mears garden: Mears Garden news- Spring -Week 5- April 20, 2009

Warm weather has finally arrived. While we are 2 weeks or so from the frost free date (May 10), many of the plants stragglers are coming out of the ground for the season. The little hardy orchids are up about a half inch. The cluster of May apples has grown quite a bit in a year. And then there are the bluebells. Like the squill before them, they start to bloom in drifts, starting in the backyard, on the south side of the house, where they get almost constant sun. The front yard bluebells are still a week away, even though with warmer weather (80 degrees) coming they will bloom there sooner than I think.
And there is so much to do. Plants are going outside, including some of the seedlings planted in deep winter. I am particularly pleased with the dozen little impatient plants grown from seed.
I am potting things up like crazy. This weekend it was variegated Solomon’s Seal. I dig up the emerging shoots all around the big clumps. This contains the clumps which all started from 2 plants 15 years ago.
I can go outside by about 6am at this point. It is so wonderful at that point in the day. Color emerges with the daylight, particularly the daffodils that are sprinkled around the yard.
And then there are the wonderful surprises that come at every turn. In the front yard there were these little crocuses, I guess, that I had never seen before and did not remember planting. I try to keep records but sometimes there are just mysteries. There is a picture of one of them in the bonus pictures this week. (It is the purple flower
that does not really look like a crocus.) The anemone blandas have started blooming and the meleagris fritillaria have appeared almost full grown in the front yard, having rapidly creating a nice clump. And of course I must mention the pulmonaria and the tulips and the hellebores and the bloodroot and that crazy daffodil, Rip Van Winkle. There is a picture of it in the bonus section. It looks like it was plugged into the electric socket.

Picking four pictures this week for the poll was hard.

I had to include this bloodroot duo. In the sunshine it came close to perfection.

The anemone duo showed what blue was all about.

This is a trillium, in full flower. The blue squill in the background adds to the picture.

Then there was this backlit daffodil.
I keep thinking that I could have an entire week of daffodil pictures, but then there could be all pulmonaria pictures and who knows what next week will bring. I think that it will not be much longer before the little iris come out.

So have fun with your poll this week.
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In last week’s voting the star magnolia was your favorite.

In the bonus section there are just many pictures of the glories of the week. The big daffodils with the bluebells are called Tahiti. They seem the right size for planting with the bluebells.
The pink flower is the mystery surprise flower.