Front Yard Spring 2013: Tulips, Phlox and Lots of Green

I finally made it out to the front yard to take some spring photos while the last of the tulips were blooming.  A couple of weeks earlier we had drifts of  'Jap Groot' (soft yellow) and 'Salmon Impression' (soft pink) tulips in bloom, and it looked perky and cheerful.  It has been fun to change to a cool color scheme with late-blooming white 'Maureen' tulips, lavender phlox and lots of spring green.



Here is a shot of the east side of the front.  I'll be happy to get the stakes off the two 'Heartthrob' Korean dogwoods that we planted a year ago, but we've had other trees start to lean so I'm leaving them on a while longer.  I splurged on these large trees and am very happy to see them leafing out nicely this spring.



Here is the little dogwood that was dug up for a couple of weeks along with the fence so the landscapers could access the backyard.  It's doing OK right now, so I've just got to keep its roots moist this summer and I think it'll survive.



This 'Walker's Low' catmint (Nepeta) at the corner of the driveway is always the first one to bloom.  The heat bouncing off the garage wall and the concrete drive speed it up.  The bumblebees love it.



The clumps of 'Emerald Blue' creeping phlox are blooming all around the front.  I'm not sure if I like the blob look, but I'm not sure how else to arrange them.  The 'Eglantyne' english rose on the right of the photo is very lush after getting half a bag of mushroom compost dumped around it a month or two ago.



I planted little clusters of these dwarf blue iris around the yard.  They're cute when you notice them but they don't have a big impact overall.



Here is another view of the west side of the driveway.  Some things are filling in nicely, which helps me be patient with the plants that are still small, which includes every plant in the backyard.




The 'Maureen' tulips are tall and ethereal and lovely.  At first I thought I had planted some double peach 'Menton Exotic' tulips and was disappointed with the white.  Then a few days later I decided it was the better choice.  This shot also shows my 'Abraham Darby' english rose, which should eventually grow to five feet tall.  I'm looking forward to sitting at my computer in the front room and looking out the window to see this big rosebush instead of the street.  It's just got a few more feet to go. 



These photos are actually a week old and the last of the tulips blew apart yesterday.  Too bad, but these ones are supposed to perennialize reasonably well so they should bloom again next spring.




And here is a final view showing the west garden.  The little purple spots are 'Accent Blue' rock cress (Aubrieta), which bloom for a long time each spring.  The 'Kwanzan' cherry tree near the top of the photo got frosted last month and didn't produce any flowers this year.  But it looks otherwise healthy so I won't complain too much.  All in all it's a lovely spring around here.