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!

Is it Spring Yet?? March GBBD

Goodness, it's been awhile since I have participated in Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.  But I haven't had much to show off the past few months.  There have been no forced bulbs indoors to brighten up a winter's day--I never did find those amaryllis bulbs I stored away last fall; they will probably turn up in July:)  And I really didn't think anyone would want to see the straggly plants I potted up to over-winter and then promptly neglected.  So I opted out of the past few Bloom Days, waiting for the first spring blooms to appear so that I had something worthwhile to share.

It has been such a weird winter weather-wise.  We haven't had enough snow all season to do much more than cover the ground for a few days before it melted, and I don't think the temperatures ever dropped below 0, both very unusual for Illinois.  February was the warmest February on record for our area, and I fully expected to have an early spring.  We spent last week visiting the two youngest grandchildren in Texas, where the temps were in the 70's nearly every day, so I was expecting to come home to see a garden full of daffodils.  Instead, I found this:

And this:

Poor little Scilla and daffodils shivering in the snow.  Once again, winter has returned, though not with the vengeance that has struck the Northeast--again, just enough snow to cover the ground.

I really had high hopes for an early spring, after the early appearance of some blooms in February:

On February 18 the first snowdrops appeared.  They always come as such a surprise to me--I had been looking for signs of them for days with no luck, and then as if by magic, they appeared in full bloom on this February morning.

On February 23, the first crocuses opened up,

 a new record for the earliest crocuses in my garden, I believe.

That last week in February was so warm that I spent some time cleaning up in the garden--what a treat to finally be able to work outside!  I was ready to call it a day after a few hours, but I decided to check the shade garden where I found these fat Hellebore buds.  I promptly put on the gardening gloves once again and began snipping away all the old foliage so they could get the attention they deserve.  They're probably blooming by now, but unfortunately, they're covered in snow, so I can't tell.

But back to today--instead of all the spring blooms I thought I might have by now, everything is in a holding pattern.  More crocuses have opened up in the past week or two, but for now they are huddled up waiting for the sun and warmer temps.

A few Scilla have been brave enough to appear, though most are waiting, too, for the snow to melt.

The big old lilac has budded up--the only plant I'm concerned about now.  I'm afraid these early buds may be doomed after this latest cold spell.

But other than the lilac, I'm not too worried.  Daffodils and tulips are up all over the place, waiting for the right time to bloom.  Spring will arrive whenever it is good and ready.

Thanks to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting another Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, and congrats on the new book, Carol!

Spring Tease

Is it really spring yet, or is winter going to hang around for awhile longer?  These days it's hard to tell--one day I'm working in short sleeves and turning off the furnace, and the next, I'm pulling out my winter coat again and checking to make sure the heat indoors really is turned on.  The one thing that has been constant about the weather for the past week or more is the wind.  Remember, I live in the country where the wind blows unimpeded across the flat lands, sending garbage cans far out into the field and laundry on the line into the yard, clothespins and all. I made the mistake of trying to work one day in the wind, and every few minutes my large garden bag would blow over, dumping all the stems and leaves I had just stuffed into it.  I took it as a sign and gave up.  At least we haven't had snow, like so many parts of the country . . . but I'd better knock on wood, because there's a chance of it tomorrow.

A few warm weeks in March tricked me into thinking that spring had come early this year, and tricked my garden as well.  My poor plants must be so confused!  The Macrophylla Hydrangeas and the clematis leafed out before I could even prune them; I hope the freezing temps this week don't have any long-term effects on them.

It is definitely looking like spring around here, though, even if it doesn't feel like it at times. Magnolia trees and other early-flowering trees are blooming around town, and everywhere you look, daffodils are bobbing their cheery heads in the wind.  Good thing daffodils are tough!

I didn't realize how many different daffodils I have added to the garden in the past few years.

Daffs mark Roco and Tarzan's grave 

(and several other late beloved pets as well, including Granddaughter's guinea pigs).

I don't remember the names of most of the daffodils, particularly since I've been buying more collections of different naturalizing varieties the past few years.  But this is one I remember--'Mount Hood'--a strong and tall beauty.

In recent years my tastes have changed, and I've come to love the smaller blooms of slender narcissus.  Lining the short path in the arbor bed are what I think are 'Minnow.'

Aren't these adorable?  And yes, I know the photo is a bit blurry--

it's hard to get anything to stand still in this relentless wind.

Double daffs near the lily bed--'Replete,' maybe?  

There are several clumps that definitely need dividing.

I've been relatively pleased with my latest planting.  Last fall I planted nearly a hundred daffodils--a collection of different varieties for naturalizing--at the corner of our yard.  There is a stand of pine trees bordering the south edge of the yard, and my vision is to have a "river" of daffodils between the trees going all the way from the roadside to the house.  Obviously, it's going to take several years--and probably more than a thousand bulbs--to complete this vision:)

On the other hand, the bulbs I planted in the fall of '14 around the oak tree in the expanded shade garden have multiplied a little already.  In a couple more years, this area should be more like the mass of daffodils I envisioned.

No flower exemplifies true spring to me more than tulips.  The tulip parade hasn't begun here yet, but there are plenty of other early bloomers to enjoy.  The hyacinths have been blooming for a week or more and probably won't last much longer.

Last fall I added more hyacinths in shades of pink.  I remember running out of places to put them, so they're scattered here and there.

But the purple hyacinths seem to do the best here.

Easter weekend was warm and beautiful, and I took advantage of the sunny day to bend down and get a whiff of their heavenly scent.  An added bonus--the first bee I've noticed this season was enjoying the hyacinths as much as I was.

He took no notice of the lady with a camera and creaky knees and burrowed deep into the blossoms.

Just look at the pollen sacs on this little guy!

Early spring is a time when small blooms really stand out and are much appreciated as most of the garden is just starting to emerge.

Most of the crocuses are long gone, but the giant crocus mix planted last fall in the very front lawn are still blooming.  I don't know how much longer I can hold off the Lawnmower Man from mowing this area, but I hope long enough for them to get all their nutrients to survive till next spring.  Another "vision" of mine that needs several hundred more bulbs to complete!

Scilla in the shade garden add touches of my favorite color.

Note to self:  must plant many, many more of these.

And probably my very favorite of the small spring blooms--Puschkinia.  

I planted more of these last fall, but I would be happy to have a whole mass of these.  

A few primroses survived the winter to add some bright color.

And the very first Muscari are just beginning to bloom.

Did I say the tulips have yet to bloom?  Obviously, I was wrong, because the very first tulips began to bloom today.  While I do remember the names of most of my tulips, these are a mystery to me--I don't remember planting these, let alone their name.

More tulips are forming fat buds, so it won't be long now before there is much more color in my garden.  Spring may have been teasing us, but the forecast for a week from now looks much better with temps in the '60's--perfect weather for tulips!

April Bloom Day--Spring at Last!

April--the month I consider true spring here in Illinois.  We've had our share of April showers, of course, along with some wild weather including hail and threat of tornadoes.  But in between, the calm days have been sunny and warm, including Easter Sunday, which had to be one of the most beautiful Easters we've had in a long time, a perfect day for the grandkids to run through the yard hunting Easter eggs.  It is also the time when the garden finally wakes up, and each day seems to bring a new surprise.

For this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, I am sharing a few photos that were taken last week.

The crocuses are fading fast, but they were a welcome sight to begin the gardening season.

Every year I plant more, and my efforts have been rewarded with some nice big clumps.  I love these striped crocus--'Blue Pearl,' maybe??--and must remember to add many more of these this fall.

The daffodils first opened up on Easter Sunday, appropriately enough.  The standard yellow NOID's are the first to bloom, but there will be many more of different colors and forms in the coming weeks.

One of my favorite small blooms of spring are these Scilla in the shade garden.  I don't remember if I planted more last fall or they have multiplied somewhat, but either way, more of these will be ordered this fall, too!

The Hellebores have taken awhile, but they have finally opened up, too.

Part of a collection I ordered from a mail-order company several years ago, they're all "ladies" of some type--'Red Lady,' 'Green Lady,' etc.--but I really don't know which is which, because they're all either white or deep red/burgundy.

The warmer temperatures last week really jump-started the hyacinths, which went from tightly closed buds to fully opened blooms in a matter of days.

I'm still not completely finished with gardening clean-up. due to rainy days and some other commitments.  But I couldn't resist planting a few pansies and violas in one pot.

One of the many delights of the spring are the surprises in the garden--surprises because I can't remember what I had planted the previous fall!   I had completely forgotten I had planted a few more miniature narcissus near my miniature Japanese garden until they appeared a few days ago.  On checking my notes, I found these are 'Topolino,'

Sasha kindly helped to show a sense of scale here so you can see just how diminutive these are.

Another surprise--some Chionodoxa, also known as "Glory of the Snow," under the lilac.  Actually, these bloomed last year, too, but once again, I had forgotten all about them.

Another new bloom this year--and one I had also forgotten I had even ordered, much less planted--are these Iris reticulata.  These are also planted by the miniature Japanese garden, and I think 'Harmony' is a perfect addition here.

 But my favorite surprise of all--Puschkinia scilloides, or Striped Squill.  I have admired these on other people's blogs for several years, and I can't believe I finally remembered to order some last fall.  Ten of these little beauties are blooming now, and I think they'll need some more company next year.

As I said at the beginning, all these photos were taken late last week, because by the time this posts, I will be in Texas cuddling my youngest grandson once again--no doubt posting lots of photos on Facebook:)  When I left, the lilac was leafing out, one flowering crabapple and the small serviceberry (above) were budding, and some tulips looked about ready to bloom.  Who knows what I will find when I return next week?  I am going to enjoy every minute of cuddling with Grandson, now almost four months old, but I'm looking forward to even more surprises in the garden when I return!

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Garden for hosting GBBD each month and for her constant inspiration.  I expect this month will see a host of people joining in celebrating the arrival of spring.