The garden is never dead; growth is always going on, growth that can be seen, and seen with delight.
Henry Ellacombe
Oh-my-goodness!! We actually, finally, definitely hit the 60 degree mark. To be exact it was 68 degrees last Thursday. The last time we saw 60 was at least 6 months ago. Then this past weekend we hit the 70s. And now there is no stopping the garden. It was like a switch had been turned on and what was just breaking through in the morning, burst into bloom by late in the afternoon.
Adding to the warmth is all the rain that has fallen so far this month, 2 and half inches to be precise. It’s a perfect recipe for inducing more and more blooms to grow. And there is lots of green growth from so many bulbs and perennials….OK except most of the crocus-thanks a lot voles.
Of course I had done very little in the soupy, wet garden so I had all the cleanup still to do…not to mention the new chores that will be needed after all the vole and winter damage. And then there are the veg beds to ready quickly as I hope to plant peas and a few other tasty treats soon.
Every day is a new adventure here now, and the spring garden is a perfect place to live in the moment as hour to hour the garden changes. Thankfully I have blooms to parade for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day (GBBD). So I am linking in with Carol@May Dreams Gardens, where she hosts GBBD on the 15th of every month. I am also linking in with Denise@An English Girl Rambles for her Today’s Flowers weekly meme.
I planted lots more of these reliable beauties and they are not disappointing. I love snowdrops because they just make me smile and the voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels leave them alone.
Next up blooming this month have been the early snow crocus. Of course those in the path of any voles either never bloomed…..
or were mowed down to use in the vole’s cushy spring nest, like these….
I am not sure how many ‘Tommies’ or Crocus tommasinianus have survived the vole onslaught. But I am enjoying those that have shown up.
And there are so many Iris reticulata filling in now (see the picture at the top of the post too). Last fall I planted more as these are another bulb the critters leave alone.
I am smitten with the winter aconite that bloomed this year. I have not had good luck with these lovelies in the past, but I found a great spot just off the patio they like, and boy did they fill in.
This Primula vulgaris surprised me as it started blooming already. It is usually the first one to bloom just off the patio.
Puschkinia are just starting to bloom and my goodness they have naturalized beautifully. And the voles did not touch them.
Glory-of-the-Snow is also just appearing and it seems these were not on the voles list either. They also are naturalizing and they collect water for fairies as you can see above.
Hardy Cyclamen is beginning to peek out through the garden debris under the trees where I planted them. It is such a beautiful color to see in early spring after such a long winter.
This raspberry colored Corydalis solida is up and blooming with our very warm weather in the 70s.
And the first hellebore to bloom is always the one in the white garden. I do not know its name and it is too wet to try and get under it right now, but I love the soft rosy coloring against the white on the back of the petals.
This is as far as the daffodils got by the end of day Sunday. They are not coming out even after 2 days of almost 80 degrees. I expect them tomorrow although they may be waiting for Thursday when the cold weather is come and gone again….we are expecting 2 nights of 20 degree temps.
Just a note that I had an impromptu post up this weekend at Beautiful Wildlife Gardens. I helped out a team member by taking their slot. I was singing the praises of our beheaded ash tree that seems to be a critters favorite.
Everyday is a new adventure now as my head is swimming with my senses drenched in spring. Are your senses in overdrive in your garden now?
“Another harbinger of warm days to come is the pussy willow, which I remember fondly as the surest celebration of spring on our Midwestern farm.” ~Susan Wittig Albert
I was recently contacted by Ashley Thompson at ProFlowers about a new project they are doing. She wondered if I would like to be part as it was around photographing flowers. So I of course said, yes. The ProFlowers blog has a great post about Mobile Photography Tips and Instagram. I hope you will check out their post, and join in.
Now truth be told, I do not own a cell phone or use Instagram. But as Ashley said to me, just any camera will do as long as I get out there and take pictures of blooms, and say why I took them. I think the why is obvious as these are the first blooms of spring after a long, cold winter. And I have been having fun using and learning more about the camera I got last year.
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Next up on the blog: Thursday I will have a post about all the foliage popping up as well as the seeds I have finally planted indoors in anticipation of veg gardening. I hope I can get some planted outdoors soon too. Monday will be a great Garden book Review with a book giveaway!!
I am 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 Tuesday.
I hope you will join me for my posts once a month at Beautiful Wildlife Garden. My most recent post is up already. Next post is April 29th.
I can also be found blogging once a month at Vision and Verb. I will be posting again on April 30th.
As always, I’ll be joining Tootsie Time’s Fertilizer Friday.
I am also joining in I Heart Macro with Laura@Shine The Divine that happens every Saturday.
All original content is copyrighted and the sole property of Donna Donabella @ Gardens Eye View, 2010-2014. Any reprints or use of content or photos is by permission only.
Donna, you must be thrilled to see the garden filling out. I’m glad to read which bulbs survived the moles as they do a lot of damage here too, so I can learn from your experience.
Susie, I planted many of the bulbs so we shall see what they dug up. And yes I am ecstatic…the temps are high today and I expect to see a daff open finally. Then after the cold weather coming on T and Wed I hope we settle down for a normal spring.
Wow Donna, you have so much going on! I only have a few crocus and one somewhat-crushed-by-the-glacial-ice snowdrop. The reticulated Iris are just coming up and I see some of the species tulips are also venturing up. The daffodils are growing a few inches each day but not sporting any blooms yet. I am so impressed with that cyclamen! Do you have it in a protected area? I am not sure that would survive in my garden but corydalis is now a must purchase item on my list! I am loving this weather! I finally planted my peas and started clean up but very wet here, too, so there are some areas I can’t get to yet. Spring is glorious!
Kathy, I have cyclamen in between the center grouping of trees and under the trees behind the gazebo so I would say protected especially by the leaves of the trees. Your other bulbs will take off before you know it. The front garden is drier so I got to that this weekend and now I am off to clean up the side gardens also drier. The frogs, toads and snakes are stirring as well.
I hope to plant peas soon but the area around the veg beds is so wet. We will have a frigid nights but after that I think we will roll along! Fingers crossed.
I love all your spring beauties, Donna! Great photos with wonder color! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Sue…today so much more opened up and bloomed…it does just bring such joy to see the colors spread out over the garden.
It’s so amazing how quickly the garden responds to warmth and water. We’ve just had a stretch of warmer, sunnier days here, and the garden loves it! That raspberry-colored Corydalis is very pretty. I have the yellow one, which self-sows and pops up all over. I’ve tried other colors, and they never return the next year.
How funny Alison as this is the only corydalis that grows for me. It stays in nice neat clumps with no spreading. But I think it is time for me to divide the clumps and move them around. The warm weather certainly has pumped life into the garden just in time for frigid cold weather starting Tuesday night.
It is so strange to see all your flowers that finished here so long ago, Donna; it just shows me how different your climate is to mine even though there are some plants that we both grow. How wonderful that you are now enjoying all these spring beauties and all the more welcome after your long wait. We are forecast cold nights this week too down to 3 or 4° C so I hope the tomatoes etc. will be OK.
It is amazing how fast the bulbs are opening with the warm weather, but Tuesday night it will be going down to 20 degrees and in the 20s Wed night…finally leveling out to 50s in the daytime. Sorry to hear about your cold wave Christina…I hope your tomatoes will be OK. Keeping good thoughts. Mine are just sprouting in the basement and will go out at the end of May.
I can’t believe how quickly your spring has arrived! It’s all wonderful Donna, and the bit about the water for fairies in Glory of the Snow was a lovely detail! 😉 So glad you have finally had some warmth and some spring blooms.
Glad you enjoyed the warm spring blooms fairies and all Cathy!! 🙂
Beautiful pictures. Beautiful flowers – love the blue ones!
Judith
Thank you Judith…so wonderful to have you visit!
Wonderful photographs! I am slightly jealous, since we are about 2 weeks behind. The last patch of snow/ice melted today, 4/14/14. Finally! Your early flowers are an inspiration.
Oh Paula it was fast all this blooming. In a matter of days flowers were showing up so you will see your garden blooms very soon. Now we are getting 2 frigid nights and I hope the blooms can manage. With the very warm 80 degree temps we just got, the earlier blooms fade so fast. I prefer a cool start to spring so the blooms last longer. Hoping you see many of your favorites soon in your garden Paula!!
Oh wow, there they are again, my favorite snowdrops, crocus and that one you call glory of the snow! They look so healthy and happy. Your garden starts to grow, while mine starts to go!
So glad I could give you some of the flowers you love Andrea….hopefully you will still have some lovely blooms going even though your garden is going.
Isn’t it wonderful to see all these signs of spring? So many lovely blooms–I just love the iris reticulata. Thanks for letting us know which bulbs are not as appealing to voles. I’m not sure if I had much vole damage this year, but either the rabbits or the deer were especially hungry and chewed off many of my tulips. Needless to say, I’m not too happy about that.
Rose I can’t grow tulips. If the deer don’t eat them as they are blooming then the squirrels chop off their heads. Sad really. So glad you enjoyed the blooms that did make it in the garden this year despite the critters.
So beautiful. And good information about what is vole proof.
Thanks Pat. I planted the bulbs the voles scooped up for their nest and am now waiting to see what they liked.
Gorgeous blossoms!
Thank you Gunilla…it is a joy to see each special bloom in spring.
So many pretty blooms. The weather may be fighting the garden, but spring is coming. I love the Puschkinia, I have found a source, and plan on ordering some for next year 🙂
You will adore the Puschkinia Emily Rose as they naturalize beautifully. Mine took a few years but now they are a gorgeous mat that has spread. So glad for your visit and happy you enjoyed the blooms. We are getting snow today and tonight. I hope this is the last blast.
Love that top picture, the blue is so vibrant
Mollyxxx
Thank you Molly. This is one of the first blues to appear and I love its more muted color.
Love to see your spring flowers, many of which are done here. Lovely snowdrops. I don’t have a cell phone either. I thought I was the only person in the US without one!
Thanks Carolyn. I knew you would love the snowdrops…in a few years as they naturalize more, I will adore how they look. There are a few of us without cell phones and I feel so much better not having one.
Donna you have some very pretty blooms, you have some very warm weather too, here in recent years we are lucky if the summer temperature reaches 17C = 62F,
a thought came to me about your vole/crocus problem, if the voles go for the crocus then I wouldn’t plant the crocus, by planting crocus you could be encouraging the voles to come into your garden, you have shown in this post that there are bulbs you can grow that the voles leave alone, if I really wanted crocus I would grow them in pots out of vole reach and with such long cold winters I would definitely have some crocus planted in pots to enjoy inside on my windowsills, just my thoughts, Frances
A very good thought Frances. I have not planted any new crocus in the last couple of because of the voles, but they live all over this area so it will be interesting to see if they take other bulbs for their nests instead. We are looking to try an electronic repeller that a neighbor uses and likes. They are like mice and just dig all over destroying plants and my veg beds. It will be interesting to try and plant crocus in pots here. Thanks for the idea. Oh and our weather is now 32 degrees and snowing today and tonight with lows in the 20s for 2 nights. I would settle for 60s again 🙂
wow that is quite a big drop in temperature I hope your plants/blooms cope with it, Frances
When I woke this morning we had an inch of snow and all the blooms were bent and frozen. I hope they thaw and are OK but I am not so sure that will happen 🙁
Lovely to see your spring garden come to life after such a hard winter. Sorry to hear that the voles have been munching on your bulbs, in my garden it is the squirrels that keep pinching the bulbs for their lunch and I have no idea how to stop them. But I also know that squirrels don’t like Iris reticulate and tommasinianus crocuses so at least they leave them alone.
Thanks Helene…winter returned today with cold and snow. Should be gone by Thursday. In my old garden the squirrels would go after my crocus and tulips. They are hard to deal with.
You went from 68 degrees back down to 20 degree nights and snow! Yikes. Your head must be spinning. I like Frances’ idea about putting the crocus in pots–that seems worth a try anyway even thought you do have them everywhere. There is such a thing as laying out a banquet for the little buggers. -:))
I agree Susie that it would be best not to plant crocus anymore….we shall see if that helps but I fear they will continue to destroy whatever lays in their way.
Actually it went from 80 yesterday afternoon to 20 tonight…and yikes is right. My poor daffs are snow covered and laying down with the other bulbs.
oh my goodness how i love all your flowers… especially your irises (first pic) and that pink and white flower. what a smile they bring to me… have a great night~
Oh I am so glad you enjoyed the blooms…
There’s lots of beauty in your spring garden, Donna! The striped squill and chinodoxa are stunning. Love the daffodils too. Spring is a time of rebirth – it is so special.
Glad you enjoyed the early blooms Beth…many faded in the unusual heat we had and now others are laden with snow…but just seeing them even briefly was grand.
Hooray for warmth, even if it is followed by a bit more winter. I like your analogy of spring to a switch. It does seem like the garden has been turned ‘on’ here, too. Finally! I’m so glad the voles didn’t eat everything. At least now you know what they don’t like so you can plant more of it. 🙂
Hooray for spring!!! Absolutely, I plan to plant more of those bulbs the voles don’t like steering clear of areas they patrol. 😀
Oh wow…. You have a lot going on…. Pretty too. I hope last night didn’t get to them…. Michelle
Thanks Michelle…I think some of the bulbs suffered from the snow and 2 nights of temps in the 20s but thankfully not all are out yet.
Glorious to see some flowers blooming in your garden Donna, and such beauties too, despite the voles. Love the Puschkinia, I have about 4 blooming, but maybe one day it will be a sea of colour!
Oh Janet once they grow in after a few years, those Puschkinia will be gorgeous…my early pollinators are all over them.
I especially love the crocus, what pretty colors. I’m rooting for the daffodils to open up 🙂
They actually opened the next day just before the snow…but only a few…now there are more and more everyday and they will last for a month or more…love the daff season.
So much blooming! You really did get some heat that week. Nice the weather is turning and getting your garden blooming. We wait so it may be weeks longer yet. My daffs are barely out of the ground.
Nice and warm today-75-but going to the 40s on Wed and some more snow….I am amazed at how well the blooms are doing with cold and snow.
Amazing what some warm sunshine will bring forth! Love the beautiful flowers.
So glad you enjoyed the blooms Florence…rain and warm sunshine are the best ingredients for garden bloom.