Richard Hawke is the Plant Evaluation Manager for the Chicago Botanic Garden, so it’s fair to say he knows a lot about plants. Recently I was interested to see a post he wrote for CBG’s blog entitled “What Are the Best Plants for Your Midwestern Garden?”
It took me a while to warm up to Hellebores. These days I don’t love them, but I do like them pretty much.
Our Tulip season began early this year, although it included some false starts and sneak attack hard frosts. And it seems to be ending early as well.
One of the last of the Tulips to go is ‘Ballerina’. I love the color and the shape. When the flowers mature they seem to be a brighter, more uniform orange. Few Tulips can glow in the afternoon sun with the same intensity.
The Wild Currant (Ribes americanum) begins to bloom just as Clove Currant (Ribes odoratum) is finishing up. Right now the Wild Currants are just loaded with dangling yellow flowers – more of a soft greenish yellow, as opposed to the bright yellow of Clove Currant. As with the Clove Currant, our Wild Currant plants seem to have more flowers than usual this spring.
Remember back in April, how the white flowers of our Serviceberries (Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance”) mingled with pink flowers of the neighbors’ Crabapple?
The sweet smell of Lilacs (Syringa vulgaris) is one of the great pleasures of spring. There’s a Lilac planted right outside our window so we could enjoy the scent when it bloomed. Which was a great plan, except that I had forgotten this particular window had been painted shut.
So for us to enjoy the Lilac blooms inside, they must be brought inside.
I hold fragrant plants in very high esteem, especially those that share their scent soon after winter comes to a close. For shrubs in this category, I think my favorite is Clove Currant (Ribes odoratum), a native of the Great Plains.
Sorry about the title, I just had to express how happy I am that we now have some White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) – in bloom – of our very own.
Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) and Old-Fashioned Bleeding Hearts (Lamprocapnos spectabilis) are among the most endearing blooms of spring.
gardeninacity 