a number of daffodils. (Dee, SO sorry to hear about yours.) I have been loving the little ones I planted along our front entry to the cottage garden. Don't know names. I really am so horrible about keeping track of the names of anything I plant. My husband and I decided we are going to plant hundreds of daffodils this fall (when they go to 50% off at Home Depot!) Any bare spot we'll throw some in. Deer stay away from them, unlike my 3 tulips in front blooming now when I planted hundreds. GRRRRR.......

(Maybe I should change out that Christmas flag....LOL!)

I'm getting palpitations about the clover growing on the side path and now under the bricks.....not a fan of round-up, but I might have to. Although we have kittens hiding somewhere from our mama outdoor cat so i'm really reticent to use any chemicals at all. I'm thinking pitchfork to try to get under roots to try to get the mass of it on the left? Anyone have experience with best way to get rid of it?

Leaf pile ready for chipping for mulch! Love this time of year.

Shade garden is my favorite this time of year. Hellebore still going, epimedium are about to jump in, bleeding heart, etc..... Trillium will follow. Many varieties of trillium in this garden. And just saw a double bloodroot with the trillium. (PM2-in the photos in my last post, the 3-petal flowers are the trillium and the daisy-like ones are the bloodroot. Then I have maybe 3 double bloodroot left, which is sad because i used to have a huge clump.) Tree peonies go downhill year over year. I've fertilized, seems to be the right shade/sun mix. I do have things seed in amongst them. Not sure if that is the issue. So torn on what to do about them becuase they do give this bed some nice height.

This is atop my slope looking down the slope to the front street bed. Everything in there looks quite good this year, so hopefully a good show to come. (Ahem....maybe I should change out my Christmas mailbox cover too.....I mean honestly.......)

And lastly, an awful spot in my garden that i have ignored for YEARS. Ugh. Right in front of the picket fence in front. fortunately this area really can't be seen much from the street. A dwarf flowering almond finally gave up the ghost. Pretty sure it is diseased. HOW does grass get on top of a slope where there is none. Drives me batty where grass can show up! LOL!! We need to rip it all out and mulch. Then figure out what shrubs to put in there. There are already some hydrangea, but i need some lower shrubs too. I think my mind will be made up about that, once I see what is for sale in my own yard! Back to the issue with prices!

Always amazes me how quickly things start growing at this time of year. We had always traveled to NC for school vacation week which was this past week. We'd leave and peonies would be ankle-high and come home they'd be knee-high. Exactly where the peonies are now.

Hope everyone has a great May!!!

Thyme2dig, Love that you are posting regularly again. You were having trouble posting from your iPad, wasn’t that it? Did that get resolved? I love getting a good look at your property during all the seasons.

Where do you store your tuteurs in the winter? Did you paint them black this year? I thought they were purple? Love them!

Do you have something climbing that trellis entry?

The walkway with all the daffodils planted along it looks great! Such an attractive walkway! Daffodils have to be one of my favorite flower. They really mean spring to me. They are a perfect plant. No diseases, no pests, no rabbits eat them, they come back reliably year after year, need very little attention. Ahhhh!

I put mini Daffs in my front bed and I’m so glad I did. The foliage dying on the larger diffs is just too much for me. I barely notice the dying foliage on the minis. And they are SO cute. I bought a mix at Scheepers and there has to be about 5 different varieties and I love each one of them. And they seem to be multiplying and even reseeding. A lot of them have gone by but these two just opened, so I have early and later.

So, when you chip that big pile of leaves, what is left under it for the season?

That is a LOT Of plants in your shade garden. I didn’t realize there were so many varieties of Trillium. Quite the foliage on that one pictured. And that epidmedium is very full and it looks just like one of mine but fuller…lol. Sorry about your diminishing double bloodroot. It’s a gorgeous plant and not easy to acquire. I wonder if there is a way for you to propagate it and increase yours? I don’t grow Tree Peonies, so I have no idea, but, if you have multiples, maybe you could try different solutions on a few and see which one works best? Move one into more sun. Keep one weeded so nothing is growing in it, etc.

WOW! Look at that new bed!! And you added to the bed above too, didn’t you? You have increased the amount of square footage of your garden, so you have a LOT more to take care of!! Lol Wow.

That last photo is definitely NOT an awful spot! It has excellent bones. The evergreen tree, a pine? The birch. I am sure when you get to it, you could add a lot to make it the way you like it. You can add bark mulch, but couldn’t you just pile leaves there for a few seasons?

I’m really happy with my front bed this year too. I didn’t have to do too much extra after normal clean up and pruning. I did want to move a few things, but I potted up a few things that I want to move and waiting to see where they will fit best.

I added the Basket of Gold 2 years ago? Then added a 2nd last year. This year when they started to grow, they looked so healthy and vigorous I decided to add another. Now I want two more…lol. The 2 yr old plant is filling out and covered with blooms and the yellow is SO saturated and it’s almost neon. It is really noticeable even from a distance. I looked it up after I saw how well they were doing and turns out they seem to be in conditions that should keep them very happy. Just adding that plant seems to have pulled it all together at this time of year.

Julia Child had no die back at all. New foliage to the tips of the canes and I just had to remove a few crossed branches. It’s so dense right now, I’m even wondering if I should remove some from the middle.

The epimedium are just opening. Looking so fresh and full this year. Some of those I thought I lost to the rabbits did come back but are small with no blooms. These epimediums were not touched by the rabbits last year and they look very good. They haven't been there long.

This is by my kitchen gate. We added some bricks under the gate 2 years ago to keep the rabbits from digging under it. I didn't get around to fixing the ground along the new fence and I've been so happy to see it fill in with moss!

I've been waiting for the Hellebores to fill in all the way to get a good idea how large they are this year. These are two new ones. One is that Dark and Handsome from the Wedding series and the other has variegated leaves and I bought it for the name 'Dorothy's Dawn', my mother's name. Hope you can see the variegated foliage in the photos.

That's it for me for April too! I'll start the May thread tomorrow.