What’s blooming in the garden: April

Hello, I hope you are enjoying spring! We had some nice days and cold nights. Spring is later this year but is now well underway. Last week I wrote the cherry blossom trees were not in full bloom yet, they are now! The magnolia flowers are already starting to fall on the ground.  It’s such a shame that the spectacular flowering trees only bloom for such a short time, don’t you think? Luckily, there is much to look forward to these days. It won’t be long before the azaleas and rhododendrons start blooming. They are not as sensational as the cherry trees, but they come close.

This week I want to show you what’s blooming in my garden. I am joining Carol, from May Dreams Gardens. Why don’t you join in and show us what’s blooming in your garden? Please leave a comment to tell us about your garden. Just click on a name in the comments if you want to visit other blogs.

Last autumn I cleared a part of the back garden. It was full of hydrangeas grown too tall, snowberry bushes with little foliage and other unattractive shrubs. I took out all plants except for two hydrangeas. They have to be pruned, but I think they are worth saving. I may leave them there or move them to another location, let’s wait and see how this border looks in summer.

Perennials

I planted this part of the garden with a variety of perennials: geranium, salvia, Nepeta, clematis. I like perennials because they come back year after year and once they are established they help prevent weeds from growing. If you choose the right plants, you will have flowers from spring well into autumn. Of course, it will take some time for the plants to spread and cover the border. At the moment, the garden is not very photogenic, lots of fallen leaves and bare soil.

Bulbs

I also planted different bulbs for some spring colour: daffodils, Fritillaria Persica, leucojum, allium. My daffodils are late, they are just starting to come into flower and it’s April already! Did I plant the bulbs too late?

I think I bought about 20 daffodils ‘Papillon blanc’ and 20 daffodils ‘Bridal crown’. Not nearly enough to pick a bouquet of daffodils to bring into the house. I will have to plant more this Autumn! I bought the ‘Papillon blanc’ believing it to be a pure white daffodil, but it turns out to be creamy white with a soft yellow cup. 

Helleborus

I also planted the Helleborus ‘Anna’s Red’ I bought in January. Are you a member of the hellebore appreciation society? I certainly am. I gave you 4 reasons to grow hellebores almost exactly a year ago today! I bought two hellebores ‘Anna’s Red’ and they are doing really well. One plant has more than 20 flowers, and buds too. The other one doesn’t have that many flowers but is looking very healthy with new leaves appearing.

I really like the colour combination of the creamy white and soft yellow daffodils and the purple hellebores. I think it’s a good thing the daffodils aren’t pure white.

The hellebores in the front garden are Helleborus argutifolius. They grow under an old oak tree and really light up the garden. I am very hesitant to cut my hellebores to bring inside. One reason is that I can see them from the kitchen window. I can enjoy them from the house without bringing them in. The other reason is that I don’t have that many plants. Hellebores are slow to grow and do not self-sow easily, at least not in my garden. But now I have two seedlings!

Small flowers

The border on the side of the driveway is covered with tiny blooms: woodland anemones and spring fumewort. Aren’t they sweet?

Daffodils, hellebores and tiny blooms, that’s it. All we need are a few more warm and sunny days, and I am sure the garden will explode with colour. How does your garden grow? Share it with us in the comments below, or use the share buttons to share this blog post. Thank you!