Before the Storm
So we got back from Tennessee on Friday afternoon, and the garden welcomed us back with a fabulous show. However, the weather gods were preparing a more malicious welcome, namely the 3-5″ of snow predicted for the following day.
The first thing we noticed were the Daffodils and Species Tulips blooming in the front garden.
The bulbs I had planted over the last few years in the Parkway Bed were looking pretty good.
The white-tipped golden-yellow petals of Tulipa dasystemon make me think of lemon sorbet swirled with vanilla ice cream. It’s also a good naturalizer.
T. dasystemon combines nicely with the smaller T. turkestanica, which is white with a small yellow center.
I love the rich red of T. praestans ‘Fusilier’.
T. praestans ‘Unicum’ has variegated leaves.
More Daffodils.
The Clove Currant (Ribes odoratum) were in bloom, perfuming the sidewalk with its sweet-spicy scent.
All the excitement wasn’t about the flowers, though. I was pleased to see the Ostrich Ferns (Metteuccia struthiopteris) breaking dormancy in the Front Foundation Bed.
In the back garden, the first Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) were blooming along the porch.
The Great Merrybells (Uvularia grandiflora) were in bloom with their slightly twisted yellow petals on dangling flowers.
The Lenten Roses (Helleborus orientalis) are filling in nicely.
And look! Our little patch of Bloodroot (Sanguineria canadensis) is blooming. This is a bit of luck, as the bloom season for these flowers is just a few days.
The very first Great White Trillium is in bloom, with more to follow.
Oh, and the delicate white flowers of ‘Autumn Brilliance’ Serviceberry (Amelanchiear x grandiflora) are open.
As predicted, we were hit by a snowstorm on Saturday, just a couple of inches, but it did little damage. The blooming Daffodils and some of the Tulips were weighed down by the heavy snow. But the Great Merrybells, Virginia Bluebells, and Lenten Roses bounced right back. And even the Serviceberry flowers looked absolutely fine after the snow melted. By noon all the snow was melted, the sun was shining, and I even got in a few hours of gardening.
So the weather gods did not ruin our garden welcome after all.
gardeninacity 
All the hoopla here about getting five inches of snow. We got ZERO. Not even frost.
You have much more blooming than I do in suburban Detroit.
Seems like it’s another weird spring. We’ve had lots of rain and cold lately, but no snow.
So glad your blooms weren’t spoiled by the snow, that would have been dreadful as they look so beautiful! Love all your little tulips, I must try more of those.
It’s always a good idea to add tulips!
Spring is happening in your garden despite the snow. I particularly like the species tulips. Tulip dasystemon looks just like T. tarda. I love it. And what a lovely clump of Uvularia.
Uvularia is one of my favorites. More people should plant it!
I do have it but the clump never seems to get much bigger, it looks much better in your garden.
I can’t imagine snow on top of these gorgeous bulbs, I love the T. praestans Fusilier, the colour is just a delight. What a nice welcome the garden gave you on your return.
Yes, it really did. I love that rich scarlet red on ‘Fusilier’!
Your garden has a wonderful spring look. Love those blue bells. I have Va blue bells but they have never reproduced. One plant it blooms faithfully every year but no others appear. I find that Strange.
I’m surprised that the bluebells don’t reproduce. Maybe they want more shade?
Phew! The story has a happy ending. In Maine, we call such snow “poor man’s fertilizer.”
Interesting.
Glad your pretties weren’t impacted by the cold–sheesh, it seems late for snow, is it?
When I still lived in Iowa, there were Easters when our tulips were in full bloom, and up to their little necks in snow. I confess I always found it amusing to see the tulip “cups” apparently lined up on a snowbank. As I recall, it never hurt them. Late snows like that were wet snow, and often gone within a day or two.
It sure does! Way too late!
We only got an inch. But the temp got down to about 28-30 depending on who you read. I covered a lot of things, more worried about the weight of the snow. Even that small amount really flattened things and it turned to ice on top of the plastic buckets I put over a number of things. Always hard trying to decide to cover things or let nature take her course.
I just have too much stuff to cover so I just cross my fingers.
I am so happy to hear it didn’t damage your garden! Happy Spring : )
Same to you, Laurin!
What a lovely surprise to greet you. Glad the snow was light and brief.
Me, too. It was coming down hard for a while!
I have heard about snow storm that was in forecast Jason. Your tulips and daffodils are so lovely, real vernal plants, they decorate your garden.
Thank you, Nadezda. I hope there has been no snow where you are!
I’m glad the snow spared the flowers. I heard you were going to get about 10 inches.
Turned out to be more like 3, and it didn’t last long.
What a drag that snow can happen on top of such bloom. At least your bloom tolerated it.
Are there many cultivars of serviceberry? When we grew it back in the mid 1990s, we grew only ‘Smoky’ (I think). We quickly realized that there was no market for them here. I have seen one other cultivar, but I do not remember what it was, or what was distinctive about it. Are there none that are grown from seed, as they would be found in the wild? I noticed with the black elderberry that there are both cultivars and seed grown plants. Our native blue elderberry are only grown from seed (as far as I know).
I don’t think there are a lot of Serviceberry varieties. The one that dominates the market in ‘Autumn Brilliance’, which is a hybrid of two species. I think there are more varieties of Amelanchier alnifolia, which has been grown as a commercial crop in Canada.
Well, no; there are not many cultivars. I don’t know much at all about them, but I do remember seeing only two. One was ‘Smokey’, but now that I think of it, I do not remember if it was a hybrid, or what species it is.
It’s definitely a beautiful day in your neighborhood.
And I enjoyed it.
What a sight that must have been when you arrived home! Have a question about the bloodroot – I’ve heard that even though the blooms are short-lived, the foliage is what carries it for the rest of the season…thoughts?
Well, I have a very small patch. As far as I can tell, the foliage lasts only a few weeks. It’s a very delicate and transitory plant.
Oh your ferns are going to be lovely! Lovely display of spring bulbs you have made.
Thank you!
Your spring garden is lovely! I especially liked the Virginia Bluebells and the Bloodroot. Those late snow storms are so discouraging even if they don’t last long. I remember a few years ago on May 16th, we got 8 inches of snow! But then 2 days later it was so warm I planted corn. 😀 Crazy weather!
It can be crazy. 8 inches is a lot of snow!
There are so many to admire here, but I was quite taken with the Great Merrybells. I have a friend in Montana who often mentions the serviceberries, but I didn’t realize there are cultivars. They’re equally delightful.
Serviceberries were grown as a commercial crop in western Canada, where they are called Saskatoons.
It looks great. I’m glad you dodged the weather on this one.
We got a nice freeze instead, and a few things were damaged. It happens. It will recover. Spring is still pretty awesome!
Can’t argue with that!
Oh…what a glorious sight to return home to!xxx
It really was.