Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day April 2013

 

It's hard to believe that it's the middle of April already!  Spring is in full swing here,  the trees are showing their fresh green foliage and blooms are everywhere!  Today is the last day to file  taxes in the U.S. and was my mother's birthday.   Here are some of the plants currently blooming in my garden:

 

Stachyurus praecox blooms are beginning to fade as the new leaves come in.  Stachyurus  salicifolia (not pictured) are just beginning to open.

 Kerria japonica is full of cheery yellow flowers.  This is a wonderful shrub that suckers quite a bit but is also easy to pull up and can take quite a bit of pruning!

 

 Eccremocarpus scaber 'Cherry Red' planted at the feet of a Trachycarpus fortunei  has now taken over the poor palm.  The vine has remained green through our mild winter and is thrilling humming birds with spring flowers.

Never met a magnolia I didn't like but  these sweet deciduous ones are a welcome sight in spring!

Forget me nots are a little weedy for some but  they are Alaska's state flower and were used a lot in Victorian designs.  They seed about and always surprise me with where they pop up every year.    Then of course there's the sweet poem by Emily Bruce Roelofson.

"When to the flowers so beautiful,
The Father gave a name,
Back came a little blue-eyed one,
All timidly it came.
And standing at its Father's feet,
And gazing in his face,
It said in low and trembling tones,
And with a modest grace,
'Dear God, the name thou gavest me,
Alas, I have forgot.'
The Father kindly looked Him down,
And said, 'Forget-me-not.' "

Sanguinaria canadensis multiplex.  Sorry, I didn't get a very good picture.

 Camellia season is in full swing!

 

 

 Akebia quinata 'shirobana'  is a wonderful semi-evergreen vine that heavily bears these trusses of white and highly fragrant ( reminds me of fragrant stock) blooms.  I have it planted over an arbor which is a joy to walk near when the akebia fragrance is floating on the air.

Another camellia japonica.

Ribes sanguineum is still in bloom as the new green foliage  appears.  Humming birds are supposed to be drawn to this PNW native but I never see any in proximity to this plant.  They seem much more interested in my feeders.

 

 

 Don't remember the name of this pulmonaria variety but it's my favorite with it's spotted foliage and blooms that emerge pink and change to blue as they age.

Trillium kurabayashii  (I'm pretty sure.)

 

Primula kisoana

Fun alien looking blooms of Petasites japonicus var. giganteus.

Have I mentioned that I love these cute double primroses.  This is one plant that's spread a lot in it's three years in my garden.

Rhododendron 'Blue Baron'

Bergenia

 

 

Euphorbia wulfenii

 

 Grevillea victoriae 'Marshall Olbrich' has been blooming all fall and winter.  What a great plant!

Have I mentioned that the Camellia japonicas are blooming? 

Rhododendron 'President Roosevelt.' Dig the cool variegated foliage.  I  only grow rhodies whose foliage I like because the blossoms, while gorgeous, are only around for a month or so while the foliage is ever present.

 

Skunk cabbage blooms looking especially nice in the sea of camellia petals.  The foliage of this native plant is large and tropical looking in the summer. 

These tulips have been in my garden for over ten years and return each year.  They've even outlasted some of the daffodills I planted around the same time!  One of these days I'll get around to planting more spring bulbs again.

 

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day is hosted each month by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.  Thanks, Carol, for bringing us all together for this fun monthly party!  Do click on the link above to see what's in bloom in gardens around the world.