mears garden: Spring Week 7, April 27

For the third week in a row we got over two inches of rain in a week. In addition it has cooled off with even a hard freeze in the forecast for some places Monday night. What that means is that things are growing, but that things that are blooming are sticking around for a while. Most of the lilies have gotten out of the ground so that weeding can begin. I am potting things up all the time. I divided the first hosta yesterday. The difficulty with dividing hosta, is that sometimes, like yesterday, I divide one clump and get 20 plants.

What is blooming now?
The daffodils are putting on a display.
The bluebells have started.
The Monsella tulips are blooming and blooming and bloomings
The first little bearded iris bloomed yesterday.
The crown imperial fritillaria bloomed this week.
The pulmonaria and hellebores are putting on a show.

What’s just around the corner?
There should be little bearded iris for the next several weeks. Most of them are right along Fairvew Street by the curb. There is the gradual slope that bearded iris like. If you are in the neighborhood keep an eye out for them.
The epimedium have just started. What’s epimedium you ask. Wait for pictures next week.

The celendine poppies have just started, making a wonderful contrast between their gold and the bluebells which are everywhere.

So here are pictures. For the poll this week I have decided to put the first colors, represented by four flowers.
There is the blue from the bluebells.
There is the red/yellow from Monsella tulips.
There is the orange from the crown imperial fritillaria.
Finally there is the white of the Thalia daffodil. From this angle it almost looks like an orchid.

Then there a bunch of daffodil pictures. They are so diverse. You got to like Rip Van Winkle. It is the one that looks like it got connected to an electric line.

Then there is this interesting iris called Iris bucharica. I saw it first in the Chicago Botanical Gardens 4 years ago. This is its 3rd year in the garden.