GBBD: Blooms at Last!

I am so happy today is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!  This April 15 has been a rather painful tax day, so I can use some pretty blooms to cheer me up.  Secondly, after months of stretching the meaning of "blooms," I am happy to report that spring has definitely arrived in central Illinois, and I can finally share some real flowers with everyone.

Since everyone has many places to visit today, I'll keep the words to a minimum and let the photos do most of the talking.  In order of appearance:

The first blooms to appear were the hellebores in late March.  After waiting for two years, I was excited to have more than one hellebore blooming. This is 'Red Lady,' I believe, who made her first appearance this year.

 Next came the daffodils at the very end of March. One soon turned into many.

A row of daffodils bordering the front garden are still in bloom.

Hyacinths followed shortly after, filling the air with their sweet fragrance. 

Some small shrubs were added in front of the house last fall including my very first forsythia.  This is a dwarf variety, 'Courtasol,' which is supposed to reach only two feet tall.

Later daffodils began blooming last week, including these 'Replete' daffs,

which seem to have multiplied in the front garden this year.

I'm still not sure how much I like these ruffled varieties, but in a close-up photo they look just as appealing as they did in the catalog when I ordered them.

'Pink Charm' in the sunny roadside garden.

And a different shy variety--any suggestions on how to get daffodils to face forward??

Fortunately, a few of them are facing the right way, revealing themselves as 'Poet' daffs.

In the shade garden, slender narcissus have just begun to bloom.  I wish I knew the name of these, because I would love to add more of them.

Not everything blooming in my garden right now is a spring bulb.  The flowering quince is putting on quite a show already, the earliest I can ever remember it blooming.

And in the shade garden, one of my favorites, Brunnera 'Jack Frost' is still growing, but already is covered with its dainty baby blue blooms.

With a nod to Pam's Foliage Follow-up,  I have to include one of the prettiest of the Heucheras 'Tiramisu,' which changes colors through the seasons.

It's too soon to plant most annuals here, but a pot of pansies and sweet little violas welcome you to my back door.

Back to the bulbs . . . although I try to record new plantings each fall, sometimes I am surprised in the spring.  I had completely forgotten about planting a few grape hyacinth last fall, these a mixed bag of varieties.  Clearly, I need to add more this fall.

The early tulips have just begun to open, earlier than usual but later than last spring which was unusually warm.  This is from a collection called 'Color Magic.' 

Even the best-kept records are not always helpful with tulips, since some only last a year or two and succession plantings often get mixed up with previous tulip plantings.  I'm pretty sure this is 'Pink Impressions,' one of my favorites.  It's a Darwin hybrid and much longer-lived than many tulips.  Bright sunlight is usually not the best setting for taking good photos, but in this case I thought the tulips seem to glow in the light.

The tulip show is just beginning, with more to come in the next few weeks.  I'm anxious to see this new addition this year, 'Fur Elise', come into full bloom.

 

The late 'Sunrise' are just beginning to bud.  I included this blurry photo not so much for the tulip as for the plant next to it--an astilbe. The shade garden is slowly putting out growth, and I'm especially happy to see the astilbe return since they are often temperamental in this area of dry shade.

Another almost-ready-to-bloom plant is the Bleeding Heart, one of my springtime favorites.

Soon not only will the garden be filled with color, but the skies as well. 

 Nothing says "spring" like the first color of the redbud.

Ah, glorious spring!

For more spring beauties from all around the world, be sure to visit our ever-gracious hostess Carol of May Dreams Gardens.