Wednesday, May 22, 2013

The Garden in Early May



In some respects, the garden seems to have been holding its breath and waiting for the right moment. The first days of mid-May were hot and sunny, but there wasn't much in the way of rain. 

Then on Monday night, we had a late evening thunderstorm, followed by a heavy downpour. The rain continued through the night and into the next day.

Now all of a sudden, it seems that everything is richly green. Tentative leaves have shy no more! The hosta which have been holding themselves in reserve; their leaves stiffly upright, have relaxed and unfurled. 

The black flies seem to have eased, but now carnivorous brown mosquitoes patrol the flowerbeds in their stead.


My favourite thing of the moment is this birdbath by the back door. The play of textures 
never fails to delight me.



Rose Mossy Saxifrage, saxifraga x arendsii rose selection



Though it seems that the garden has been holding back, the procession of spring bulbs seems to have sped by at hyper speed. I had loads and loads of the prettiest all-white daffodils. Do you think I got a chance to take a single picture? No, not a blessed bloody one!

Even these white tulips by the back gate blew fully open before I had a chance to snap a picture of them.


Virginia Blue Bells


Generally speaking, I stuck with the color scheme I devised for my bulbs last fall: red and yellow bulbs at the front of the house, white just inside the back gate, a variety of pinks, white and yellow in the main part of the backyard and yellow, white and mauve in the circle garden at the very back.

But as you can see here I messed up a bit and planted some of the mauve tulips in with the pinks. 

Oh well, I guess I'll have to fix this odd mix of colors for next spring.



Euphorbia Polychroma



Love the deep red of these primroses.


The garden at the very back of the yard.


Ostrich Ferns




That's a Buddha in the background meditating under the shade his red umbrella (Japanese Maple).


I have more of these dark maroon geraniums that I know what to do with! 
They are all just starting to flower.


Our crabapple looked glorious for a few days, but now the rains have carried 
off all the sweetly fragrant flowers.



There are many more pictures, but I will spare your patience and save them for another post.

31 comments:

  1. I really like those pink Saxi... Saxa... Saxifr... you know what I mean. Must talk to the peep!

    Purrs,
    Nissy

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  2. Your garden has come to life and is just beautiful!!Love seeing the pictures of the yard. You have a nice shade area. I think that's how it's been all over...one day nothing and then BAM!

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  3. I adore that pink tulip may I have permission to paint..it? for practice

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    1. You are more than welcome to turn the tulip image or any other image on the blog into a painting. Email me if you like and you can have a high resolution image to print out and work from. jenc_art@hotmail.com

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  4. Your garden looks beautiful! Spring always goes by too fast, this one especially. I love those saxifrage flowers - must add to the wish list! Those primroses are so elegant.

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  5. Me encantan las fotografías con la textura craquelada!!!.Realmente un trabajo hermoso.
    Abrazos.

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  6. Everything here is so beautiful, Jennifer.
    We've had a couple of really heavy rainstorms both yesterday and today.
    The greens are absolutely glowing now!

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  7. Everything that is blooming in your garden is just beautiful and you have done a great job with the diversity of your plants. I have had a bird bath boxed up in my garage forever now and I might plant it with some herbs and flowers after seeing your bird bath. I think Spring is going by very quickly too and my irises are just about done and it seems like they just started blooming.

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  8. Just beautiful. Amazing what a rain can do. It seems blooms just wait until the rain, then pow - they all open at once! The planted birdbath is just beautiful. And I love that red primrose!

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  9. Lovely, that euphorbia is my fave. I wish I could find those primroses out here, they are so beautiful.

    Thanks for the inspiration!

    xox

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  10. Love the double pink tulip, love the primroses. Can't wait to see pictures of those beauties in full bloom. All my bulbs are done - the last of the tulips dropped their petals in the rain the other night. Oh well, the alliums are in bloom and look amazing. We better enjoy it because the forecast looks cold for the weekend.

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  11. Your first shot is so beautifully framed! Mother Nature is sending everything to bloom so fast I barely have time to photograph things - Yikes! Your garden is full of colour and looks wonderful.

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  12. How wonderful that you all got a good rain! Your garden is colorful and divine! I enjoyed seeing all of your many beautiful blooms! It is always such a treat to stroll through your garden! Just Awesome!

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  13. I love the planted bird bath! I'm going to look for the Rose mossy Saxifrage & see if it grows in my zone.

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  14. So many lovely blooms in your garden, your birdbath planting is so colourful, it's beautiful! The red primrose, or is it a cowslip, is gorgeous, such a deep red, so unusual.

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  15. Love the crackled effect you have added to the first and last photos Jennifer - beautiful. You are right, the spring bulbs come and go so quickly - as it has been a little cold here the tulips are hanging around a bit longer than is usual, they really do add a splash of colour.

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  16. Jennifer, your garden in indescribably beautiful. The saxifrage is a plant I will need to add to our collection here, so pretty. Our tulips were done much too quickly this year too, and the daffodils didn't linger long even with the cold spring. I hate to see them pass by as we wait every year for their arrival with anticipation. Always a treat to visit your gardens!

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  17. You have such a lovely garden, Jennifer! So many beautiful, colorful bloomers. Happy gardening!

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  18. Nothing beats the fresh new foliage and flowers of spring. I never think to cut anything for a vase. What a beautiful arrangement. We're still waiting for a decent rain here-supposedly this weekend. Love the planted birdbath. Is it something you can leave out all year?

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    1. I have two planted birdbaths and yes, I have left them outside year round in years past. There were always winter sacrifices though- I would lose all my hens and chicks and anything else that was tender to the standard winter pattern of freeze and then thaw. Each spring I had to replace whatever I lost.
      This past winter I stored the planted birdbath tops in my cold frame and everything came through winter beautifully. You could probably accomplish the same thing if you stored them somewhere warm and dry like a garage.
      To plant up a birdbath I always use a generous layer of pea gravel for drainage. Then I mound soil on top of the fine gravel.

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  19. Absolutely stunning!

    I've got my eye on that saxifrage...if I can track one down, I may just "have to have it." ;)

    ~Sheryl @ Flowery Prose

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  20. Lovely flowers in your garden. I feel like you that it is almost going to fast with the spring. Yesterday we had loads of rain, and afterwards lots of wind. So now the tulips are looking somewhat beheaded or bent. My new crabapple has the most lovely flowers and I was afraid it would snap in the wind.
    I like your birdbath

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  21. Oh so enjoyed the walk through your garden. As for the geraniums..more than you know what to do with...they reseed everywhere don't they!! But, they are loved by the bees so I haven't the heart to take them all out, just some.

    Thanks!

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  22. Thanks for the tour. I agree with you that the red primroses are lovely, and I love the myosotis scattered around your garden.

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  23. I loved the tulips and thought the bird bath was simply gorgeous too.
    I also loved the forget-me-nots, the blue is lovely and they are such a hardy dainty plant. I have them everywhere this year.

    A wonderful tour.xxxx

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  24. Jennifer, thank you for the tour of your garden. Particularly the wide shots so we get a sense of layout. It is spectacular.

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  25. Thank you for taking us on this stroll through your garden Jennifer. You didn't have to stop you know ;-) I could never get tired of the abundance of bloom in your garden. I'm looking forward to more already.
    Love all the tulips scattered around the garden in a whole array of colours. And I see you have the Geranium Phaeum I have in the garden as well. Love that dark purple colour of the flowers that also comes back in the leaves of this plant. Love the deep red Primroses as well. Must be tiny red dots in the border. I love that much more than big red blobs, just as I love the tiny orange dots of Geum in my own garden. Come have a look if you like!
    Bye,
    Marian
    Bye,
    Marian

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  26. Jennifer I adore you beautiful spring garden...tulips and forget-me-nots are so lovely

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  27. dear jennifer, i love the garden and its plants. but i especially love these photos. Each one is perfectly framed and the light and colours are lovely. They are the kind of photos I aspire to taking, and sometimes manage. Do you use AWB?

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    Replies
    1. I like to think I have a good eye, but beyond that my photography skills are very basic. I have never fussed with an automatic white balance.

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  28. I love the Rose Mossy Saxifrage, so charming! The tulips and forget-me-nots look beautiful in your back garden.

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