It is your GPOD editor, Joseph, here today, sharing some images of spring in my garden and around town where I live in northern Indiana.
One of my favorite daffodil varieties is ‘Cassata’ (Zones 4–8), shown here blooming in front of the house. This type is called a “split cup” daffodil, because the central trumpet splits and flares out to make an extra layer of petals. I love the way it opens yellow and then fades through soft yellow to cream as the flower ages, so the planting looks a little different each day.
And because it has been the coldest spring EVER, I got this photo of ‘Cassata’ dusted with snow. Luckily, daffodils are tough, and they’ve come back from the cold snaps without missing a beat. The cool temps have meant the flowers have lasted a long time too.
Not far from me at Wellfield Botanic Gardens, the daffodil display is over the top.
All over town I see naturalized spring bulbs, like this colony of glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa forbesii, Zones 3–8). Because this bulb comes up and then goes dormant so early, it can naturalize in lawns as long as you don’t mow too early, turning the grass into a carpet of blue.
Grape hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum, Zones 4–8) make huge clumps in old gardens all over town as well. This was a planting next to a sidewalk in my neighborhood. Honeybees were out enjoying it in force.
Perhaps my favorite spring wildflower is Hepatica acutiloba (Zones 4–8), spotted here in a local park. I love how early blooming and incredibly variable it is. In this colony, the blooms ranged from white to pink to blue.
Another early woodland wildflower is white trout lily (Erythronium albidum, Z0nes 3–8). Often the species of trout lily native to the eastern half of North America make a lot of leaves and not many flowers, but this patch I spotted on a recent bike ride was loaded with blooms.
And of course, one of the best parts of spring is plant shopping! I drove up to my friend’s nursery, Arrowhead Alpines, and picked out some goodies like this little Daphne ‘Rosebud’ (Zones 5–7), which will go in the rock garden I’ll be planting soon.
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Comments
Lovely masses of flowers. How can people NOT garden??
Well said! "How can people NOT garden??" I like that!
I live nearby in Michigan and we have also had a late, late Spring, but things are really beginning to pop now.
That hepatica is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing.
That's a great post of spring flowers, I especially love the Snow Glories and Hepatiaca!
Joseph - thank you for sharing what is going on in your new garden!
Re: naturalized spring bulbs... turning the grass into a carpet of blue
I just moved to Chicago and there are a lot of front lawns with the lovely blue flowers.
Love it all - especially that Cassata daffodil and the hepatica. I agree - how can anyone not want to garden. I have a neighbor who quilts constantly but could not care less about her outdoor property - she asks me constantly what she can plant and then just ignore, including not watering when it's dry. She thinks it's "weird" that I like planting and tending my gardens. Makes me sad when someone gives her a potted plant, she shoves it out onto her front porch, doesn't water it and then wonders why it's dead.
Re: She thinks it's "weird" that I like planting and tending my gardens
Oh, dear.
Speaking of weird - where I just moved in, there is landscape fabric under the weedy lawn...
Um, decided to ignore for now and create a new 5' x 8' perennial bed between two properties instead (no fabric on that area).
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