April GBBD: Mixed Emotions

It's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day once again, and I'm so excited!  After months of trying to be creative in finding something that classifies as being a "bloom," I finally have some real blooms to show this month.

It's been a very late spring compared to past years, but warm weather last week finally convinced my garden that it was time to wake up from its long winter's nap.  The first blooms to appear were a few spindly snowdrops discovered hiding under a pile of leaves, as I began garden clean-up.  Next were the crocuses, which started blooming the first week in April.

By this weekend, the spring growth had accelerated, and new blooms were opening up each day.

One of the first clean-up chores I accomplished in the garden the past two weeks was cutting off the old foliage of the hellebores, and just in time.

This is 'Red Lady,' I think, and one of my favorites,

 because the blooms are more upright than the white ones.

A new bloom I'm excited about--it's hard to tell from this fuzzy photo, but this is bloodroot.  I just received this passalong plant from an elderly Master Gardener who has been an inspiration to me, and I'm so happy it seems to have transplanted well.

The early daffodils seemed to shoot up overnight.

I have planted so many other types of daffodils in the past few years, but these standard yellows (name forgotten) always lift my spirits because they are the very first to bloom.

Hyacinths are just opening up, too.  I've been wondering why all my photos have looked so washed out lately, and this morning I finally discovered the reason--my camera has been on "snow" setting for months!  There's an irony here, as you'll soon see.

A happy surprise under the lilac--I thought these were Scilla at first, but then realized they were Chionodoxa, also known as glory-in-the-snow.  I don't remember ordering these, let alone planting these, but I'm delighted to see them.  Notice I also have a healthy crop of creeping charlie--my garden nemesis--that was unfazed by our harsh winter.

Not every surprise this spring has been a happy one, however.  Walking around the garden with a friend on Saturday, we noticed many of the tulips had been chewed off.  Whether the damage is due to rabbits or deer, I'm not sure, but I am definitely not happy!  I have never had a problem with either deer or rabbits bothering my garden much in the past, but this winter has been a hard one for them, too.

It's a good thing I took photos of the garden yesterday, because this morning we had another unpleasant surprise . . .

. . . yes, that is snow covering the daffodils this morning!   Our temps dropped 40 degrees in twenty-four hours, and the steady rain yesterday turned into snow before midnight.  These white double daffs were just about to open, but I think they might decide to wait awhile now.

I didn't get a good photo of the pretty little scilla dotting the shade garden yesterday, but today they are closed up, shivering in the cold.

I certainly hope Mother Nature is finished playing her cruel tricks--it's been 24 weeks since our first snowfall, and I think that's quite enough, thank you very much.  Bring back spring!!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is brought to you each month by the indomitable Carol of May Dreams Gardens.