Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Earliest. Bloom Day. Ever.

As we know, Bloom Day is hosted on the 15th of every month by Carol of May Dreams Garden. But this month I will be away from the garden on the 15th, so I am writing the very earliest Bloom Day post before I step away!

Not all that much is in full bloom around here, unfortunately. But there are some spring stalwarts, like daffodils...


...violets...


...and bleeding hearts.


This is the classic bleeding heart, Dicentra spectabilis.

Oddly, my miniature Dicentra eximia is barely poking its foliage above the ground. Is it a short-lived plant? Or is it just struggling this year?

I'm bummed to be away for the next few days because my tulips are all ready to explode, and I'm afraid I'll miss the show.

Here is an example from the front garden; it's the tulip with the oregano planted on top of it.

In the back, my clump of tulips and hyacinths is ready to go crazy. I hope they can make the show last!


Take a closer look at this bud (click to enlarge if you need to).

These are 'El Cid' tulips, which are purple and yellow Rembrandt-types, and you can see the purple swirls on the bud. If the bud is this lovely, what must the flower look like?!


My forsythia is having a banner year, and I know that sounds a little funny because it's really a small, kind of scraggly forsythia. But truly this is the best flowering display I've seen it put on in five years. For some reason it's a great year for these shrubs. My neighbor has one that could absolutely stop traffic. But I'm proud of this small but bright display. This guy may not be the biggest but it's happy, and that makes me happy.


Also exciting (but not technically blooming) is the vegetable garden, where spinach and lettuces are sprouting! (Admittedly, this is not the clearest picture.) That's a broccoli seedling in the top left corner. A couple of those have survived last week's rainstorms and our chilly temperatures quite well. There's no sign of life from the onions yet, but I'm feeling hopeful.

Be sure to check out May Dreams Garden on the actual 15th! Happy early Bloom Day!

5 comments:

beckie said...

Rose, so glad you did a GBBD post before you left. Your daffodils are so pretty as is your forsythia. You are right about it being a banner year for it. The om=nes hear have been gorgeous. Hope you tulips wait a while before blooming. Anything as interestinf=g as El Cid deserves to bee seen in person.

Rose said...

I hope you're back in time to show us those El Cids in bloom, Rose. They're already showing signs of being a very unusual tulip. As Beckie said, it's been a banner year here, too, for forsythia, but since I don't have one myself, I've just been enjoying everyone else's display. My tulips and hyacinths have been early this year with the high temps we've had; I sure hope they last awhile longer.

Hooray for your spinach and lettuce! By the time you return, your vegetable garden will be really greening up.

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

I hate to leave the garden in spring, and this year is especially problematic with everything blooming at once. Great shot of the Dicentra. It's lovely. I hope your husband takes a photo or two of the 'El Cid' Tulips, I'd like to see what it looks like in bloom.

garden girl said...

Your forsythia looks beautiful Rose. I killed one a couple of years ago planting it in a spot that was too wet. Last spring I got two tiny ones, and they haven't bloomed yet. It's kind of funny seeing forsythias, one of the earliest spring-blooming shrubs, blooming right along with some of the later bloomers this year thanks to our unseasonably warm weather.

I've tried a couple of the newer bleeding hearts, but gave up on them - they don't last here. I don't know why they don't like it here, but I blame it on all the tree roots. Old-fashioned bleeding hearts are my favorites anyway, and they're happy here, so I'm happy.

Hope you make it back in time to see your Ed Cids in bloom!

Gail said...

I am going to check out the El Cid tulips...(The bulb list gets longer and longer) I wish I could send you part of Hedge! He has plenty of shrub to share~~The stinker, he bloomed beautifully this year;-) Take care~~gail

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