blooming in my garden: may 2, 2011 slideshow
THE MOST COLORFUL CREATURES HERE as April turns to May: returning male birds in mating plumage. The last week included the arrival of rose-breasted grosbeaks and Baltimore orioles…but I am straying, as the point is plants, right? Oops. A look at what’s blooming (including Uvularia grandiflora, above), the second in a series of new slideshows during this busiest of changing garden times.
Click the first thumbnail to start the slideshow, then toggle from side to slide using the arrow keys on your keyboard, or the arrows beside each caption. A few of these plants have more about them here on A Way to Garden already…links below the thumbnails. Enjoy!
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- May! If April was slow, now the rush begins. Tulips (and asparagus) join the late daffodils and more…
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- Where we left off last week, the spike winterhazel or Corylopsis spicata was just shy of peak. Now it’s full-on, and the big Loebner magnolia called ‘Ballerina’ beyond is, too. (A shadbush is to the far left.)
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- A few days after ‘Ballerina,’ the yellow-flowered magnolia called ‘Butterflies’ starts to unfurl.
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- On the back of the house, an espaliered Asian pear comes into its own (that’s the shadbush again in the far distance, a white cloud).
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- Detail of the shad flowers, or Amelanchier.
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- I can never take a good photo of this funny native shrub, Dirca palustris (leatherwood), with a stature like a miniature tree.
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- And then there are the crazy treasures of the understory: the earliest perennials like Uvularia grandiflora, seen here before it opened last week…
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- …and then in bloom…
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- …and a detail of its right gold flowers, like bits of dangling ribbon or streamers.
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- My favorite primrose, Primula kisoana, has fuzzy blue-green leaves and the hottest orchid-color flowers, just coming alive.
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- Lathyrus vernus, the spring vetchling, is a small perennial pea, but non-vining. Love it.
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- A real rarity from Asia: Chloranthus japonicus. I have had it for probably 15 years, a gift from a friend, and it will sport shiny, almost metallic (and also textural) foliage all summer long. Right now, just its small blooms and emerging leaves and those yummy dark stems.
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- It’s epimedium time, and crawling around beside a big clump of Epimedium rubrum I was amazed at all the tiny, intricate flowers.
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- My favorite are epimediums whose early foliage is marked in red.
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- This is a flower detail of Epimedium x perralchicum ‘Wisley.’ I see that Arrowhead Alpines has it for sale.
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- The bleeding hearts are coming into their season, which means the hummingbirds will stop back soon (for some reason their return always coincides with these non-native flowers here). My favorite: yellow-foliaged ‘Gold Heart’.
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- I used to have just one plant of rare Hylomecon japonicum. Now I have a million, thanks to a friend who divided mine against my wishes…and was right to!
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- Another early woodlander, this one an American native, is celandine poppy, Stylophorum diphyllum.
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- I have let it sow around the place for many, many years, enjoying its sunny blooms and blue-green foliage and fuzzy flower and seed pods.
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- The wakerobin, a native trillium called T. erectum, came to me by chance. A clump of it was growing under my porch when I arrived here 25 years ago — perhaps planted there by some animal? I divided and divided and divided it, and now…
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- …there are clumps everywhere from maybe three little bulb-like rhizomes I found here. (Seen in combination with Hylomecon under an old apple tree in this shot.)
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- I even like when the flowers start to age, and the green sepals start to look more like petals, as if it’s a bicolored flower. More to come…
Maybe you should change your tagline to “Garden know how and YA-HOO!!” These are beautiful!
After viewing your gorgeous photos I can’t wait to go up to the berkshires this Friday to see how my garden has progressed since I was there on April 25. Last year I planted 2 varieties of bleeding hearts, one of which was ‘gold heart’ and I’m so hoping they have returned. I am feeling so inspired!
Love those red Trilliums!
I am astounded that the grosbeaks and orioles arrive in your area at the same time they are here…eastern NE. The number of orioles is HUGE and they are not anywhere as “flighty” as they usually are on arrival. One flew in the house and allowed me to carry him outside…I’m possibly an oriole whisperer. The hummers are here and there is even a summer tanager…a newby. You hardly know where to focus with the dazzling show going on overhead and underfoot.
I see your bleeding heart is in bloom. I thought it was early in my garden, just about 20 min. north of yours, but maybe that’s just because it has been cold again, and the plant always seems a bit fragile to me. I should realize it isn’t fragile at all, after a contractor drove his truck drove right over the plant, and I dug up the broken roots, and replanted them and was rewarded with many new, healthy plants!
Hi Margaret,
I thought you might enjoy seeing these photos from the British newspaper The
Telegraph
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningpicturegalleries/8490051/International-Garden-Photographer-of-the-Year-2011-winners.html
Cheers!
.
BTW, the Specials page at Bluestone Perennials has several plants this week that Margaret has mentioned here, including the hosta June, geranium macrorrhizum and a lespedeza, plus one of my favorite heucheras called purple petticoats.
Spring is finally in full swing here. My Dr Merrill magnolia has been in full bloom for the past week, and Ann magnolia is starting to pop its bud casings to show glimpses of lipstick pink. My double bloodroot and hellebores are in full bloom, the red trillium is in bud, lots of primulas, hyacinths, and daffodils are blooming, as well as the one species tulip that the chipmunks somehow overlooked last year. Daphne mezereum has leafed out and almost finished blooming. I have the dark purple muscari next to a wave of light blue Valerie Finnis muscari. Leucojum are a cheerful spot of white amidst a flooded front garden. Spring also is the time for the body count. So far one dead hydrangea and an almost dead azalea. Not bad.
The Asian Pear Tree is absolutely beautiful.
Absolutely spectacular!! Here in Wisconsin, my bloodroot is up, but on many cool days those basically square flowers just stay closed up. You and your garden are such an inspiration. Thanks.
Beautiful photos! Thank you for sharing. I live in northern Florida and spring is now a memory…we are heading fast into summer weather (hot and humid).
Thanks for the pictures of the Celandine Poppy. I bought a collection of native wildflowers from Cornell Cooperative and this plant was the only one to survive. None were labeled and I’ve wondered for three years now what it was. It is one of my favorites, seeding itself through the garden with its bright, yellow flowers.
You are welcome, Beth, and hello! I have had it for so many years, and have let it sow around, too. Makes me happy, and so easy to dig out if it puts itself in an unwanted spot. Do come say hello again soon.
Beautiful! And I’ve figured out the id of something of mine that I’d found this year that I recognized, but couldn’t put my finger on… celandine poppy. thanks! I love your Magnolia ‘Elizabeth’ – if we get another one, that’s the one I want. (We have ‘Anticipation’, a gorgeous creamy white, and ‘Jane’, a pink who is loaded with flowers.)
Thank you for the great tour — I love spring in the Northeast, even this year which has been slow and cold. Wish I weren’t tied to the City so much this spring and could see my own garden unfolding.
Hi Margaret, Just finished your book. As a person who jumped off the speeding train herself, there is so much in it that I can relate to.
Here’s my question: have you ever tried to divide your Uvularia grandiflora? I would like to share it with a friend who likes the way the stem so delicately pierces through the leaves like fine thread. I sure don’t want to lose the plant in the process though.
Hi, Mary, and glad you read the book! I am about to divide my Uvularia as well. I was going to do it after flowering…and I just saw on an English site (where merrybells, as they are called, are more widely enjoyed I think) that that is the way to go.
margaret…all I can say is thanks once again for the beautiful photos of your woodland treasures..and your informational descriptions that make me want to plant every single one of them in my garden !
Wow- you have lots more in bloom than I do in Chicagoland! I was just out for a walk so I can say for sure. My narcissus are just about to come out and I can’t wait for their smell in my house. Thanks for the lovely pics!
Such unusual varieties. I live in Coastal Va. and I have never noticed these plants anywhere before.
Thanks for the “breathe of Spring”. We can see Spring’s breathe here in southern Minnesota. Last I looked it’s only in the 30’s, but we do have a few brave things attempting to bloom. Buds on lilacs are showing color and scilla are blooming. No hummingbirds yet. Magnolia blossoms are starting to show color, but I hope they hold out for warmer weather. Warblers are coming back, but no hummingbirds yet. I’ll have to make note of what flowers are blooming when I first spot them.
Thank you for that wonderful tour. You almost made me miss spring in the northeast.