Spring is here, and I am so happy to show off the April blooms in my garden! The daffodils really started to show off towards the end of March and the beginning of April.
Daffodils Galore
I planted 160 bulbs from Longfield Gardens in the fall from the “Fragrant Daffodil Collection” and the “Naturalizing Mix”. The Fragrant Mix really was fragrant, and I loved smelling them as I worked to improve my front yard garden.
The Fragrant Collection includes Narcissus Beautiful Eyes, Sherborne, Cheerfulness, Actea, and Pipit. I am so impressed with how pretty the flowers are in this collection as well as how wonderful they smell. They were such a welcome sight this spring. This was my first time planting bulbs, so the anticipation of waiting to see if they would come up or not was difficult for me. I just need to practice patience in the garden. Everything always seems to come back in its own time.
It was near the end of fall break, and I was running out of time to plant all the daffodils. I also ran out of soil to fill in around the bulbs, so we ended up digging here into straight-up clay (I mean seriously, I could throw it on on a potting wheel) and then filled back in with the clay. I was so tired by that point and had planted so many daffodils that I didn’t really care if these came up or not. Turns out daffodils are pretty tough because these showed up with no problems!
Some April Blooms Highlights
A lot of the well known spring flowers came into bloom at the end of March and they were a welcome sight indeed – the forsythia and cherry blossoms especially. There’s just something about coming home to a tree that is completely covered in flowers. Even though they don’t last very long, the cherry blossoms are worth it. The bright yellow of forsythia bushes just brighten your day and every time I walked by them, I couldn’t help but smile.
My first peony has started to flower. Others have their buds, but this one – Peony ‘Early Scout’ earns its name for being one of the first to flower. I love how the amaryllis grew another stalk with flower buds on it. I will definitely be ordering this variety again!
Cherry blossoms – pretty while they lasted Forsythia blooms are a salve for the soul in March Fernleaf Peony ‘Early Scout’ Amaryllis Benfica with a final flowering Pieris japonica ‘Cavatine’ Creeping phlox on the berm
I can’t wait for the Japanese Pieris to get bigger because when it does, it will be completely covered with these pretty little white flowers. It is definitely a slow grower.
And, the creeping phlox is also starting to make an appearance. The pink varieties are flowering now too. I can’t wait for the irises because the creeping phlox makes a beautiful combination with them.
I have been searching for a fuchsia plant for a long time (okay…a year). Ever since I saw them on someone else’s feed in the UK, I have been trying to find them here. Even online I was not successful. They have varieties that are hardy to zone 7, but I was so happy to find one at all that it didn’t really bother me that it wasn’t hardy. Thank you Lowe’s for fulfilling a lifelong dream of having the plant that was the source for the Crayola crayon color.
And, of course, the ever-present violets. Their flowers are pretty, especially in drifts (like in my lawn), but I can’t say that I am particularly fond of them popping up all over my flower beds.
What’s blooming in your garden? Do you share my love of fuchsia? Be sure to check out Carol’s post for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day for inspirational pictures of other peoples’ gardens around the world.
Amazing daffodils! 160 of them? I can understand just sticking them wherever! My favorite from the pictures is the narcissus with the colors reversed from the average ones. Did they give you a chart of what they would look like, so you know what is what? I’d love to know the name of that one.
In the fragrant mix are Pipit, Cheerfulness, Sherborne, Beautiful Eyes, and Actea. I looked through their collection to see which was which. The naturalizing mix didn’t have varieties labelled so I’m not sure what those are. Really happy with how they turned out!
I am drooling over these blooms! That cardinal photo at the top is out of this world! Happy gardening, Shelly!
Thank you! It was an opportune moment!
Fantastic start for spring! I just planted my daffodil bulbs for my spring in a few months. I hope they look as good as yours 🙂
I was so happy with how they turned out! I love seeing how things are going in Australia and New Zealand because it reminds me to plan for the upcoming seasons!
You’re right about daffodils – they are tough! Yours look gorgeous, Shelly. I’ve planted dozens here and there over the years but I don’t think I’m anywhere near 160 even now. I’m impressed you tackled so many at once but the display was definitely worth the effort. I’m envious of your peonies too. Peonies are my holy grail. I’ve got an Itoh peony that still hasn’t bloomed after 3 years in the ground and a tiny Majorcan peony (supposedly suitable for Mediterranean climates like mine) that’s bloomed twice, each time producing a single flower.
I have an Itoh Peony that is on year 3 as well, but finally has buds this year! I bought it as a bare root. I bought the peony in the picture at an end of summer sale, and it was already mature, so that helped!
Amazing shots ,almost every pic has some mystique beauty with it loved every bit of Daffodil blooms .
Have a great week ahead.
Your garden is so lovely Shelly and I love how you have captured each bloom. The Daffodils are amazing!