Though the garden is filled with flowers at the moment, spring foliage is always as intersting and dramatic as any flower can be. Here are lily of the valley and a fern to prove my point. Find other noteworthy foliage at Digging where Pam Penick hosts the monthly Foliage Follow-Up.
Yesterday's sun and high temperature of 91 degrees F. (32.77 degrees C.) pushed any laggards in the garden into full bloom. In my garden in flower today are:
Trillium grandiflorum. I can't take any credit for this as it was here when we bought the house. But I have managed to start some new clumps from this mother plant.
Woodland peony, Paeonia obvata var. alba
Another woodland peony, Paenonia japonica
Checkered lily, Fritillaria meleagris
Epimedium x rubrum
Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilac Fairy'
Japanese woodland poppy, Glaucidium palmatum. I moved this gem to a shadier spot last fall and then we lost the tree over the winter. We'll see how much sun it can take and survive.
Tulipa 'Orange Princess.' This is in the traffic island garden 60 feet from the house, but she's visible from the window over the kitchen sink.
Tulipa 'Prinses Irene'
Chenomeles, unknown variety. This was also here when we moved in but mostly buried under a Weigela. We axed that shrub to save the quince.
To see what's blooming today in gardens around the world, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens who monthly hosts GBBD.
Though our Purple Fountain Weeping Beech tree is the drama queen when it comes to leafing out, I've never met a tree that I didn't love at this season of the year. Here are a few favorites from our spring garden.
Korean maple (Acer pseudosieboldiana):
Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia):
Doublefile Viburnam (Viburnum plicatum tomentosum 'Mariesi'):
Tschonoskii maple (Acer tschonoskii):
LIttle Gem maple (Acer circinatum 'Little Gem'):
Golden Shadows pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia 'Golden Shadows'); note the tip chomped by the rabbits:
Everywhere you turn something is unfurling in the garden. The leaves on the weeping purple beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Purple Fountain') seem to have exploded in just a day or two. This is a dramatic tree at any time but never more so than in May. It heralds the new season with hairy, pleated, bronzed leaves that brazenly shout their arrival as well as that of Spring.
Every year I write about local garden sales and I pretty much say the same thing: I love them! Rather than give you lots of details here, I'm going to link you to more info. The Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society lists dozens and dozens of sales and garden events in their April newsletter. You can access it online here. Sale info begins on page 5.
My personal favorite sales are:
The West Side Garden Club: Friday, May 10, from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, May 11, from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. The sale is at 3518 Nakoma Road (near Seminole Highway and down the block from Thoreau School).
Olbrich Botanical Gardens: Plant Sale with the Pros on Friday, May 10, from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. and on Saturday, May 11 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Find complete details and why it's a must for gardeners at any stage here. I'll be working the Friday afternoon shift, so be sure to stop by and say hello. (Full disclosure: I'm an Olbrich member).
The Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society: Saturday, May 18, from 9 a.m. - noon, at the West Madison Agricultural Research Station, 8502 Mineral Point Road, Madison. Plants are from members' gardens and there are always some unusual offerings. Before I sat down at the computer to write this, I walked around my garden to determine what I can dig and pot up for the sale. Another benefit of this sale: lots of free parking! (Full disclosure: I'm a WHPS member and am also on their Board).
One of my favorite purchases from the West Side Garden Club sale. I never had any luck with this primrose until I bought some from this sale.
Our garden has been the beneficiary of our neighbor's interest in spring ephemerals, both native and not. We've received many gifts of flower clumps dug up and handed over the fence. Others have arrived via seeds, wind and critters. Each spring our garden is filled with Dutchman's breeches, Merrybells, great white Trillium, checkered lily and Bloodroot — all from our neighbor.
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is wonderful at every stage and I never know where they may show up. They are also one of the rare plants whose double form is even more beautiful (all photos).
I've purchased the double variety of Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis 'Multiplex') four or five times over the years and have had no success with it. No matter where I planted it, it disappeared never to be seen again. That was the case until I got a clump in the mail from fellow-blogger Kathy Purdy of Cold Climate Gardening. Whatever the reason, her plant has come back beautifully and the clump seems to be increasing in place.
These photos were taken late in the day when the bright sun made it easier to capture a good shot. What that means is that these flowers actually open even more widely earlier in the day. While their many petals are still obvious in these pictures, the flowers are actually beginning to close up for the night.
