In bloom this week: April 4, 2018

Flowering currant

March was a little chilly but surprisingly not too wet and the flowers seem to like that. My giant flowering currant bushes are reminding me why they're my favorite shrubs.

April showers are going to bring a mud pit to my back yard with contractors starting on retaining wall replacement tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy the spring flowers!

Forget-me-not

Chionodoxa

Chionodoxa

Corydalis

Grape hyacinth, moved into a pot right after I took this photo

Rosemary has bloomed all winter

Rock cress, all in front were planted from seed last year

Rock cress

Daffodils!

Daffodils, love these long trumpets

My current favorite daffodils

Or maybe this is my favorite

Forsythia

Oregon grape

Flowering currant

Flowering currant 

Can't get the whole flowering currant jungle in one picture

Saxifraga 'Touran - Deep Red'

Fritillaria meleagris

Probably Helleborus x ballardiae Gold Collection 'Maestro'

Helleborus 'Pink Frost'

Shooting star, not sure which dodecatheon this is

Tulips

Tulips, these are now in a planter to avoid the construction too

Kinnikinnick

Daisy, bellis perennis 'Tasso Red'

Some of the daffodils had to move all the way inside to get out of the way of the construction:

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - March 2018

Hyacinth

Happy Ides of March! After record warm temperatures on Monday, it's definitely feeling like spring. A lot of winter blooms are still going strong, but spring is ready to shine. I seem to acquire a lot of blue and purple flowering plants, and this week the bulbs have been really glowing in the sunshine (and not phased by the rain either).

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting this monthly roundup of blooms. There are plants blooming somewhere every month but now they're really taking off.... at least in the northern hemisphere. 

Hyacinth

Crocuses are starting to fade

Crocuses

Grape hyacinth popped out suddenly

Newly planted corydalis

Rock cress just starting to bloom

Helleborus x hybridus 'Black Diamond'

Helleborus x ballardiae Gold Collection 'Maestro'

Fading camellia 'Yuletide'

Fritillaria meleagris

Newly planted Saxifraga 'Touran - Deep Red'

Sunset maple

Cyclamen coum

Sunny daffodils

Daffodil

Forsythia in front of pieris japonica

One of my baby osoberry bushes has a bloom!

Indoors, one amaryllis is blooming for the second time this year. Also my Christmas cactus has had a few blooms at a time since January but I keep forgetting to get a picture. 

What's next? Flowering currant and Oregon grape are so close, plus a lot more daffodils.

In bloom this week: March 7, 2018

Daffodil!

We're in that transition time when it feels so close to spring but winter is not giving up. Hellebores and cyclamen are still merrily blooming and daffodils and other spring bulbs are starting. I'm really noticing how much more is in bloom than previous years, all that planting is paying off. Of course there are always more plants to drool over....

Winter blooms, by my arbitrary definition - all have been blooming at least since January:

Helleborus 'Cinnamon Snow'

Helleborus 'Pink Frost'

Helleborus x hybridus 'Black Diamond'

I think this is Helleborus x ballardiae Gold Collection 'Maestro'

Camellia 'Yuletide'

Lingering snowdrops

Cyclamen coum

And spring - yes, I do only plant purple crocuses:

Newly planted Saxifraga 'Touran - Deep Red'

Newly planted daisy, bellis perennis 'Tasso Red'

What's next? Very early species tulips and a couple of my favorite native bushes, Oregon grape and flowering currant (which I can't seem to get a good photo of this year). And a lot more spring bulbs!

Species tulips

Oregon grape