Easter flowers

So, with all of the warm weather, there are lots of flowers blooming at the same time, rather than spread out over different weeks. 

This is the same red Anemone I included in the previous entry, but this is a close-up of just the flower.  My most loyal reader, my sister, questioned me in a email, believing it is a poppy, but it is not.  I cannot get poppies to survive in this location.

So, I point you to a blue flower with the same foliage.

This is certainly not a poppy.  I have not gone digging through all of my invoices and ordering materials, to determine in more detail where I purchased these or what more I can add to the mystery.  I have had other activities like spring clean-up and practicing for Easter Sunday to keep me busy.

With the warm weather, even the shorter plants, such as this iris, have barely gotten out of the ground before they bloomed.  They are in such a rush to get that bud opened that they never really stretched out their stems. It is a good thing I had not planned on cutting flowers to take inside.

Even more dramatic is this blue Iris brought back from Mom's garden in Ohio. For a comparison on height, you can see the four inch tall Grape Hyacinth next to it.  These usually have 18 inches of stem on them.

There are several of these scattered among the boxwood which is destined to become a low hedge.  Some are too close to the boxwoods, and will need to be moved in the fall, which is when Iris prefer any changes in residence.

The Viburnum x pragense is now blooming.  If you compare this picture to the other viburnum, you will see it is very lanky in growth, with long narrow leaves.  The flower clusters are denser and have a rounded top to them. 

This shrub was pruned by some of the deer, which nibbled off some of the outer blooming buds on the lower parts.  Thankfully they either got bored, or something distracted them before doing substantial damage.  It will recover very quickly once its puts out new growth.

Finally, though it might not technically be a "flower," the fancy Jack-in-the-Pulpit, or Arisaema sikokianum, is blooming in the North garden.  It might be fair to call it a flower since it has a clump of red berry looking seeds on the top after they mature?  This is the second Jack-in-the-Pulpit to bloom; the native clump I brought up from the side of the ravine because it was about ready to slide away has not even come up out of the ground yet.

Early April

The warm and early spring is bringing many different plants into bloom at the same time.  This view shows the Viburnum x Burkwoodi Conoy in full bloom in the front, while the Viburnum x pragense is still in bud, directly behind and a bit to the left in the picture.  But if you know where to look, just to the left behind that, you would notice the new needles emerging on the Dawn Redwood as well as the slight bit of green new leaves on the tall wild cherry.  The Crape Myrtle has waiting a bit before putting out its leaves. 

Unfortunately you can also see, on the right side about 2/3rds up, the light blue paper covering a new house being built on the waterfront.  Like all new construction along the Bay, it stands on 10 foot stilts above the water level, with a two story house on top, so it really sticks up in the air like a sore thumb. 

Here is a close-up of that same viburnum.  When I was taking the picture in the late afternoon, it was swarming with bees, some of which are visible in the photo. This bush has grown to fill its location, and requires careful pruning to keep it within its boundaries.  Fortunately, it responds well to the regular and tight pruning needed, filling in the empty spaces with new growth, and replacing old growth that must be removed.  I could imagine a row of these being used for a dense and flowering hedge.  It would not allow strictly geometric shaping, since there are always new branches growing out, but would be perfect for an informal, irregular, evergreen border.

Looking back to the original picture, you will see a group of yellow daffodils blooming on the left side.  These are in their second year, and have nicely multiplied the number of flowers so they create quite a nice splash of color.  I hope they will be good for 2-3 more years before they will need to be dug up.  I liked them so much, here is a close-up.

Finally, we planted a variety of anemone bulbs, which are providing some nice alternative colors.  I will close with those photos for now.