“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food, and medicine for the soul.” ~Luther Burbank; American horticulturist
As I walked out of my back door on Friday to do a bit of gardening, I was hit with the most incredible smell. I had been longing for this smell all spring, but with the cold spell we have had for weeks, the smells were suppressed waiting for a warm spring breeze. But Friday, oh
Friday I was a child again. My soul surely rejoiced at the heavy perfume of every hyacinth growing. While some are waning, they are still casting their fragrance everywhere I walk. I scoured the meadow looking for one of my favorite wildflowers. I watched birds gathering spent grasses and plant material for nests. I spent hours on the ground looking at small petals finally bursting; wondering how it looked from their perspective. I laid on the warm grass as the sun shone on my face and I smiled oh such a broad ear to ear grin. I listened to bird song finally filling the air. I sat on my favorite rock (that I now share with the snakes) by the pond and ate my lunch. I bathed in every sweet morsel of sunshine I could gather.
You see spring had finally come. It came all at once on Friday. For weeks, the daffs and hyacinths were blooming slowly, but all other blooms were absent. We are still early with our spring blooms, and I was so longing for some more flowers to fill the spaces. To catch my eye and bring a burst of joy to my heart…stopping my breath. This is what I wait for..these special days in the garden where I can be lost for hours immersing all my senses in an unbelievable onslaught of new sensations…bringing back memories they have waited to experience again. To live again as the world spins and I am oblivious to it except for my small patch of earth.
So I present for you my first real spring day in my garden. It was a bit of heave on earth, and I was a child once more fully engaged in play.
Fritillaria uva–vulpis or Fox’s Grape are a new spring addition and they are popping up all over…I hope to see them naturalize and put up lots of nodding blooms.
Many flowers were dancing in the sun with me…here is one of my favorite scilla. Below you can see an early delicate tulip (Tulipa turkestanica) stretching its face to the sun.
Multi-flowering Pink Festival Hyacinths were in their glory bathing in the sun with me as were all the grape hyacinths that are growing in clumps and spreading now all over. I love how they spread.
A great new addition is Juno Iris aucheri. This fragrant northern Caucasus native has been around sine the late 1800s. It is a stunner.
One maple is finally blooming. Some were in flower before the constant freezes and now show no sign of leaf growth. One lilac seems to have frost damage and not much growth. This white lilac below seems to have come through with little browning and hopefully will bloom nicely. Covering it may have paid off.
As I was perusing the raspberries that were leafing out, I spied this beauty flowering…there were no violets a day ago and now look…Such a pleasant surprise to see this native lovely and its cousin below that is blooming all over the front beds and lawn…
This gorgeous Brunnera is one of many varieties I have in the garden. They sustained some frost damage as well, but have rebounded nicely and are growing quickly. I love the blue forget-me-not like flowers that will appear soon.
This native creeping phlox (or is it a moss phlox) really stunned me to see it blooming. Last year I had to wait unti the very end of April and beginning of May to see these bloom throughout the garden. Now they are all covered with buds bursting out. I love these flower buds looking like they are all curled up, unwrapping as they bloom. While new blooms are coming out we still have a few early crocus and hellebore blooming. It is strange to see these blooming with later bulbs such as Ipheion uniflorum below.
Birds are braving the cooler water to finally bath in the pond especially in early morning. Swallows are returning, other birds are scoping out the nest boxes and trees as they gather nesting materials. And we have a little elusive frog in the pond. But my greatest surprise and joy was finding this wildflower gem below blooming a full 3 weeks early.
Trout lilies are one of my 12 favorite flowers I have been profiling in my Simply the Best series. They are spreading further around the meadow and in a few years I may have quite a colony blooming.
I am linking in with Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day. Mosey on over to May Dream Gardens and Seepferds Garten to see what else is blooming this April around the globe.
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A great old saying is, “If dandelions bloom in April, there will be rain and hot weather in July.” I would welcome both. I can tell you we are overrun with dandelions in bloom already. Great for salad if you do not use chemicals and taste best before they bloom. I was not early enough to harvest mine, but my veg gardens planted in mid March are growing nicely having been protected. You can see some of the lettuces, radishes, beets and garlic below. Just growing are carrots, spinach, arugula, peas,onions and collards. You might spy my nemesis the horsetail weed…still growing strong…sigh. My only casualty was the pole beans (middle left). They are looking wilted and yellowed. I will replant them soon. I am linking in with Veg Plotting’s The 52 Week Salad Challenge.
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I was honored recently with The Sunshine Award from Elaine@rainyleaf and Holley@Roses and Other Gardening Joys for bringing sunshine into others lives. Such a nice sentiment. The rules are to answer questions about your favorite things and recommend 10 blogs. I have a hard time picking favorites, and I think everyone one of the blogs listed in my recently updated blogroll are worthy of the award. Check them out. I hope Elaine and Holley don’t mind that i didn’t quite follow the rules.
Julia@Polka Dot Galoshes is helping to raise money for Autism. April is Autism Awareness month. Check out Julia’s post to see how you can help. It is easy to do and such a worthwhile cause.
Next up on the blog: Next Monday it will be time for another Simply the Best post that ties in with Diana@Elephant’s Eye, and Gail@Clay and Limestone’s Wildflower Wednesday . I will be featuring my Wild Lupines. Then it will time for another Word 4 Wednesday with Donna@Garden Walk, Garden Talk.
I will be linking in with Michelle@Rambling Woods for her Nature Notes meme. It is a great way to see what is happening in nature around the world every Wednesday.
As always, I’ll be joining Tootsie Time’s Fertilizer Friday.
I hope you will join me for my weekly posts, every Tuesday, at Beautiful Wildlife Garden.
Please remember, to comment click on the title of the post and the page will reload with the comments section.
You brought a smile to my face too, Donna. I often find myself smiling for no reason other than that I am in the garden and it is filled with bees and butterflies and sweetly perfumed flowers. Thank you for sharing those special moments when you know its spring! Christina
My pleasure Christina….it was destiny that spring arrived on Friday in time for GBBD!
Well what a wonderful spring day! That robin sure looks like its enjoying its bath. Cool on the fox grape. I’ve never seen it before it’s lovely.
Sorry for the delay in responding…so glad you enjoyed the post…the water has been very cold.
Pretty April selection for GBBD. So much is in bloom early this year it is hard to narrow it down. Odd pairings too with earlier than normal blooming. Not as much in bloom here as your area, but the bulbs are staying longer. Lots of robins too!
Looks like you caught up and surpassed us..very odd pairings happenings till.
A beautifully written post combined with lovely spring flowers makes for a fantastic read. Thanks so much.
Glad you enjoyed it Mary.
Ah Donna, a post to cheer the heart. Your spring flowers are fabulous. Fritillaria uva-vulpis I will look out for. You had me doing a search for trout lily, we often refer to the Erythronium as dog tooth violets.
Alistair I had forgotten that you call them dog tooth violets. I have seen recent posts featuring Erythronium on your side of the pond. Ours are a bit different with spotted leaves, but the flowers are similar in shape. They are quite small but make a lovely mat of color in the bare soil. So glad you enjoyed my spring blooms.
We are in the middle of spring and I am loving it too!
Elaine
Our spring abruptly ended and was more like March for the latter half…too bad…awaiting May and hopes for better weather.
Good morning Donna. I think that fragrances/aromas are the strongest memory stimulus. My Hyacinth didn’t seem to have strong fragrance this year…or maybe there were other fragrances on the breeze that over powered the hyacinth.
I agree Janet…those scents in the garden will always take me back!
Donna, What an uplifting eloquently written post. You have expressed exactly my feelings about these early spring days! I especially love the Brunneras. I moved my
‘Jack Frost’ from its pot to the ground last year, and it appears to be perfectly happy in its new location. I’m glad they are so hardy.
Dorothy I am so glad you were moved….brunnera is a wonderful plant.
Oh, I’m so glad spring arrived for you! How exciting to go outside and be able to smell the hyacinths! Love all your blooms, but I think the June iris is adorable!
Well spring left us soon after this post…awaiting its return.
Oooo…ahhhh…where do I start?! All your bloom photos are fantastic–especially with the oblique light! How interesting that your Hyacinths are blooming–mine are long gone! Enjoy, Donna! I know the feeling of spring joy you capture so well with your words. 🙂
Wait till you see what is blooming now. Our spring turned to March and it has not been pleasant…no real gardening here…too wet and cold…hoping for better weather in May.
Reading your post brought such a warm smile to my heart. I love how you fully embraced the day. That fox grape bloom is amazing! How lucky you are to have them popping up everywhere. The early tulips have really great blooms too!
Wish the rest of the month had been good in the garden…oh well there is always May.
Hi Donna,
Love your Fritillaria… Really need to try out some of the other species bulbs too!
And nice to see you also have some Tulipa Turkestanica, it’s such a beautiful little Tulip and well worth it too. I just love their stary blooms 🙂
Your garden really is blooming now, isn’t it? It’s looking amazing, and even more amazing that it’s caught up so quickly! No doubt it’ll be well ahead of us soon.
I don’t think we will catch up any time soon with the weather we have had…just awful…maybe May will be better.
Donna – Sometimes I use my vacation days to stay at home and do gardening. It seems like a waste but after reading your delightful post I’m tempted to book a few more days off.
Wish I could arrange for a few more days in May. Late in May I will have some time but for now it will be weekends and evenings as I can…well worth the day off in the garden.
Your little blue Ipheion looks very much like one of my indigenous bulbs. Now they are just an inch of green leaf and I have only the common name. But when my flowers come thru must investigate whether they are related.
Let me know…I would love to hear if they are related.
Isn’t it great when Spring finally arrives in the garden with style! I’m really loving your little scented iris – a little something that I would love to seek out here in the UK to grow.
There is a yellow one as well. It was a pleasant surprise the iris….spring has not been good in the garden. Too hot, too cold…hoping we are going to be more normal in the weather department soon.
I love your little white and blue violet–so precious. Hyacinth smell so wonderful when the sun is warming them. This time of year is so special with something new every day.
Our weather turned quite cold and rainy with some snow and lots of very cold nights…garden is not liking this crazy spring.
Like you, I love sitting in my garden and allowing my senses to expand throughout the garden–making me feel as if I have permeated its majesty. The birds, the blooms, the sounds, the sights are necessary for the health of my soul. Your words describe an oasis of spring that encompasses all the beauty and wonder of nature. I felt as if I were watching you sit there and blend in with reverence. There is a lot of work in the garden now, but I enjoy those moments when I stop and savor all that surrounds me. Happy GBBD!
With the awful weather of late the garden slowed except for the weeds…they are taking over …I hope my knee mends fast so i can get out there.
Hahaha! Donna, you made me laugh, not just smile! I am tickled pink at the thought of you on the ground, laying on the grass, soaking up the sun, looking at flowers recently opened. It sounds wonderful.
What a gorgeous collection of blooms you have already! I love that Fritillaria. My scilla didn’t do well this year for some reason – yours looks lovely!
That white and blue violet is beautiful! Your phlox looks very happy, and that Ipheion uniflorum just knocked my socks off. WOW! So stunning. Trout lilies are one of my favorites too – how nice that you have a colony of them starting!
I’m so glad you got that photo of the bird – they are hard to take! Hopefully we will have some rain soon and many more beautiful days like the one you described for us here. I can practically smell the hyacinths. 🙂
We had the rain but not the warm spring days…more like March..hoping to get caught up in the garden and having more warm days soon.
Your first four photos are stunning! I like your description of your first day of spring in the garden, being like a child again. I had a day like that recently – they are too rare.
I didn’t realize how rare they would be this year…hoping May holds more days like I experienced.
dear donna, when o when will internet technology allow us to package and send scent to share with our fellow bloggers? In the meantime you have done the best possible job with words and pics. Superbly photographed, divine blooms. cheers, cat
Cat I am so happy your senses were enticed by the post….it would be great to be able to smell the pictures…
So lovely is the fragrance of hyacinths. They take me back to my childhood too. That and Mimosa of all things. I wish all the best for your springtime and also the days of summer.~~Dee
Thx Dee…spring has been cold and the garden is suffering a bit…we shall see how the rest of spring unfolds.
Wonderful spring! I have had moments like yours, and it is so good to just be in the garden, not to work or plan, but just to soak it all in, to replenish the soul. I love all your blooms!
Thx Deb…we do need the days in the garden to recharge us.
Ahh…lovely, what a wonderful day in your garden! I bet that one day rejuvenates you for the entire week right?! I am so interested in some of your little spring flowers..like the Fritillaria, trout lilies and Juno iris. I wonder if they would do well here. I’ll have to look them up. Thank you for sharing your diverse Spring beauties!
It certainly had to sustain me for weeks since it was the last nice day for weeks.
I truly enjoyed your display of spring blooms. I have tried growing trout lilies in several different places on my mostly shady acreage and have not had any luck. They never come back after the first year. Glad to see yours are doing well.
Ann they can be fussy. Sometimes it could take years for them to show up. They do want lots of spring sun before the trees leaf out, but the soil does not have to be anything special. Mine are growing in clay. Here is some additional info on them.
http://gardenseyeview.com/2012/02/09/simply-the-best-february/
You articulated perfectly how I felt on Monday. It made my heart sing..I noticed that we have violets in the lawn and some woodland strawberries. The american toads were singing again…Loved this post Donna..
Thx Michelle…our toads are singing too…I am on the lookout for shady dry area natives for you 🙂
Donna, I’m so happy you had a perfect spring day to revel in–and that you have the kind of spirit that can revel in perfect spring days! Your Ipheion are gorgeous, and I love the Tulipa turkestanicas. I’ve been thinking of adding some to my Brent & Becky’s list, and it helps to see them in a real garden, not just a catalogue. Amazing that you still have crocus and hellebore in bloom, too. The bird in your pond makes me glad for indoor tubs and hot water on demand…
Well the garden is still producing hellebores more than tulips and the hosta made the mistake of leafing out… many are fried by the ice.
I am the same way with hyacinths! I just love their scent and it always takes me a moment to realize what it is… though I planted them 🙂 Everything looks so pretty for spring in your garden! i love your fritillaries… perhaps you should plant some more in your damp patch? Happy April!
Julie
Julie I plan to add more fritts..they once in the damp patch are doing great…so cute
Just beautiful! Your spring garden is such a pleasure to see.
So glad you enjoyed it.
Sounds like a fabulous spring! Great photos too! I had never seen the fix’s grape before. Very cool!
So glad you enjoyed the blooms.
Wow, your flowers are all gorgeous. Thanks for sharing your lovely gardens. Your photos are beautiful. Have a great day!
Happy you enjoyed your garden visit.
Donna, i can’t just say i love anyone because they are all so beautiful. However, the 3rd photo hit me with something, maybe because i have been longing for a macro lens!
Andrea so glad you liked the photos…I actual only have a point and shoot with a 16x zoom lens built in…what I would give for a DSLR and macro…
Lovely spring show. I wish I was in a slightly higher garden zone. All I have at the moment is creeping phlox and myrtle. No iris yet. And not a tulip to be had. Soon though. There working on it. Very cheery post and a stunning selection of plants!
Lorraine I hope your garden has bloomed more…mine has been stuck int eh cold weather…waiting for some more warm weather.
Lots going on in your garden. I love violets but find that most gardeners don’t like them. When you visit, you can have some bright yellow and pink violets.
Oh I cannot wait for those violets Carolyn.
Donna, you write flowers are “dancing” . Yes, you ‘re right, all flowers love and need sun, may be only just a little. In my Northern garden first flowers catch the sun rays too.
I love how the morning rays catch the brave flowers these days in the cold garden.
so many ooh ahhs in your Spring collection. Loved the gentle pink of the hyacinth and the blues of Ipheion. The trumpeting tulips seems to be heralding the sheer joy of this post
p.s. Have given a nod to your featured book review for Earth Day. Great choice