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.
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