GBBD: Remembering Spring

In my last Bloom Day post, I worried that spring would never arrive.  But not surprisingly, all I needed was a little more patience, for less than two weeks later, spring burst forth in all its grandeur.  Suddenly, daffodils were dancing everywhere, and each day new tulips opened up their blooms.

Now, two short weeks later, most of the tulips are just a memory.  I know that on Bloom Day we are supposed to be sharing what is blooming now, but since I haven't posted for a month, please bear with me--I just have to share all these happy blooms from the past few weeks.  I promise to keep the narrative to a minimum and let you just enjoy the sights.

Every spring I am eager to see what tulips emerge, both the new bulbs I planted the fall before and the old faithfuls I have had for a few years.  Since tulips are not very long-lived and because they are a popular treat for certain varmints (more on that later), one never knows just how many or which ones will appear.  I planted more 'Margarita' last fall because the old ones were looking puny last year and was happy to see the new plantings looking good.

I also planted lots of orange tulips last fall, because I had very few in my garden.  I think I might have gotten a little carried away, though, because I had so many different orange tulips that I couldn't remember which was which. This is 'Gudoshnik'--I think.

This is 'Orange Van Eijk,' according to my planting notes from last fall.

After being impressed last spring with 'Lightning Sun,' I ordered more for this year.  One photo doesn't do these justice--they have variegated coloring in shades of orange to red, and the color varies from one bloom to another.  As they age, the petals remind me of an Impressionist's brushstrokes. Both 'Lightning Sun' and 'Gudoshnik' are tall Darwin tulips purchased from John Scheepers and should last for several years.

I did plant more than orange tulips last fall, in case you were wondering.  'Barcelona' is a lovely rose-colored pink; I just wish I had gotten a better photo of these, minus a car in the background:)

Then there were the returnees: although I prefer the tall hybrid tulips, I do love these little species tulips 'Lady Jane.'  The best part besides their longevity is that they multiply.

My namesake 'Rosalie.'

A double, 'Pink Star.'

And another double, one of my long-time favorites, 'Angelique.'

And what has become my very favorite tulip of all, 'Akebono.'  Another Darwin tulip, these return every year, yet just to make sure I always have some,I add a few more each fall.

There were many more returning tulips that I have simply forgotten the names of.  I wish I could identify the ones above so I could order more this year; they really were beautiful.  Notice I also had a healthy crop of henbit and dandelions this spring.

Some type of Rembrandt tulips.

Shades of yellow

Pale pink/lavender in the shade garden

Orange and purple are not a color combo I would usually choose, but I'll take it here.

And finally, two whose names I do remember and usually the latest to bloom, 'Maureen' and 'Queen of the Night,' with some early 'Purple Sensation' alliums.

Tulips are my favorite bloom of spring, no matter what color or type.  Although most did very well this year, despite the late start and quickly rising temperatures, there were a few disappointments.  The biggest disappointment was in my roadside garden, where I planted an additional two dozen bulbs last fall.  Whether it was the voles that have invaded that area or another varmint or the standing water from the floods in February, only one measly tulip appeared!  This is not the first year this has happened, so I am finally waving the white flag--this fall I am going to stick to daffodils and alliums in this area.

Tulips and other bulbs weren't the only blooms this spring.  The first week of May the flowering trees began to bloom, including the redbuds.

The week before, I was sure the crabapples had been nipped by frost, but thankfully I was wrong.

For one glorious week, my driveway looked like my header photo, once again.

The old lilac has gotten huge and was full of blooms that smelled divine.  I have two newer, smaller lilacs, including one called 'Scent and Sensibility' that also has a sweet fragrance.  But nothing compares to the scent of this original!

Spring is my favorite time of year, but sadly it is the shortest season here in Illinois.  After one week of heaven, the trees dropped their blooms and leafed out, and the lilacs faded.  Only a few fading tulips remain. Temperatures soared into the 80's and even the 90's a couple of days, and we have sped straight into summer.  If nothing else, spring is a reminder of transient beauty and the importance of slowing down and enjoying the moment.

But while I am sad to see spring fly by so quickly, the garden has gone into overdrive, providing more blooms as it transitions into summer.  One of my favorites above, Amsonia tabernaemontana.

Small alliums in the shade garden.

The taller 'Purple Sensation' are taking over one corner of the Arbor Bed!

My original bleeding heart is a no-show this year, but the newer 'Gold Heart' dicentra is doing well.

The tiny blue flowers of  'Jack Frost' Brunnera are a favorite of mine, and I have added several more of these the last two years.

It does pay to take the time and look closely around you--I almost stumbled over this Trillium one day while weeding in the shade garden.  I am so excited to see it, as woodland plants often don't do well for me in the dry shade of this garden area.

The Butterfly/Pollinator garden is also coming to life.  Camassia were the first to bloom, but I didn't take time to get a single photo.  Now Phlox pilosa, or PPPP as Gail calls them, are showing up here and there.

Golden Alexanders are also flourishing, which delights me

 since I tried for years to get them established here.

If you have stuck with me till the end of this post, I thank you.  And while I am sorry to see spring come and go so quickly, there are daily reminders like this 'Immortality' iris that there is much more to come in the garden in the coming months.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is hosted on the 15th of each month by Carol of May Dreams Gardens.  There are sure to be many, many blooms to see this month so hop on over and join in the celebration of spring!

ABC Wednesday: Looking Up

Oh, it is Spring! Looking through my files of photos, I do have some O's for this week's ABC post.

First, we have Oleander. A common shrub across the world from the Mediteranean region to southern China, this particular plant was photographed in Arizona.

Oleander shrubs are seen everywhere in Arizona from home landscaping to highway plantings. They can even grow as trees as in the picture above. As beautiful and long-blooming as they are, I'm not sure I would want them in my own backyard. A member of the dogbane family, oleander is highly toxic.

I don't have to look beyond my yard, however, to find the next O--my grand old oak tree that I've determined is over 200 years old. I've used this tree before in several posts, including an ABC post last fall, using its botanical name Quercus Macrocarpa. This photo was taken last summer, however; it's just beginning to show the faint signs of green leaves right now.

While the majestic old oak is my favorite tree, in the spring I'm partial to the redbuds. I've discovered, though, that capturing the almost fluorescent lavender of its spring blooms is nearly impossible on a sunny day, and a cloudy day isn't much better.

After a beautiful but windy weekend, the clouds rolled in with rain for the past two days. You can see the redbud to the right in this picture. Yes, in the springtime it's my favorite tree . . .

. . . or maybe this pink flowering crabapple is my favorite. Once all the blooms open up, it's magnificent.

Of course, it's hard to choose between the pink crabapples and the red ones. (There's a sprig of redbud to the left that shows its color!)

But there's also something to be said for the white crabapple. Oh, it's so hard to choose--I just love them all!

This week, as April moves into May, is one of my favorite times of the year as all the flowering trees burst into bloom, and the long lane leading to our house looks like something out of a fairy tale. Sadly, though, this year the fairy tale didn't end happily ever after. I took all these photos on Saturday and Sunday, and by Monday I noticed many of the blooms had blown to the ground and no new ones were opening up. The red crabs bloomed for two days at the most, and the pink ones had only a few blooms. The white crabapple looks pretty good above, but it's at least a week earlier than last year and not nearly as full of blooms.

Last year this is what my driveway looked like on the first of May, with the white crabapple still waiting to blossom. Beckie and I were talking today about the lack of flowering crabapple blooms this year. Another local blogger, Joyce, commented last week that her crabapples had been hurt by the cold winter. It makes me sad to think this year I won't see the same view as above. But at the same time, Beckie commented how much better her plum tree looks this year, and I've noticed that all the magnolia trees seem to have blossomed earlier this year without the all too often damage from frost. I guess it just shows that Mother Nature can surprise us at any time.

Speaking of surprises, by far the biggest surprise this spring has been the two old apple trees--they are literally bursting with blooms. I have never seen them bloom like this; I wonder if that means if they will have even more apples this year? Actually, I hope not--I still have a freezer full of applesauce:)

What's even more surprising to me is that one of these apple trees is still standing. You can see the huge hollow area in its lower trunk; I'm worried that a strong storm one day might be the end of this apple tree. But then again, one never knows--Cheryl also posted about her beautiful old apple tree on Monday, complete with a similar hollow.

While I've spent sunny days lately looking downward, digging in the dirt and looking for new growth in the garden, it's good to look upward and see blooms sent from above.

To see more ABC posts, you can visit here.

April's Last Hurrah

There's an old cliche in Illinois (and probably elsewhere) that says, "If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes and it will change." That has certainly been true here the last few days. Last week started out with beautiful spring weather, and my hyacinths were in all their glory.

By the end of the week it was summer, or so it seemed--so hot and humid that the hyacinth blooms dried up and blew away, as did my daffodils. Then it became colder and colder; by Monday the weather gods were so confused they didn't know what to do. The sun shone, then it rained, then it snowed, then sleeted, then hailed, all in less than a few hours. I put blankets over my hydrangeas and a few other tender perennials Monday night in preparation for the freeze warnings. Thankfully, we didn't get the freeze forecast for that night and the next, and everything has survived.

The forecast for the rest of this week is warmer once again, and I'm hoping that lasts. My flowering crabapple trees were just about to bloom last week.

This week, in spite of the crazy weather, most of them have opened up.

They put on quite a show for a week or two for anyone who drives up our lane. These trees were all planted by my in-laws some years ago, and as you can see, there are at least two varieties of flowering crabapples. Perhaps some people think the pink and red clash, but I like the effect. The green tree to the left of the photo is another variety of crabapple, I think; it has white blooms that are not quite open yet.

If the weather isn't being cooperative for gardening, what's a girl to do? Why, go shopping, of course! And that's just what my good friend Beckie and I decided to do. By the way, in my last post I wrote about good friends of mine that I had taught with for many years. Beckie and I have been best friends even longer than that, which is pretty amazing since we're both only 35!

Ok, wipe the smile off your face, and back to the subject...

Since we both find shopping for plants infinitely preferable to clothes shopping, we decided to visit a couple of garden centers, including Prairie Gardens, where we attended a few workshops earlier this month. I have been wanting to try a newer species of gallardia called "Oranges and Lemons," and luckily I found just enough for the area I've planned. We bought a few other perennials we've been looking for, but resisted the temptation, for the most part, to buy annuals--it's still too early here for them. We checked them out, though, and took some notes and some pictures to remind us in a week or two what we'd like to buy.

There was certainly no shortage of petunias! Growers must be coming up with a new variety every year. There were the now-common wave petunias, the supertunias (my favorite), million bells, and something called surfinia (I'm not sure now if that is the correct name). I love this lavendar double petunia pictured below and plan to buy some later for containers. It was in a hanging planter, so I didn't get the name of it, but I'm sure I'll recognize it when I see it again.

By the time we hit the second garden center, our wallets were getting a little thin, so we mostly window-shopped, although neither of us could resist buying a yellow fusion impatiens. It was a little pricey, so I'm hoping we'll be able to find more of these a little cheaper in a couple of weeks. I didn't check the price on this basket of pink double impatiens below, but I'm sure it was more than I wanted to spend. I love this look, though, and am going to try to duplicate it myself. Last year was the first time I had ever seen double impatiens--they look just like miniature roses and far outshine regular impatiens.

One last stop before going home--we wanted to see the Master Gardeners' Idea Garden on the U. of I. campus. We had stopped there at the end of March when the only thing "blooming" was the rabbit planters. What a difference three weeks can make! Although there weren't that many spring blooms, there was green everywhere.

The nice thing about this garden is that every plant is clearly marked with a sign indicating its species and common name besides its native habitat.

The Master Gardeners experiment with many different varieties and species so that it's a great place to see how well a particular plant might do in this area. This beautiful flowering quince, for example, is not very common here, I believe, but it's obviously thriving in this plot.

I can't believe I have lived in this area all my life, and yet this is the first year I've ever visited this gardening site. Beckie and I made a vow to visit here often during the summer to enjoy the garden and to pick up new ideas for next year.

Finally, it was time to go home--I had to get to my granddaughter's soccer game. But we hadn't gone more than a few hundred feet down the street when we spotted a whole field of lilacs. Well, of course, we had to stop to see--and smell--them. There were several varieties of lilacs planted, including this beautiful, but not very fragrant, white lilac.

The field is on part of the University campus, but there were no signs, and I couldn't find any note of it on the official campus map. My guess is that it is part of an experimental plot for the horticulture department, since this whole area includes other gardens and groves of trees.

We finally tore ourselves away and made it home in time for the soccer game. As you can see, there was still plenty of room in the back of my van; I think we showed remarkable restraint on our shopping spree, don't you? Of course, next time I'll take out the back seat so we have more room!