The last Bloomin’ Tuesday of March

Iberis 'Snowflake', Alyssum 'Basket of Gold', & Muscari 'Grape Hyacinth'

It’s been a bit since I posted my blooms for Bloomin’ Tuesday.  Tomorrow is the end of March which is exciting don’t you think?  April will bring even more blooms and changes.  Everyday I go out to find more things emerging from the ground or starting to flower.  This perennial Alyssum is a new plant for me this year.  It came to me in the mail already full of buds just waiting to open.   I couldn’t imagine my garden with out the evergreen Candytuff.   ‘Snowflake’ is a bushier variety than the unknown one I’ve had for years.  Don’t ask me how these Grape Hyacinths ended up in the middle of the lawn but they are naturalized in several spots.

Muscari 'Bi-color', Wild violets and Skullcap Hyssop

 Muscari Bi-color is a new bulb for me this year.  So far I find the two-toned blues interesting.   Wild violets grow sporatically through my garden beds & lawn.  I realize they can be a bit weedy but some are so pretty I let them stay.  The Skullcap Hyssop is a native plant that I picked up a couple of years ago.  Of course the camera faded it out to blue when the true color is a very pale lavender.  I just love the dainty bells even though they tend to face downwards.

Pink Azalea, Narcissus 'Minnow' and Vinca Major (Periwinkle)

 The Pink Azaleas that I inherited with the house are full of buds and starting to open.  Narcissus ‘Minnow’ which I showed yesterday in my ‘Ode to Daffodils’ post.   I think these are so sweet that I will plant more next fall for sure.  And finally is the beautiful blue blooms of Periwinkle that grows in my hanging planters on the shed wall.  This plant is very invasive but it does well in containers and comes back strong year after year.  I really love the variegated foliage which lasts up till frost.  For more Bloomin’  Tuesday Posts or to join in this week please visit Jean @ Ms Greenthumb.

Ode to the Daffodil

A host of golden daffodils;  Beside the lake, beneath the trees,  Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. – William Woodsworth

Three Seasons of Interest-Spirea

Spirea 'Goldmound' Spring, Summer & Fall

Yesterday Cameron from Defining Your Home Garden did a post about my favorite little ornamental shrub “Spirea”.  Sometimes I think we are on the same wavelength because I was already planning my post about the same subject for today.  😉  I have three of the cultivar ‘Goldmound’ in my garden which is a hybrid of ‘Goldflame’.  It is deciduous but leaves out early in the spring  (which is now) and provides three seasons of interest.  In the photos above you can see the way it looks from Spring through Fall.  The tiny masses of bright pink blossoms it sports in early summer look pretty striking against the lime green foliage.  If you deadhead the spent blooms it will continue to put out random blooms throughout the summer and early fall.  I love this plant so much I would love to add some of the other cultivars to my garden such as ‘Magic Carpet’ which is shown on Cameron’s blog and ‘Little Princess’.   For small spaces this is a great option for structure and color 8- 9 months out of the year.    Here is some additional information about this wonderful ornamental shrub for the garden:

• Hardy in Zone: 3-8
• Deciduous
• Height: 3′ (more like 2′ in my garden)
• Spread: 2-4′ (more like 18-24″ in my garden)
• Grows very fast
• Tolerant of most soil types
• Blooms in Early Summer
• Bright pink blooms
• Average moisture
• Part -Full Sun conditions
• Foliage goes from yellow to lime green to orange & red in the fall. 

A simple project

There are always a million ideas swirling around in my head.  Hubby can see my mind working and probably thinking oh-oh here we go again. lol  Every spring I have plans to improve or enlarge the garden.  Some are large time consuming projects while others minor and easy to complete in less than a few hours time. Regardless they all add just a bit more of my personal touch to my garden space.  Here’s one of the simpler projects I completed this spring.  I have three Clematis ‘Niobe’ that were growing on small metal trellises.  Of course I knew I could do better by moving them to the two large pvc trellises on the front of the house.  Unfortunately there is a gap between the ground and bottom of the trellises of about 10 inches.  I wanted the twining tendrils to have something to latch onto while they made their way up the structure this spring.   I had these bamboo poles and a can of white spray paint sitting in my garage and an idea popped into my head.   First I spray painted the bamboo white, then I cut them to size and inserted them into the bottoms of the hollow pvc bases of the trellises.   A simple but effective project completed in less than an hour.  The white poles now blend in with the rest of the structure and eventually you won’t see them at all is my hope.  Last but not least, plant the vines and viola!   A long drink of water, some compost or mulch to top it off and talk about almost instant gratification.   🙂

Buds & Blooms

The spring rains are really making the garden pop right now.  Starting in the upper left hand corner is the small buds of the native Skullcap Hyssop that I purchased two years ago at a local native plant sale.  The tiny flowers will open in a mass of violet-lavender blooms soon.  Across from that is the first flower of the Thalia Narcissus I planted last fall, followed by the buds that haven’t quite opened yet.  That shade of pale yellow is really a nice addition to the woodland & arbor gardens at the moment.  Next I found that the Nelly Moser Clematis (bottom left photo) is making buds as well as growing like crazy.  After moving it this past fall to the back of the arbor garden to grow on my new trellis I got for my birthday I’m pleased with the growth it has put out so far.  Soon I hope it will grow up the new trellis and create some vertical interest on the privacy fence.   I’m going to put more trellises up on the open expanses of fenceline to create more growing space for all the annual vines I want to plant this spring.   The last photo (bottom right) is the evergreen creeping phlox.  I finally was able to capture this pale lavender shade on my camera.  It really is a nice groundcover at this time of the year in my front foundation beds.  Since it grows & expands so rapidly I will be dividing it this fall to spread throughout other areas of the garden.  Spring is here at last with all the buds and blooms popping up all over the garden.