APRIL SHOWERS

"The sun was warm but the wind was chill. You know how it is with an April day."- Robert Frost

This April was rather warm and didn't shower us with a lot of rain as expected.  Nevertheless the Spring flowers put forth their cheerful blooms -early blooming phlox, Japanese roof iris, dianthus and a shrub rose  ( above ) are some of the earliest to appear.

In my front yard forest the 'Prague' and ' Mariesii ' viburnums are blooming and in the foreground the cobalt-blue ajuga.  This area is a rain garden since all the run-off collects there.  The sedges soak up a lot of the excess.

The boulder garden is coming alive with the tiny yellow 'lady banks ' rose and Chinese snowball viburnum.

Above, my new moss garden is thriving in this shady nook.

Despite the lack of April showers the boulder garden is coming along nicely.  Now for some May rain !

MARCH INTO SPRING

 My red Buckeye never fails to put on it's beautiful Spring show !

Oh how I missed these blooms this year  ( above ) on my early-Spring blooming Prunus mume 'Peggy Clarke ' ! The good news however is that my severe pruning off of the black knot fungus that attacked them both last year has resulted in new growth.  By luck I also came upon a new cultivar -'kobai' at the local garden center and of course I had to have it.  It appears to be more shrub-like than 'peggy clarke . ' I'm expecting quite a show next Spring !

It's not Spring without the charming bell-like flowers of the Hellebores that I have lining my long driveway.  Their long blooming white flowers add color to the woodland garden.

Early blooming phlox ,Japanese roof iris  and dianthus are usually the first perennials to appear after the daffodils and tulips are gone.  My Schnoodle Odie is sniffing out one of the many lizards that call my garden home.

Another welcome harbinger of Spring -Edgeworthia, aka, Chinese paper bush.  It's fragrance is outstanding as well, which is why I planted it near the pathway.

Another outstanding fragrant Spring shrub -Korean Spice Viburnum

Did I say how much I love Viburnums ?  At last count I had close to 9 .  Here's an early Spring bloomer -Chinese Snowball .

And - last but not least - in the darkest corner of my garden -the cheerful yellow blooms of Kerria Japonica .

We had a wonderful Spring this year and it awarded us with an abundance of beautiful blooms.