April Bloom Day
Happy Bloom Day! This is the first Bloom Day of the year I’m participating in, for the simple reason that it’s the first one where I have any blooms.
My April Bloom Day is first and foremost about Daffodils. We’re not yet at PDT (Peak Daffodil Time) in our garden, but we’re getting close.
Unfortunately, we had a brief but heavy hailstorm just a couple of days ago, and it broke many of the Daffodil stems. I hate to see a good Daffodil down, though, so if you look closely you will see I have used various plant supports to keep the blooms off the ground.
The Colorblends Mix of Daffodils planted in the Parkway Bed last fall are mostly still in bud. Above is one of the first Colorblends Daffodils to bloom.
One of the things about planting a mix is that you may not know what varieties you’ve got. On the other hand, I’ve been pretty lackadaisical when it comes to keeping track of Daffodil variety names, so I suppose planting a mix doesn’t make much difference.
I’m particularly fond of two color Daffodils for some reason.
I like how these catch the afternoon light.
Patches of Siberian Squill (Scilla sibirica) are blooming nicely in both the front and back gardens. Great color when massed.
I’m fond of Squill because I’m fond of all blue flowers. Recently I became aware of concerns that Squill could be invasive in natural areas. In my garden it spreads, but not so aggressively. I would be more concerned if we lived in proximity to a forest preserve or something comparable.
The very first Grape Hyacinths will soon be flowering. I have some of the straight Muscari armeniacum, as well as the variety ‘Valerie Finnis’ with it’s sky-blue flowers. I used to think that it was spelled ‘Valerie Finis’, and was named by a French horticulturist who was breaking things off with Valerie. Note that the Muscari leaves have been nibbled by rabbits.
On the Tulip front, ‘Early Harvest’ is now done, but some of the Species Tulips are stepping forward, notably Tulipa turkestanica. (When it comes to Tulips, I am quite compulsive about keeping track of species and variety names.)
I like its masses of small white flowers with yellow centers. Although I sometimes get annoyed at this flower’s shyness – it’s quick to close up in cold or cloudy weather.
The red flowers of T. praestans ‘Unicum’ are starting to emerge.
And T. praestans ‘Fusilier’ are just starting to open.
The very first of the Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum) are showing their flowers. I use them as an edging along the sidewalk for the Left Bank and Lamppost Beds. The ones right against the sidewalk seem to be the first to wake up.
And – oh, joy! – the flower buds of the Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) can now be seen. Can’t wait until they are in full flower – they are my favorite among the netive spring ephemerals.
I’m going to leave the flowering woody plants for another post. In the meantime, thanks as always for Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. Check out the link for more April blooms.
gardeninacity 
Daffodils and tulips! Lovely! Lovely!
Happy Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day!
Happy Easter!
Same to you, Lea!
Happy Bloom day! I never tire of the first daffodils in sunshine, and bulbs are always such a promise of good things to come…enjoy!
I can’t imagine anyone tiring of daffodils in sunshine.
Our daffodils are more or less over now. We are in peak tulip time but there is lots more to see
Daffodils are at about their peak here today, Tulips just starting to come on.
Like Steve, our daffodils are virtually a memory – lovely to see yours!
Are your tulips already done at this point? By the way, Cathy, my comments on your blog seem to be going into your spam folder. This is happening with a number of blogs – WordPress must think I am very suspicious.
Well – I don’t think you are suspicious! Will investigate! The later-flowering tulips are continuing here. They started about 4 weeks ago (maybe more). Am still enjoying the lily-flowered.
Have just discovered three comments of yours in spam! So sorry – your comments are particularly welcome. How does this happen?
My daff and squill photos are sitting in the camera. We are supposed to have temps near 80 today, so many things will be popping. A couple of flowering cherries in neighbors yards look really nice. Wish I had tulips, but I feed the animals enough as it is.
I wish I had flowering cherries. Our crabapple is just about to bloom, though I hope today’s rain doesn’t wash away the petals.
Lovely. 🙂 No blooms here of any kind, but the snow is almost all gone except for a couple of small spots.
Well, that must be a relief.
Once they get started you have a riot of blooms. Nothing like the first of the season blooms. Happy GBBD.
Happy GBBD to you, Lisa!
Lots going on, seemingly overnight. I have a surprise hyacinth that’s come up in the front garden that was previously obscured by a shrub that I removed last year – it’s a welcome surprise.
I also have a surprise Hyacinth! I think I grew it in a pot a couple of years ago and then stuck it in the ground at random.
I had no idea that the squill bulbs were invasive. Do they like the sun? That’s where I have mine, and love the splashes of blue around the garden.
I think they will grow in sun or shade. I also love the splashes of blue.
Lovely, lovely!
Thank you!
Lovely daffs, ours are over now. I love your carpet of scillas, I am quite happy for them to be invasive just like the pretty chionodoxas. I used to get these two muddled up until I realised that the chionodoxas put their chins up and the silly scillas look down.
Well, and the Chionodoxas have a white eye. They are charming, though I don’t have any.
You are way ahead of me in blooms. If it stays sunny this weekend it may push my early daffs into blooming. Mostly my garden feels on the cusp.
Around here things have gotten a lot springier over the last week.
Linda, I’m afraid my comments on your blog are still going to spam. Just a heads up.
Wow! Lovely spread. Yes, spring has arrived early this year. I laughed over Valerie “finis” Finnis. I have her too, such a pretty pale blue muscari.
I really like the lighter and darker blue mixed together.
Lovely, lovely indeed!
The daffodils and tulips are beautiful.I’m not familiar with the red flower though…
Happy blooms day and Happy Easter!
The red tulip is a kind of semi-wild species called Tulipa praestans.
Those praestans ‘Fusilier’ tulips are beautiful. I grew Squill in my old garden, but not in this one. I’ll need to re-visit that.
‘Fusilier’ and the other T. praestans varieties really give you your red color fix early in the season.
It appears that we are at about the same place with our gardens this year. I suppose your Daffodils are now about peak after today? I would say today and tomorrow are the peak for us. My Grape Hyacinths are blooming, too, and the Scillas. I was wondering about their invasiveness. We do have a little forest patch in the back, but the Scilla are in a confined area bordered by a wall and sidewalks, so hopefully they won’t spread beyond that patch. How exciting that your Bluebells are about to bloom! Happy GBBD!
Happy GBBD to you! But it seems from your FB posts your getting way more pollinators than I am – I’m hardly seeing any.
Yes, April is generally the first GBBD month I can participate as well. But isn’t it a wonderful month in the garden?
April can be a very exciting and energizing month with all the new flowers, colors, and smells.
I enjoy seeing your Daffodils, they are long long gone here. I’m with you on the two-color thing. I never plant solid daffs anymore unless they are white.
The white ones can be very nice.
Daffodils! Lovely! I also really like the color of the squill… Thank you for sharing your beautiful garden. Happy GBBD!
You’re welcome! Happy Bloom Day to you!
Hello Jason, the Siberian Squill are delightful, we have a few growing in the patio wall and I’ll probably dedicate an area of border to having a mass-planting of them for a spring display.
That sounds like an excellent idea. They are small flowers, you definitely want them in a mass.
How lovely to see your spring blooms. We seem to be a month ahead of you so all my squill, grape hyacinths and daffs have gone over….sadly I din’t take any pictures. I love blue flowers too.xxx
The Grape Hyacinths are at their peak right now, as are the daffs.
Ah, Virginia Bluebells!
They’re looking even better right now!
Looks like spring has definitely arrived in your garden, Jason! My daffodils are pretty much finished, and even some of the tulips have already faded in this past week of warm weather. I like to plant the daffodil mixes, too; besides being a little cheaper, I like the variety and different bloom times. Like you, though, I try to keep track of the tulips, though as some disappear and others pop up in strange places, it gets harder each year. ‘Valerie Finis’–lol:)
Yes, and as one’s memory becomes more compromised by age (which is definitely the case for me).
A beautiful series of spring blooms, Jason! Sorry to hear you had hail. I dread that here! We’ve had a little sleet this April, but fortunately, no hail.
The hail did a moderate amount of damage, it could have been worse.