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| Welcome to my April Garden! |
Welcome! The month of April has been cooler than usual, which has been the trend the past couple of years. The start of the month brought us temperatures in the 40's with snow squalls, then moderated to most days ranging somewhere in the 50's. We do get a few surprise days with temperatures soaring into the 60's and those are the days I jump with glee and strive to work outside. A little cool weather may slow things down, but it is spring after all, and the garden is awaking with all is blooms. Come along with me on a tour of my Long Island garden!
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| Perennial Border |
The tour starts at the perennial border where hyacinth, daffodils and crocus are blooming. Seen in the backdrop is the foliage of Allium 'Mount Everest' awakening from its sleep. Soon spikes of white blooms will follow.
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| Hyacinths Blooming! |
The Hyacinths are exceptionally vivid this year.
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| More Hyacinths Blooming! |
The crocus are vibrant too. Maybe the cooler spring isn't so bad after all!
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| Purple Crocus |
We have to get a couple of views of the purple crocus. They are fun to photograph too.
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| Front Island Bed Crocus! |
I find that out of all the different varieties, the purple really do best.
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| Miniature Daffodils |
Here are the miniature Daffodils, all yellow and bright. They do add some happiness to the garden.
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| Itoh Peony 'Bartzella' Foliage |
One of my favorite additions to the perennial border is hybrid Itoh Peony ‘Bartzella’ with its magnificent golden blooms that appear mid-late May through June. The sight of its foliage rising up creates a world of anticipation!
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| Helleborus 'Champion' |
In the back shade garden, Helleborous ‘Champion’ has been blooming since mid-March and continues to shine with its golden-peachy color, while Helleborous ‘Dark & Handsome’ displays its purplish-black blooms, which are a show stopper every time I pass them by.
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| Helleborus 'Dark & Handsome' |
Helpful hint: The foliage of this hellebore was so winter damaged that I had to totally remove the scorched leaves in early spring. The plant was rejuvenated bringing lush new foliage followed the most abundant blooms I have seen in years.
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| Helleborus 'Dark & Handsome' |
Come take a closer look!
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| Helleborus 'Merlin' |
Here is Helleborous ‘Merlin’ with pinkish blooms that have been blooming since late winter and will continue through April. Another helpful hint: The reason Hellebores continue their show for months is that the colorful parts are not petals at all, but bracts.
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| Forythsia |
In a view from the front yard on the street median is this Forythsia that I planted years ago. It has matured into quite a beauty with the best bloom season since I added it.
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| Sedum Foliage |
In the front garden bed are the perfectly shaped rosettes of Sedum ‘Brilliant’ announcing that spring has arrived… |
Allium 'Globemaster' Buds!
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and buds of Allium ‘Globemaster’ appearing above foliage.
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| Magnolia 'Royal Star' |
Nothing says springtime like the flowers of Magnolia 'Royal Star', which are some of the first blooms of the season before foliage arrives. |
| Magnolia 'Royal Star' Blossom |
Not only are the blooms robust and beautiful, they produce a fragrance which is that of a delicate perfume.
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| Grape Hyacinth & Tulip Combo |
Here are the blooms of a combination of miniature grape hyacinths and tulips that I planted two seasons ago. I love watching the miniature tulips fill in the gaps as the days go by.
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| Flowering Plum 'Krauter Vesuvius' |
This flowering plum was planted three years ago along the back fence and I am enjoying its early spring blooms. This variety is 'Krauter Vesuvius' with deeper burgundy foliage and better disease resistance. |
| Pulmonaria |
New to the back shade garden is Pulmonaria. I am enjoying its green foliage speckled in white polka-dots and pink buds that open to purplish-blue blooms.  |
Pieris 'Cavatine'
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Come along to the front island bed. Here is Pieris 'Cavatine', a dwarf form of Andromeda with its bell-shaped blooms. It grows to just two feet tall by three feet wide and prefers a location with partial shade. |
Sedum Mix
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In the back island bed, the sedum groundcover mixture that I added to is starting to show some color and makes a nice addition around my favorite garden statuary. Next month the azaleas will be blooming in the backdrop...stay tuned! |
| Spring Bear! |
Last but not least, a visit to the local nursery and the purchase of some violas made spring garden bear complete with his basket of blooms. |
| Thank you for Visiting! |
I hope you enjoyed your visit to my April garden and as always, I look forward to your comments and seeing what's growing in your neck of the woods! Special thanks go out to our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who makes it possible to see blooms on the 15th of every month with her meme Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Also, special thanks to Pam Penick at Digging who has hosted Foliage Follow-Up for all these years, a meme I will still continue to honor. I am also linking with some other wonderful hosts and hostesses at Floral Friday Fotos, Macro Monday 2, Mosaic Monday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf, Nature Notes at Rambling Woods, Image-in-ing weekly photo share every Tuesday with NC Sue and Gardens Galore Link Up Party every other Monday with Everyday Living. I am also happy to join the Weekly Photo Link-Up at My Corner of the World on Wednesdays and Garden Affair at Jaipur Garden.
A GUIDE TO NORTHEASTERN GARDENING NEWS:
The landscaping season is underway and I am out and about dong what I love...designing gardens! I love transforming an overgrown area or a blank slate into something that can be enjoyed for years to come, and I have even transformed some of my clients into devoted gardeners!
Are you a gardener or beginner wanting to learn more about gardening and design or could you just use a little inspiration? If the answer to any of these is YES, then check out my four books, all available on Amazon! Tell your friends about them too or request them at your local library.😊
My new book for the northeast and Mid-Atlantic garden is coming along! Organized in a similar fashion as Gardening By Month, this one will be a reference of plants and inspiration specifically for shade. I have been writing a couple of hours each day and am in the process of taking high resolution photos to capture the true essence of each plant, then hopefully will have it ready to publish in 2023!
"As Always...Happy Gardening!"
Lee @A Guide to Northeastern Gardening,© Copyright 2010-2022. All rights reserved.
How exciting! Your plants inspire me even more, now that I am back in the garden, Lee. I am discovering new plants scattered throughout almost daily. What was previously a shade garden has croppings of pulmonaria and lily of the valley. Time will tell if the Hinoki cypress and neighbors' trees will suffice for shade going forward. Another big surprise are bluebells and spring snowflake (leucojum vernum). I'm transplanting some for more impact, and planted a few dwarf butterfly bushes and lavender in my sun garden. Happy Easter to you. May your energy grow along with the season's plantings!
ReplyDeleteThank you Rita! I think I am just as excited as you are to see what is blooming in your new garden. Happy spring and wishing you and yours a wonderful Easter!
DeleteWonderful!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
Love the Garden Bear!
Happy Easter!
Thank you Lea. You have such beautiful blooms and it looks like spring has definitely sprung in your garden. The Flowering Almond is gorgeous!
DeleteNice to see so many of the same plants that I have in your garden blooming. You have a nice place, hopefully my plants will start to bloom in week, still cold here at the lake.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting and leaving a note. In enjoyed your captures of the different types of trees from your hike. Nature is amazing with the bark of some, many which look like artwork. I hope the temperatures will warm up for you soon.
DeleteHow I wish our spring was trending cooler! I love the way spring looks in your garden, Lee - I'm envious of your crocus, hellebores and most of all your Itoh peony. I've had an Itoh in my garden for years but it's never flowered and this year I haven't even seen any sign of its spring foliage.
ReplyDeleteWhat a stunning garden! Wow! Takes my breath away!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-last-of-these-for-while-i-promise.html, and Happy Easter!
Lovely blooming plum, Lee. Your hellebore look very nice.
ReplyDeleteI heartily congratulate you on Easter. May these days bring peace and joy to your home.
Very different from my AZ garden!
ReplyDeleteLove those saturated flower colors -- so gorgeous! Happy Spring :-)
ReplyDeleteApril is just such a colorful delight in the garden!
ReplyDelete