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The garden finally is bursting into life with the April blooms in my garden. As each week goes by less and less soil is visible as green starts to become the predominate colour again. April is always blustery and with every gust a little more of the cherry blossom is carried across the garden like confetti. As well as cherry blossom in the air so too are the bees, bee -flies and ladybirds. While the bats have started their night time sorties again.
Glorious sunny days also bring frosty nights. Consequently there’s always the threat to the camellia flowers and plum blossom. Accordingly weather forecasts are never missed! Ghostly outlines …thankfully not too often can be seen at twilight as I shroud the at risk April blooms in fleece in the hope that our future harvest of fruit will be protected.
April Blooms
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| As a result bright sunny evenings bring frosty nights – Pulmonaria longifolia Diana Clare back-lit by the evening sunshine |
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| the inner circle of April blooms |
At this time of year it’s difficult to choose which parts of the garden to show in a single blog post. At the moment most of the colour is in the ‘inner circle’ in the back garden. Furthermore there are little pockets of colour all around the rest of the garden. But this one area is where I try to keep most of the early spring colour.
Pulmonaria
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| Pulmonaria longifolia Diana Clare backlit from the morning sun |
Along the outer circle are lots of pulmonarias like this
Pulmonaria longifolia Diana Clare growing next to some grasses.
Read my post on Growing Pulmonaria. There’s also an
Acer palmatum Orange dream. Along with the yellow
Forsythia Weekend and golden bamboo stems in the background.
Muscari
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| Muscari armeniacum growing in a large drift under my Weeping Silver Pear tree |
There are three types of grape hyacinth – Muscari armeniacum, Muscari Valerie Finnis or Muscari latifolium. In addition there are the blue flowers from Squills, forget-me-nots and Brunnera.
Spirea
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| Spirea arguta |
Then there’s the bridal garland shrub – Spirea arguta with its masses of tiny white flowers. I took a risk and moved this plant back in February. In fact it adapted really well to it’s new home. Once these flowers are over it’s quite a boring looking shrub so I’ve planted it at the back of the border. Joe Pye weed will hopefully dominate this area later in the year. Soon the large leafed hostas at its base will contrast nicely with its small green leaves.
Tulips
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| Tulipa ‘Tarda’ |
These species tulips Tulipa Tarda were planted in the garden over 13 years ago. Indeed they are so easy to look after and will come back year after year unlike other tulips.
Erythronium
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| Erythronium Pagoda |
There’s also the yellow Erythronium Pagoda with its yellow reflexed petals. It’s a vigorous dog tooth violet. It’s foliage will die away by the summer and is easy to look after.
Snakes head fritillary
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| snakes head fritillary – Fritillaria meleagris |
Growing through the 4 clumps of Stipa tenuissima are groups of snakes head fritillary bulbs – Fritillaria meleagris. This is a native of UK meadows so it’s well suited to growing through grasses.
Irish Primroses
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| Primula Drumcliff – white flowers with just a slight hint of lavender grown in front of Euphorbia Ruby Glow |
Primula Drumcliffe is named after the final resting place of the famous Irish poet W.B Yeats. Moreover it’s part of the collection of Kennedy Irish primroses that has taken 35 years to breed. I also have Primula Innisfree which is named after one of Yeats’s poems. It has red flowers but hasn’t come into flower just yet. Not to mention that they all have purple bronze foliage too. They were first launched on the 50th Anniversary of the inauguration of John F Kennedy as President of USA. This is their 2nd year in my garden.
Navelwort
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| Omphalodes cappadocica Cherry Ingram with yellow lesser celandine double flowers growing through them. |
Little colonies of navelworts are appearing all over the garden as I let them self seed liberally. They cover the bare patches of earth so well. As a result the weeds struggle to grow through the clumps. They practically look after themselves and every year they reward me with beautiful little flowers.
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| Omphalodes cappadocica Starry Eyes |
Cowslip
Finally look who I found on the cowslips at the weekend! Last year I found only 1 ladybird in the garden while in February I found quite a few of them hibernating in my potentilla hedge.
In fact there are just too many April blooms in my garden to include as photos, So here’s the list of all the others in flower just now.
- Prunus incisa Kojo-no-mai
- Corylopsis pauciflora
Marie Flutterby
Beautiful flowers Rosie!
Rosie Nixon
thank you Marie
Kalantikan
Hi Rosie, i smiled when i see your post only 3 posts from mine, looks like not many posted early. I let the whole day pass before posting as i am working with a group. I am awed that you were able to have a complete enumeration of your flowers this spring. While yours are starting for life, mine are leaving the scene! But i am always awed with your photos, not to mention the flowers. That muscari never fails to amaze me, no matter how many times i see it. And i bet that 'starry eyes' are more beautiful in your photo than at the actual site!
Rosie Nixon
Those starry eyes are so pretty but if I was to choose between the two it still would be muscari for me Andrea 🙂
Mark and Gaz
You have a lovely collection of blooms and garden Rosie, love the colour and softness of it all!
Rosie Nixon
Many thanks guys 🙂
A Garden of Threads
So beautiful and way ahead of mine. The crocus bloomed over the weekend and today there are 3 inches of snow.:(
Rosie Nixon
Nothing worse than thinking that spring is on it's way and then wake up to snow again!
ann
If you check out my garden spot, you will see how April is here in the norther part of Colorado. While the sun shines and things heat up, we are still in danger of freezing cold and snow. Early in the morning, now, it is 27 degrees F, well below freezing, so many of the tender shoots that come out early usually don't make it. Your garden is beautiful. We figure that the second week end in May is safe to plant tomatoes and other tender shoots.
Rosie Nixon
The 2nd week of May is about the time here too though sometimes it's the end of May. Hopefully you didn't lose too much after that last spell of frost Ann.
jane
So beautiful! Thank you for sharing these, Rosie. The Erythronium 'Pagoda' and Fritillaria meleagris are so pretty. This is the spring we are currently still awaiting in USDA Zone 6a.
Rosie Nixon
You're very welcome Jane and thank you 🙂
Dorothy Borders
What a lovely collection of blooms your April garden has. I did enjoy my visit. Happy Bloom Day!
Rosie Nixon
Thank you so much Dorothy
Flower Freak
Thanks for sharing. Your gardens are wonderful! There's so much blooming! Your spring is light years ahead of ours…..It amazes me because Scotland is so much further north than Massachusetts, USA but your seasons seem much milder……is it an ocean current or am I looking at the globe upside down:)?
Rosie Nixon
Yip I'm probably on a similar latitude to parts of Novia Scotia but thankfully we have the gulf stream to keep us from chilling too much in the winter.
rusty duck
Gorgeous photographs as ever Rosie. Tulip 'Tarda' is beautiful. As with daffodils it's the smaller species varieties that I really like and all the better that they seem happy to return every year without a lot of fuss. Omphalodes 'Starry Eyes' is a cracker and that Primula foliage, almost black?
Rosie Nixon
The best about those species is that more than likely they are deer and rabbit resistant which would be good for your garden … couldn't promise them being squirrel resistant though … but I think your squirrel is too dizzy these days! Yes the foliage is quite dark on those primulas.
Carolyn ♥
You have so many plants awakening! Isn't it grand?! Only a few here to speak of, but they are divine.
Millymollymandy
Fabulously colourful and wonderful pictures! I love that Omphalodes Starry Eyes! Was a bit confused by the name Navelwort until I googled then realised that there are two plants commonly called that. The one I know of is Umbilicus rupestris, which grow out of the base of the house walls here.
Rosie Nixon
Thankfully our navelwort is much better behaved than that Mandy 🙂 … what a name for a plant though – Umbilicus! away to look that up as that's new to me.
Nick Schierloh
Hi, Exploring here via Millymollymandy. Your garden is way more sheltered than ours and is looking fabulous. Great set of pictures.
Rosie Nixon
Thanks Nick – I've seen your profile many times via Mandy's site and didn't realise that you were based in Scotland.
Nick Schierloh
Not a well known place Lamancha. A brief glance at 60mph on the way to Moffat.
Rick
Really nice collection of photographs, I seem to grow very similar things to yourself in my shaded garden where currently Epimediums, Corydalis, Trilliums and the last of the Narcissus are in flower. The most spectacular displays are from the Magnolias, Pieris, Camellias and even the lowly Ribes. The Tulips have started and I can't wait for the Azaleas, candelabra primulas and Meconopsis to get under way.
Rosie Nixon
Rick your garden sounds idyllic – you'll love some of my posts from Branklyn garden in the near future as the first blue poppy opened it's flower just before Easter and I was able to photograph it.
Mark Shirley
Just wonderful .. a real treat
Rosie Nixon
Mark it was lovely for you to pay a visit over here – thank you 🙂
Alistair
Rosie
Enough to cheer the cockles of your heart. I am impressed at how good looking and healthy your Pulmonaria longifolia is. Erythronium Pagoda is my favourite Spring flower, I should have dug up some of ours and taken them with me.
Rosie Nixon
Just like yours Carolyn 🙂 thank you
Pam's English Garden
Rosie, I can think of only one thing better than viewing your fabulous photographs — actually touring your spring garden! How I would love to do that. I can imagine touching the soft petals of the Erythronium and the bumpy blooms of grape hyacinth. I imagine the bridal veil spirea smells divine. Beautiful posting. P. x