More Spring Temple Blooms

 

Yesterday I caught some more photos of the spring bulbs at the Spokane Temple.  Last fall I wrote about the planned bloom progression here, and things are going mostly as planned (though the bulb company was out of 'Romance' crocus and sent 'Cream Beauty' instead).  I expected that the different bulbs would overlap less, but the warm weather has them all bunched up together.   



Next to the front door the first of the 'Showwinner' Kaufmaniana tulips are already opening with 'Yellow Mammoth' crocus in the background and a few 'Cream Beauty' crocus peeking into the bottom of the shot.  

 

 

In another area just inside the front gates, crocuses that were planted in fall 2012 have already expanded into small clumps.  Last year the individual blooms looked puny, but we crossed our fingers that they would multiply quickly and they have.  These bulbs are planted among daylilies, so the emerging daylily foliage camouflages the bulb leaves when they start to die back.  That means no extra maintenance, since the bulb foliage just comes out with the daylily leaves in the fall.

 

 

We're going to add more small bulbs to this area in the fall.  I'm looking forward to a brilliant spring meadow of blooms in a few years.  Hopefully we don't have a family of voles move in, as has happened in the past.

  

Here are a couple more shots of the front door beds.  Pale blue Chionodoxa and deep royal blue Iris reticulata 'Harmony' mingle with the red tulips and yellow crocuses shown in the first photos.  Very cheerful.  'Harmony' is a beautiful true blue, though I couldn't figure out how to get my camera to represent it correctly.  These miniature iris are a great addition to the early spring repertoire of bulbs.