Well, hello there! I've been absent for months, but April's Bloom Day celebration of flowers is giving me the perfect excuse to check back in. I'm delighted to finally have some VERY welcome spring blooms after a long, cold, wet winter and spring (that's not over yet.)
But as for the flowers, a case in point: this robust show from Ribes sanguinea, finally unfurling after a month of teasing us with her magenta-colored buds.
Next up, another robust bloomer: Ozmanthus x burkwoodii. It's finally starting to give us some screening from our lovely (but very close) neighbors.
Camellia 'April Kiss' is in its downward flowering phase but there are still some intact, pretty blooms to cheer us.
A gifted pulmonaria from Skyler at Tangly Cottage Gardens has survived in my garden! I have had several over the years and they never made it through their first year. This one's a winner, and a lovely hit of blue to boot.
Just in front of the Pulmonaria, Primula Hose in Hose yellow from a swap a few years ago is the first Primrose to bloom this year.
Daphne 'Eternal Fragrance' is back after a tough winter.
The small, fleeting flowers of Jeffersonia diphylla are fun to spot nestled inside the plant. Its common name is twinleaf, for the two large lobes that make up each leaf.
Lewisia cotyledon 'Sunset Shades'. I can't have enough of this pretty PNW native in my garden and buy this cultivar compulsively.
A NOID species tulip that is having a good year. These may be the only plants in my garden that appreciated our harsh winter!
This is my entire NOID Hellebore collection. I have been given all but one, so I've never known names on them. I love the tall, dark one at the back, but I'm pretty happy with the way each one brightens up the winter garden, whatever their names.
Lastly, here's my favorite small-flowered camellia: C. transnokoensis. Its delicate shape and tiny blooms seem like the essence of spring to me.
Bloom Day is celebrated on the 15th of each month and hosted by writer Carol Michel, at May Dreams Gardens. Check out lots of other April flowers in the posts there.
Happy Bloom Day, and Happy Spring!
