GBBD: April Beauties

I know I am really, really late to this month's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, but with Easter weekend, tax day, and many commitments the past two weeks, I haven't had time to sit down and read blogs for awhile.  But what a difference a month makes!  In March I had a few early bulbs trying to bloom in the snow, and this month . . . well, let me show you . . .

Since the end of March there has been a steady stream of daffodils blooming.

From the standard yellow trumpet daffodils to ruffled doubles to . . .

. . . daffodils with contrasting cups to . . .

. . .  miniature daffodils.

I've forgotten the names of most, except for 'Mount Hood,' 

a white beauty that has been a vigorous multiplier.

After the rabbits and/or deer ate many of my tulips after a bad winter a few years ago, I have been planting many more daffodils than tulips.  Most of my purchases have been collections of bulbs for naturalizing, another reason I don't know the names of most of these.

But I like the variety and the longer bloom time from these collections.  

These slender narcissi in the shade garden are one of my favorites.  As you can see, there is so much more blooming right now than daffodils--hellebores are still going strong, tulips are at their peak, tiny pushkinia dot the front of the garden here and there, as well as a few early perennials.

The only disappointment this year has been the flowering crabapples.  I wait all year for that one special week in the spring when our long lane is a bower of blooms, as you can see in my header photo from last year.  But most of the crabapples didn't bloom as much as usual; perhaps one of the cold nights we had two weeks ago nipped the buds. It has happened before, so I am hoping that next year all the blooms will return.  The white flowering crab was filled with blooms, however, though the wind and rain this past weekend finished them off.  And it has been a great year for redbuds.

I was worried about the lilacs last Bloom Day, as they were budding up just as a freeze hit us, but I needn't have worried.  The old lilac was in full bloom for Easter Sunday.

Other perennials blooming right now include the Pulmonarias and the Epimedeum above.  

'Jack Frost' Brunnera, still one of my favorites.

The old-fashioned Bleeding Heart is blooming as is my newest bleeding heart added last year, Dicentra 'Gold Heart.'  The foliage on this plant is stunning!

And finally, one of the best parts of spring to me--it is Tulip Time!

Because tulips can be short-lived, every spring is a surprise since I never know what will return.  A few of my favorites that I was happy to see come up again include 'Ad Rem' above.

My "namesake" 'Rosalie' also returned.

As did the longer-lived species tulips, 'Lady Jane.'  These are multiplying as well.

The neon-bright orange tulips that I don't remember ever planting returned 

for what must be their eighth or ninth year!

And my very favorite tulip of all, 'Akebono,' is still as gorgeous as ever.

Then there are a few new varieties of tulips planted last fall including this 'Silverstream.'  It looks like a twin to 'Akebono,' doesn't it?  In fact, if I hadn't marked where I planted these last year, I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

Also new this year is a tulip I've admired on Jason's blog for several years--'Coleur Cardinal.'  They are a little shorter than most of my tulips, so I'm glad I planted them in the front where they can be seen.

'Rembrandt' is also new this year.

Every year I plant more tulips in my roadside garden, hoping for an eye-catching display for passersby, and every year the voles (or some critter) dashes my hopes.  This year was no exception, though a few bulbs escaped being devoured.  These are 'Upstar,' an experiment I tried this year for the first time.  I purchased a bag of these that were intended to be planted, bag and all.  I was pretty skeptical, but the results were better than I expected.

Only a few of the new 'Lightning Sun' survived in this area, which is a shame, because these are a vibrant orange Darwin tulip.  

As I type this, we are having another unusually warm day with temperatures nearing 80 today.  The tulips have been blooming at warp speed the last few days and won't last long in these temperatures.  It's time to get outside and enjoy them while I can!

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day every month and for being patient with latecomers like me:)

A Chilly May Bloom Day

When I was a girl, my father used to watch the local weather forecasts religiously.  I thought he was rather obsessed with it, even though he was a farmer whose livelihood depended on the weather.  As for me,  if it was cold, I put on an extra coat or sweater; if it was raining, I wore a jacket with a hood--what else did you need to know?

Fast forward a few many years later, and I have turned into my father. For the past few weeks, especially, I have checked the forecast every morning, looking at both the hourly and the long-range forecasts:  what time will the rain start today?  Is there one sunny day this week I can work in the garden??  We've had so many rainy days lately that farmers are beginning to worry if they can get their crops planted in time, and workdays in the garden have been few and far between.  I've been especially concerned about the Nursing Home garden where I volunteer on Mondays--we've had to cancel so many workdays recently because it always seems to rain on Mondays!

On top of the rain, the temperatures dropped to an unusual low this weekend with frost warnings for last night and tonight.

A few hardier plants were left outside to fend for themselves.

I went on a major plant shopping spree last week with my friend Beckie, and all those plants were sitting on my back porch and patio waiting for dry weather to plant.  When I heard the forecast for frost, I tucked most of the plants into the barn for protection and covered up my blooming clematis.  Fortunately, there was no frost on the ground this morning, and all the blooming perennials were fine.  But we have one more night to get through before I feel safe enough to bring everything out once again.

Oh well, such is the life of a gardener.  In a couple of months, I'll probably be complaining about the heat and the lack of rain:)  Since there's nothing we can do about the weather, let's take a look at what is blooming on this chilly and windy May Bloom Day.

Some of my friends farther north are concerned about their lilacs this weekend, but that was one thing I didn't have to worry about since they have already finished blooming here.  Little 'Scent and Sensibility' above was covered in pink blooms, and the 'Bloomerang' lilac did well, too.  But my old-fashioned, huge lilac was a disappointment this year.  There were fewer blooms than last year, and they weren't as large as usual.  I've decided this large shrub needs a good pruning soon, but talking to friends, I found I wasn't the only one with this problem.  It may have been a late freeze in April that nipped and stunted this year's blooms.

'Jack Frost' Brunnera is almost finished blooming, but a few tiny blue flowers still remain.

More small blooms that I love on the Solomon's Seal.

The Lamium is also sporting its purple blooms right now.  Plants in the shade garden seem to have doubled in size in the past week, making me wish I'd gotten busy and divided more of them earlier.  The Lamium and the Sweet Woodruff in the forefront, though, are definitely getting moved or culled soon before they engulf this poor hosta!

One of my favorite spring blooms is Amsonia.  Both the Amsonia tabernaemontana above and the Amsonia hubrichtii have done extremely well here, unlike my poor Baptisia which has fallen victim to some kind of varmint, I'm afraid.

Love these pale blue blooms!

Most of the garden is still in that lull between spring and summer blooms, so 'Purple Sensation' Allium really stands out among all the green foliage.

Not much blooming in the Butterfly Garden either, except for Phlox pilosa, which has made itself quite at home here.  This was a gift some years back from Gail at Clay and Limestone, who has gifted many with this practically perfect native.

The blue columbines I planted several years ago have not returned, but this reddish lovely has been a faithful returnee for several years.

It's also iris season.  All of my irises are passalongs, so I don't know their names,

 but I enjoy them nonetheless.

I have several of these lavender lovelies.

My favorite--this is the first time it's bloomed. 

 I'm pretty sure this is one that Beth of Plant Postings gave me; I love it!

Finally, one of my favorite blooms this time of year--'Nelly Moser.'  I'm so happy to see her full of blooms this year after a disappointing show last year.  She's the only plant I took time to cover up last night just to make sure she wasn't nipped by the cold; I can't wait to take off her covers tomorrow to enjoy her blooms again.

There are more blooms, as well--Nepeta, 'May Night' Salvia, and Bleeding Heart, to name a few.  But soon there will be many more, and as you can see, I'm anxiously waiting for the peony show to begin!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is celebrated monthly on the 15th and is hosted by the ever-optimistic Carol at May Dreams Gardens.  

Of Books, Blooms, and Dogs

It's a busy, busy time.  Weeds are growing as fast as the perennials and need to be pulled, and every flowerbed needs to be mulched.  Plant shopping has begun, and with the warm weather, I've been ignoring the average last frost date of May 15 to get an early start on some of the containers. The back porch is so filled with plant purchases already that no one can go through the back door without tripping over a flat of impatiens or all the Carex that came back with me from Texas.

Some tulips are still blooming in the shade garden, but perennials are quickly filling in.

So who has time to read a book?  Actually I do; it's still the best way to relax before falling asleep and to ensure I'll dream about something other than pulling weeds:)  When I realized it was time once again for the monthly meeting of The Book Review Club, I decided to critique the last book I have read, since it was freshest in my mind; it's also a departure from my usual genre.

Cooper Harrison is a broken man.  A former K-9 officer in Boston, he must take a leave of absence after being injured in an explosion during an arrest.  But the psychological scars are even worse, and he is so traumatized by the death of his beloved partner Argos that he resigns from the force.  Months later, he is offered a job by an old friend from his hometown as an animal control officer.  It's a step down in his career and his childhood home is filled with unhappy memories, but Coop's depression has led him to drinking and with his marriage falling apart, he decides to take the job, but only as a temporary position.


Cooper rents an isolated cabin so that his pacing during the middle of the night when he awakes from his nightmares about Argos won't be noticed by neighbors.  Even during the day, he is haunted by his past as he sees a ghost of a dog on his morning jogs around the lake.  But one day he realizes this is no ghost he is seeing, but a stray dog obviously frightened of humans, and he becomes determined to catch it.  Cooper spends days trying to lure the dog, going well beyond normal measures for an animal control officer.  When he finally is able to capture it, the dog is close to death and Coop's friend the vet recommends a merciful euthanasia.  But Cooper feels he owes it to this dog--and on a deeper level, to the memory of Argos--to do everything he can to save him.  He takes the dog into his home while he heals, but only until he finds his owner.  Finding the owner and the person responsible for cruelly abusing this dog becomes Cooper's mission and ultimately his salvation.

Sophie enjoying the late tulips. I don't think she tiptoes, but she hasn't knocked one over yet.

Obviously I'm a dog lover, but I don't usually read stories that focus on animals.  I still have vivid memories of being devastated by Old Yeller as a child.  When I watched the movie Marley and Me, I cried so hard at the end that I knew I could never read the book.  Other animal stories that have happier endings often seem too sappy or sentimental.  But there was something in the reviews of this bestseller that made me think it was worth reading, and I am glad I did.

Coconut's favorite spot while I garden is in the shade of the old lilac.

The Dog Who Saved Me is anything but sentimental.  Cooper Harrison has no intention of getting too attached to the Labrador who is nothing like his beloved German Shepherd Argos; in fact, he never gives him a name but simply calls him "the yellow dog."  Even though small parts of the book are written from the dog's perspective, they are believable in explaining his instinctive reactions and help to explain how the dog became so frightened of humans.

When Older Daughter asked us to keep Frank, a rescue Pug, I said we already had enough dogs in the house.  But who could resist a face like this??

I enjoyed Susan Wilson's novel because it is much more than just a dog story.  As Cooper climbs out of his depression, he finds himself attracted to a woman with her own need to heal.  He also must deal with his estranged father Bull, a Vietnam vet and recovering alcoholic, and Jimmy, his hardened ex-con brother.  Ultimately, Cooper Harrison finds personal redemption, and yes, the book does have a happy ending.

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@Barrie Summy

And now a few scenes from the garden where spring is rapidly turning into summer:

Just a few days ago, the white crabapple was full of beautiful blooms, 

but most have now blown off with the wind and light rains.

But the lilac is still blooming, providing me with perfumed bouquets indoors.

One of my favorite spring perennials, Brunnera 'Jack Frost,' covered in delicate blue blooms.

You have to look more closely to spot the small blooms of Solomon's Seal.

Tulips are fading fast in the warm temperatures of the past week.  I've noticed that the 'Rosalies,' my namesake tulips in the back,  turn a little deeper in color as the days go by and age beautifully.
Wish I could say the same for me:)

Late-blooming tulips 'Queen of the Night' and Marguerite' compete with the emerging Allium.

Other late tulips in the shade garden complement the Bleeding Heart.  Have you noticed I like pink?



Spring has to be the shortest season here in Illinois--oh, how I wish it would last longer!

As with all the books I review here, I received no compensation of any kind for writing this review.  The Dog Who Saved Me was borrowed from our great local library system.