April Garden Views 2014

True to tradition, we've had some showers lately to get ready for a bigger burst of bloom in May.  But there are also pretties blooming right now.  In the narrow west garden the hyacinths, aubrieta and miniature irises are perky along the path.

Basket of Gold alyssum and red-gold tulips are getting ready to open and brighten the color scheme in this area, but for now it is very soft.  It took several years to figure out which bearded irises I wanted where in this little garden, and all that transplanting takes its toll, but the clumps are finally looking big enough to make a big show.  May should be lovely! 

In the front yard, 'Salmon Impression' tulips are starting to open and soft yellow 'Jaap Groot' are not far behind.  The roses no longer look like skeletons as new leaves are starting to fill out.  'White Splendor' Anemone blanda are blooming merrily beneath the rose, but they're kind of hidden by tulip foliage.  I need to spread them out after they're done blooming but before the foliage disappears and I can't remember where they're planted.  It's a narrow window and I missed it last year.

'Coral Supreme' peonies are getting ready to pop open.  These are the earliest of my peonies to bloom, especially since they're planted on the southern side of the mounded borders in the front yard.  Isn't that foliage lovely?

The landscape is more sparse in the backyard because everything is still settling in after the big landscaping project last spring.  I make a lap around the path nearly every day since things change so quickly this time of year.  This 'Berry Swirl' hellebore has been especially pretty for over a month.

Here is a shot of one of the first open flowers from last month.  Many of my other hellebores are still sulking after being transplanted last year.  And I did a very bad thing and poured liquid fertilizer over them a month ago to try to hurry them along, but it just dried out many of the buds.  Dumb gardener.

This 'Sparkling Diamond' hellebore is also looking good despite being transplanted along with a dogwood tree a few weeks ago.  Poor hellebore, poor tree, poor husband . . . but I think all three survived without too much damage.  There are so many buds in the garden that I feel a little giddy thinking about the coming weeks.  I've just got to make myself pull the heavy camera out with me so I can post plenty of photos here.