Sunday, April 15, 2018

Patience is a Virtue: April GBBD

"Patience is a virtue" was a favorite saying of one my favorite high school teachers.  Mrs. G was my Home Ec teacher--this was the 60's, mind you, when girls were still expected to learn all kinds of homemaking skills.  She repeated this phrase often as we ninth graders grew frustrated with cooking and sewing disasters, such as my friend who had to tear out a skirt zipper nine times before getting it right!  After my many years of teaching, I suspect, however, that she repeated this mantra as much to keep her own frustrations in check as much as ours.  I know I would have.

I have been reminded of this saying the past month as my patience has worn thin waiting for spring to arrive.  I know I'm not alone as the crazy weather has affected many parts of the country.  From torrential rain to snowstorms--central Illinois has had more snow in April than any other month this winter--to constant gloomy, chilly days, it has been a depressing start to spring.  It doesn't help that we were spoiled last year. Last year we had an early spring, and I had crocuses blooming by the end of February.  By April, daffodils, tulips, and even some spring perennials were blooming.  The flowering trees had already bloomed by Bloom Day as well.  But this year?  Well, let's just see what we can find....


For my March Bloom Day post all I had to show were some snowdrops and the first yellow crocus.  By the end of March other crocuses were blooming as well.


Roco's memory garden had a variety of crocuses and other early small blooms, including Puschkinia and Scilla.  My favorite crocus 'Pickwick,' a larger lavender and white, is just opening up at the top of this photo.  I never did get a good photo of one of these, unfortunately.


The crocuses are pretty well finished, but other early bloomers are not.  The Hellebores, which began to bloom about the same time as the crocuses, are really hitting their peak right now.


I have several different colored singles, all whose names are now forgotten.  Cleaning up the garden has been a challenge this year because warm, sunny days have been few and far between, but I did manage to get out one chilly day and trim back the old foliage on all of these so that the blooms could really shine.



I have two newer Hellebores as well that are doubles.  They don't have many blooms yet, but the few they have are so lovely.  I've forgotten the exact cultivar name, but this one is part of the 'Wedding Series.'


One of my favorite little blooms this time of year are the Puschkinia.  I didn't remember they bloomed so early, but they have been popping up everywhere the last few weeks.  I've planted more and more of these little beauties the last few years because I like them so much--aren't they sweet?


I especially like them paired with the blue Scilla.  When you plant bulbs like this, you never know whether they will bloom at the same time, so I'm happy that the timing worked out.


The hyacinths are just starting to bloom.  I have some pink and white ones as well, but the purple ones always seem to do the best for me.


I was beginning to wonder if I would ever have any daffodils this year, but they are just really late.  A few warm days this past week have really encouraged the blooms to open up.


The bulbs I planted in part of the shade garden surrounding an oak tree are starting to fill in.  If I remember it, I might stick some kind of markers in the empty spaces to remind myself where more could be planted next fall.  It's not easy planting around big tree roots, though!


I've been planting more and more daffodils in recent years, especially in the areas farthest from the house, to avoid deer and rabbit damage.  Usually, I purchase large mixed bags, so I rarely know the name of each type.  This one in the Arbor Bed, though, is 'Mount Hood'--or so I thought.  'Mount Hood' is a large white daffodil, so I'm not sure what is going on here, or if I'm just confused about its placement, which wouldn't be the first time.  Notice even this vigorous bloomer doesn't appreciate the cold rain today.


More daffodils in Roco's memory garden (also Sasha's and Tarzan's garden now) on one of the few sunny mornings we've had.  This past week we had three sunny, mild days that were perfect to work in the garden, and I took advantage of them to do more clean-up of garden beds.  Today it's back to cold and rain with a chance of that dirty word 'Snow' tonight!  So frustrating.  But I'll be back in the garden on the next reasonably nice day, trying to get the rest of the clean-up done.  With any luck, I'll be finished before the tulips start to bloom!


Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for faithfully hosting  Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day each month.  And thanks to Mother Nature for finally giving me a few blooms to share this late spring!

30 comments:

  1. It does look spring like esp. with that great burst of colorful Crocus.

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    1. It did look like spring for a few days here this week, Linda, but it definitely doesn't feel like it today. More snow! Not as much as you had, but enough spitting snow to feel like Winter has returned--ugh.

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  2. You do have so many beauties to share now, Rose. Your Hellebore collection is lovely. I really like both the doubles and the singles. Happy GBBD!

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    1. Beth, I learned about Hellebores when I first started blogging and saw them on so many posts. I am so glad I finally planted some--they are such a welcome sight in early spring. The new doubles are really pretty; I'm hoping they eventually become as floriferous as the singles.

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  3. Such pretty spring flowers. Your crocuses are just glorious and I do love the blue of the scilla and the purple hyacinth in combination with the other colors. Wonderful!

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    1. The blue of the scilla is one of my favorite colors in the garden, Dorothy, and it's a great accent with other bulbs this time of year.

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  4. Hello Rose!
    Yes, this spring is late here too. I've seen some crocuses in my garden, others plants are without leaves, some buds are on berry bushes.
    Love your photos, hellebore, pushkinia and daffodils are very pretty.
    I'm worrying about Vasily, he has no enough warm clothes for such cold weather.
    I think you teacher was a wise woman, I love this saying 'Patience is a virtue'!

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    1. Nadezda, I think it is you I have to thank for the puschkinia, because I think your blog is where I first saw them. I just love them! It's even colder in Chicago than it is here, so I hope Vasily is doing well.

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  5. We are having a late spring here, too, and yesterday it was snowing! I guess I'm still working on the virtue of patience, ha! You have some lovely early blooms, though. Such beautiful hellebores! My early daffodils and crocus have started blooming, and my Scilla are just starting to open. Maybe your daffodils are 'Ice Follies'? They look like mine, which are starting to open now too.

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    1. Indie, it is snowing here today! I think we're all tired of this weather, especially after having some teases of spring earlier. You could be right about the 'Ice Follies'; as I said, I buy a big bag of mixed varieties and don't bother to try to identify which is which. Even the ones I did know at one time are fading from my memory:)

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  6. You have quite a few blooms for this miserable Bloom Day. April has been quite the disappointment. Snow flurries here this morning. The wind won't quit either. Bah humbug. I mean Happy GBBD.

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    1. Same thing here this morning, Lisa--spitting snow and gusty winds. Other than a few nice days this past week, I have been pretty crabby this spring:)

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  7. Your spring blooms are lovely and the Puschkinia is especially interesting. I will have to look into getting some in the fall.

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    1. I love, love spring flowers, Lee, so I'm always adding some new bulbs each fall. I first saw Puschkinia on someone's blog and fell in love with them. They have done really well here, so I keep adding a few more each year. They're similar to Muscari in that they don't take up a lot of room.

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  8. Hello Rose ... I do agree patience is a virtue, and this year it seems wherever you live the weather has been topsy turvey!

    We just had a beautiful Spring-like weekend and the gardens in the neighbourhood are beginning to look very pretty with their Spring blooms.

    It was lovely to see all of your photographs here. Nature is wonderful and provides so many wonderful plants and flowers.

    Take care, my good wishes.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Jan, it has been a crazy winter everywhere this year. I think all of us here in the US are just so tired of winter--it has hung around far too long. Next week is supposed to be warmer, so I'm hoping the tulips will finally bloom--my favorite time of year!

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  9. Your daffodils are so lovely. I planted a bunch of them last year as they are the one thing that the deer do not eat. Sadly, only three came up. I don’t know what happened. Did the rabbits dig them up? Do I vole? I don’t know. It is so disappointing.

    We need all that rain that you got, or snow. I think I’d even take that. It is so dry in Colorado. We are already on high alert for fires. I think our moisture blew on by this year and made its way to your world. When it warms up, your garden should really be beautiful with all that moisture.

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    1. Some of my daffodils aren't doing as well this year either, Sally. But those that have bloomed have had to endure snow, sleet, and cold, so I give them high marks for their perseverance. I wish we could send some of our rain your way and to other places like Oklahoma. It seems like whatever the weather, it goes to one extreme or the other.

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  10. Your hellebore was beautiful! Wow!
    Thank you for sharing.

    Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry

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    1. Thanks, Jeanie. I've come to appreciate these early blooms more and more and have a hard time passing up new ones I find in the nursery:)

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  11. Good morning dear Rose,
    What a lovely blooms are showing up in your springgarden.
    So welcome after wintertime.
    Have a wonderful day
    Rosehugs Marijke

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    1. Hi, Marijke! Yes, these blooms are a welcome sight after such a long winter. They are also pretty tough, as they have had to endure more winter blasts lately.

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  12. Rose, your lovely garden makes it look and feel like Spring, quite effectively belying the temp outside right now. It is supposed to warm up a bit today here in Southern Illinois, and I hope the warmth and sunshine manage to last for a while.

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    1. So good to hear from you again, W2W! Yes, I am looking at next week's forecast and telling myself to just hang on till then. I am itching to get back out into the garden.

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  13. Lovely Spring post Rose. The Hellebores are beautiful, I love the double. Such a delicate shade.

    'Everything comes to those who wait' was my Mothers favourite saying.

    It has been a difficult Spring here to but at the moment we are in the midst of fine weather.
    I am almost frightened to say that.

    Enjoy your week Rose

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    1. Isn't that double pretty, Cheryl? Something tells me I may be buying a few more of these this year:) Oh yes, I heard that phrase about "Everything comes to those..." often, too. I usually think of myself as a patient person, but this April has pushed me to the limit. I am longing to see tulip blooms!

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  14. Your daffodils are looking good. Still waiting for about 98% of ours to bloom here.

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    1. It certainly has been a late spring, Jason. My tulips are just now beginning to open, and usually they are done by now.

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  15. Spring is the most beautiful season because we've been waiting for it throughout the long winter!
    I love your beautiful spring garden !!
    Greetings

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    1. Thanks, Ela. It has certainly been a long wait this year!

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