Friday, April 9, 2010

What Is Your Favorite Spring Flowers ?

 

What is your favorite Spring blooms?
Do you have a favorite Spring fragrance?

 

Fertilizer_Friday
Time to ‘Flaunt Those Flowers” again.

Join us for Fertilizer Friday with our hostess Tootsie
over at  “Tootsie Time”.


 

 

 

 

 

 

I can tell that thinks are really growing around
here by the sneezes I make. It really is getting
into the  sneezin'  season.
The trees are leafing out and clouds of yellow pollen
are flying through the air.

Daffodil_Pink2

Around here there are so many pine trees in the
woods and as they start to grow so does the pollen
count. Everything gets covered with a yellow coating
so forget about washing the car, the windows or the
porches down until it is all over.

 

Daffodil_Pink4 

At the same time the fuzzy oak
blooms and whirly-gig seed pods from the sugar
maples are flying through the air  and collecting
in piles. They always end up in the mulched
flowerbeds regardless of where the trees are located. 
Hundreds of tiny maple seedlings from last years
missed seeds are trying to come up all over the
flowerbeds and need raking out before they get
a good start at growing into miniature forests in all
of the beds.

  Spring2_April3

The Daffodils and Tulips are blooming very well now
out in the different flower beds.
Wow, do those colors clash or what?

 

Pulmonaria_Blues

 

Bright yellows are everywhere now.

Spring_Bouquet 

Yellow just pulls a smile onto your face, admit it.

 

Tulip_Yellow


I am not fond of the color orange but it does brighten
this yellow tulip with ribbons of fire.

 

Tulip_Fire3

 

In this bed along with the fiery tulips
the Foxgloves, Stachy, Astilbe, Monarda,
Phlox, Penstemon, Achillea and some Lupines
are starting to grow.
The butterflies and bees love this bed when it is
in full bloom.

 

Tulip_Basket

 

The fragrance of Hyacinths is in the air.

 

Hyacinth2_April5

 

Hyacinth_Pink2

 

The ground Phlox is creeping and blooming….

Phlox_Creeping 

 

…and so is the Myrtle or Vinca.
I have a hate love going on with this ground cover.
Never ever plant it in a bed that you may want to
move it from later. It is of course a ground cover
and will take over and crowd out other plants.
I have been pulling it up from one moved bed
for years so take it from me and grow it on a bank
where nothing else will grow. It roots go on forever
and yes it will root on top of mulch.
In a one  word description ‘invasive’.
Move it now! LOL!

I have it in a light purple and a deeper colored purple.

 

Myrtle_Vina_Creeping


I fall in love all over again each spring with Jack Frost
Brunnera and its gorgeous blue forget me not blooms.

 

IMG_6453

 

Some of last years pansies have seeded and
are growing in the flowerboxes but I need to
sow some more for this fall.

 

Pansy_April6

 

This plant I am really excited to have newly blooming
in the flower bed. Dicentra Bleeding Hearts.

They were planted last fall so they are still babies
but they are starting to get those little heart shaped blooms
on them now.

BleedingHearts_Pink

I admired them so much in Catherine’s garden
at  “ A Garden in Progress”  that I had to get them
for my garden.

 

BleedingHearts_Pink2

Dicentra alba Bleeding Hearts

 

IMG_6461

The old fashioned lilacs on the old bushes are
just about ready open. They came from my
Grandma’s bushes almost forty years ago now
and are about fourteen feet tall now and fan out
at the top at about eight feet or more.

Lilac_Forty

When they reach full bloom the yard will be
filled with their fragrance. This is my favorite
spring fragrance and in the summer it is the
tall phlox that grows in each of my flower beds.
I couldn’t help but venture out yesterday as a
drizzle of rain was falling on a cooler and cloudier
day to snap a picture of them.

 

Lilac_Rain2

 

And I had to cut a bouquet to bring into the house
to enjoy.

 

Lilac_Bouquet4

 

So what is blooming in your garden now?
Do you have a favorite Spring flower ?
Or do you have one from you Grandmother or Mothers
garden?
Do you have one just for the fragrance alone?

 

Daffodil_Pink

 

“Flaunt Those Spring Blooms”

 

Happy Gardening Everyone !

Until Next Time, Lona

48 comments:

Dirty Girl Gardening said...

Fabulous bulbs again! Wow, the color is great.

Roses and Lilacs said...

Me again, forgot to say how much I like your header.
Marnie

Roses and Lilacs said...

Your photos are so beautiful. I couldn't name only one favorite flower or even color. At one time or other, they each seem to be a favorite.

Have a great weekend.
Marnie

Sunita Mohan said...

Lona... what an absolutely, positively delightfully scrumptious post! I love it!
With each picture I kept thinking, "oh yes, this has to be my favourite" until I saw the next one. mmmmm!
My favourite spring flower is a toss-up between the Golden Showers (or Indian Laburnum) and the Pink Cassia... both blooming their heads off right now. Except for one small detail, it's Summer here now, not Spring.

Becca's Dirt said...

You sure have some nice pretties blooming there. I purchased the White Bleeding Heart Alba this year.

Have a nice weekend.

Noelle Johnson said...

Hi Lona,

Your flowers are just lovely. For me, my favorite springtime flowers have got to be roses :-)

Barbarapc said...

Lona, so lovely to see your blossoms, too bad I'm not close enough to enjoy their scent. We're at the very earliest bits of woodland spring bloomers here and they're welcome treasures: Hepatica & Blood Root - White forsythia and a neighbour's Magnolia stellata is perfuming the air.

Jean Campbell said...

Lots to enjoy at your place now. I'd love to enjoy the lilacs up close and fragrant. We had them where I was a child.

My first favorite is almost done; a few daffodils linger in damp shady places. My second fav is azalea season, when they get all pink and blousy and gaudy. We are almost there.

Tea olive is a great frangrance plant, but not spectacular in appearance but long blooming and delightful to catch it on the breeze. Growing near it in my garden is Calycanthus, so that when they overlap bloom time, it's like smelling a delightful fruit salad.

Noel Morata said...

aloha lona,

everything looks gorgeous this friday, i love those first daff blooms, very unusual and your garden looks beatiful.... thanks for sharing.

Jimmy said...

I love the Jack Frost! It is just so magical. It's the wee blooms that set of the garden. Screaming not to be missed. Beautiful, Lona.

Darla said...

Beautiful...Catherine does have a Bleeding Heart that is gorgeous doesn't she. Right now I am just tickled over the Iris blooming and smelling like Root Beer!!

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

It's hard to pick a favorite now isn't it? Every flower that blooms becomes my favorite. I'm so glad your Bleeding Hearts are blooming, they are such cute little flowers. I love the little Daffodils you have too.
And your Lilacs are ahead of ours, can't wait to smell them!

Gatsbys Gardens said...

I have lots of daffodils blooming, some tulips, all of the hyacinths. My Chanticleer Pear out front is about ready to open. Each day I have a new favorite.

Your pictures are gorgeous!

Eileen

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Lona girl that was such a nice post ! You have reminded me that I don't have a white old fashioned bleeding heart .. although I have some of the fern leaf ones in white .. I really NEED the classic one in white : )
Spring flowers and trees .. well they are all gorgeous to us when we come out of a very long winter ?
I am a Jack Frost fan and have ordered a few more from a mail order company .. I know I wouldn't be able to find the cultivars from the garden centers here so mail order is the way to go even if it takes more patience ? LOL
Love those pictures girl !
Joy

deborah said...

In West Virginia here...our Kwanzan Cherry is in full bloom now, so lovely! We planted it when we were married, and it blooms near our anniversary each year. My favorite Spring flower has to be the Daffodil. So pretty and so many varieties!

Jeanne said...

Pansies...and tulips. Pansies have been my favorite throughout my life and tulips are just lovely.

Liz said...

Wonderful photos and so much going on around your garden, it must be so exciting - especially as the Lilac's are so close to blooming!

My favourite Spring Flower would have to be good old English Bluebells, it's pushing spring to be honest as it flowers usually at the end of April or into May...
Woodland with a carpet of blue is amazing, breathtaking, and so quintessentially English it's untrue.

Helen said...

You have some beautiful flowers already. I suppose my favorite would be the Lilac even though I don't have one myself. I used to have one. I love their smell. Helen

Jim Groble said...

The red and yellow tulip is just stunning. In our yard, the marsh marigold is my favorite. jim

Brenda Pruitt said...

Most of the spring flowers are on their way out. I wish the same was true of the yellow pollen! Covering every surface and chair and table!
Brenda

Unknown said...

It' got to be my good old Appledoorn red and yellow tulips. They're not blooming yet, but the buds are showing some promise.
With the great variety in your garden, how could you pick just one favorite?

Anonymous said...

Glorious blooms this spring in your garden! We have similar flowers doing their thing right now. :) Thanks for stopping by my blog today & the welcome back.

Patsy said...

By the time my Phlox covers my flower bed in a few years. I will be to old to care for my garden, but I will have color in the spring. I guess all spring flowers are a delight.
Patsy

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

The Header was my first clue that I was in for something special!!! Gorgeous blooms...what a wonderful selection...

Christine B. said...

Favorite spring flower...hmm. Things are so desperate here weather wise that favorite bulb foliage might be more appropriate. I did have a handful of crocus blooms today but that's it. My Allium foliage is looking robust. How's that for making a silk purse out of a sow's ear?

Christine in Alaska

Tootsie said...

I love them all...but am partial to the forget me nots...I am sorry you are sneezing...that I am doing too...but don't care...it's worth the box of kleenex to have a place to take some seeds and just dream!
have a great weekend and thanks for linking in this week

Stephanie said...

Lona, have you grown dwarf crape myrtle before? Would you know if they are invasive and rooty (I mean grows lots of strong roots all over)?

Your flowers are wonderful! But, I hope they don't make you sneeze so much. Have a great weekend :-D

Amy said...

Everything is so beautiful! I love the forget-me-nots. They are so cute! My favorite blooms in my garden were the 'Grand Primo'. They didn't last long enough! Your garden looks wonderful. :)

Lona said...

Dirty Girl: Thank you. I love your name. I am always a mess when I am in the garden.;-) Have a good weekend.

Marnie: Thank you. I know what you mean there are just so many pretty flowers.Have a wonderful weekend.

Sunita: Oh yes, the Golden Showers are so pretty. Summer already. Well I hope you have a lovely one. Enjoy!

Becca: You are going to love them.Just to think they will get prettier each year. Wow.

Noelle: Oh I love roses too girl. Your new ones are so pretty too.They will start blooming here in June though.

Barbara: Magnolias are so pretty. I am waiting on a hardy Camellia myself. Get after these growers LOL!

Nell: You have so many beauties in your gardens. Azaleas are so gorgeous. I can hardy wait for them to bloom here.

Noel: Aloha. Thank you. Those daffodils change with the light. I cannot figure if they are rimmed in dark pink or orange :-)

Darla: I would love to smell that rootbeer Iris. It looks so pretty.It has a golden tinge like rootbeer. LOL!

Jim:I love the tiny blooms. Have a wonderful weekend.

Catherine: This cool spell will slow them down. Hope the frost doesn't hurt them. Smell so gooood!

Eileen: I imagine your pear tree will look beautiful. Cannot wait to see some pictures when it happens.

Joy: yes lady you need a white bleeding heart. I took the seed stems to my Jack Frost after it had bloomed and laid them in a shallow trench of soil and had babies coming up. So I have several now.

Deborah: Oh, I love looking at Cherry, Peach and Apple blossoms. Soon the dogwoods will bloom and the hills will be so pretty around here.

Jeanne: Pansies are a happy flower too aren't they? I need to get more to tide me over until annuals can be set out. Have a good weekend.

Helen: Lilacs are an old fashioned shrub I guess but I love them. They have some that rebloom now that would be great to have.

Jim: I love those yellow Marsh Marigolds of your but I did not know what they were. Have to check some out. ;-)

Brenda: Then you are warmer and are looking at other blooms since your spring ones are about gone. The pollen in awful this spring here too.

Heather Bell: Oh I want to see pictures of your red and yellow tulips when they bloom. Have a wonderful weekend.

perennialgardener: Glad you are back and alright. I always wonder about bloggers when they are gone for a spell. Have a wonderful weekend.

Patsy: Creeping phlox grows fairly quick. Mine had to all grow back in this spring. I was afraid the winter had gotten them all along the garage banking.

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts: Thank you so much and glad you dropped by for a visit.Have a great weekend!

Christine: I like alliums. Mine have about bloomed out. They are old and need replaced. Your spring flowers will come yet and then we will be looking at your pictures of spring.

Tootsie: I always have a pocket full of tissues. Wouldn't let it keep me away either lady! Have a great weekend Tootsie!

Stephanie: Dwarf Crape Myrtle is not invasive here.
Mine dies back and starts over every spring because of the cold.It grows later here too than south of us. It is almost fall before it blooms for me. I do not think it would be a problem for you in your warmer climate though about being invasive.

Amy: Grand Primo Narcissus are so lovely. I like the tiny bells in between the long white petals.Have a wonderful weekend.

Rosie Nixon Fluerty said...

Lona sorry I am late in commenting here but you have some lovely blooms in the garden and I think we all have clashing colours in the spring time.

My favourite flower at this time of year is the pasque flower especially the white one.

Ellie said...

Do red and purple clash? Nah .... in spring all colors match ;-)

I love your Hyacinths and the Vinca. It's funny to see that we have more or less the same bulbs and plants flowering at this moment - even though there is an ocean between our garden. Do you know the name of the light purple Vinca? I love it (but I've never seen it here in the NL).

Sabrina said...

Two questions for you: what's the name of the narcissus in your photos, and how big is your Brunnera right now?

We planted Jack Frost for the first time last year, and really like it, but it's smaller now than it was when we planted it last spring, and I'm not sure if it's having trouble getting established, or if it's just too early to judge. We have a spray of blossoms and a few leaves, but the whole plant is about the size of a baseball right now. Should it be bigger?

Adrienne Zwart said...

I love jonquils and pansies. The fragrance of pansies is my favorite floral scent. Your blooms are gorgeous!

jerilanders said...

Favorite spring flower will always be tulips, it was the one and only flower my mother could grow! And the best fragrances to me are the lilac bushes.Our neighbors had them when I was a child and the scent was heavenly. I have a few growing now, but they are still smallfrys.

joene said...

I cannot possibly pick one, two, three, or even four favorite spring flowers. Nor do I want to. I enjoy each as it blooms, knowing full well that I must embrace them when I have the chance.

Jennifer AKA keewee said...

I have come to like my anemones. Their bright velvety petals, are so beautiful.

Anonymous said...

All of those flowers are very beautiful Lona, but I was really taken with the bleeding hearts and the dainty forget-me-nots. It is a long way from spring in my garden, but I think I'll choose daffodils are they are the heralds of spring for me!

littlewing said...

That brunnera is so beautiful!

I'm not sure when I last visited this blog but if I haven't said so before~ I love your layout.

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday:)

Kimberly said...

Your yellows are so lovely...I enjoy yellow in the garden as it's so bright and lively! I miss the lilacs and hyacinths so much. I can't grow them here in Florida, but they were everywhere in my northern landscape. Your post is wonderful!
I'll have to join in the fun for Fertilizer Friday!

Lona said...

leavesinbloom: I think the paque flowers are so pretty. I do not believe I have seen the white. It has to be lovely.

Jeri: Your lilacs will grow up before you know it.I think the re-bloomers would be so nice.I have not heard any report to tell me they actually repeat though.

Adrienne: Pansies just make me smile when I see them. Love them.

Joene: I love all of my flowers too but I do have favorite for different reasons.Glad you dropped by.

Keewee:Some anemones are so pretty. I love the blue of course LOL!

gippslandgardener: yes, those daffodils always herald in spring and give us hope winter is going.

Littlewing: Thank you.Have a wonderful weekend or what is left of it.

Kimberly: yes girl we need you to join in on Fertilizer Fridays. The more people the more beauties we get to flaunt.
That is a shame you cannot grow lilacs in Florida. Is it too hot?

Sabrina: I do not know the name of that daffodil. It came in a bag of assorted ones without names. As for the Jack Frost it will get bigger. Mine starts blooming as soon as they start growing and then the leaves fill out all summer.Jack Frost stays all summer for me where Looking glass dies with the heat.


Ellie: I think the name of the Myrtle was Vinca minor 'Atropurpurea'

Rebecca @ In The Garden said...

Such beautiful pictures Lona, I love what a variety of colours you have. Your lilacs are stunning, I can hardly wait til mine are out.

Pat said...

Ok...you're killing me with all these great blooms. Can't wait for our garden to come to life. Think Daffodils are my favorite and now...all of yours !

Happy@Home said...

Beautiful, beautiful photos of your flowers. I really love the daffodil in your first and last photo. Do you happen to know the name of it?
I have vinca growing under my fountain, but it is being taken over by wild honeysuckle. Both of which are invasive. I want to get rid of it all and start over. I don't look forward to the process.

Lona said...

Rebecca: I always hold my breath in the spring that the blooms will not get killed before they bloom. They are so pretty this year.

Patsi: Good choice. Daffodils are always so cheerful looking.

Happy@Home: ugh! Good luck at getting rid of them. Cover the ground with landscaping fabric or use an old garbage bag with holes in it to cover the spot and much it over with something. This is the best way to get rid of all of the roots remaining.Smother them. I do not know the name of the daff's they were in an assortment bag with no names.

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Lona;
I'm quite partial to anything and everything that's blooming. But that first photo -- I think yours is also a Dreamlight Daffodil? - is a very special blossom in my spring gardens. Gorgeous, gorgeous flowers!

Anonymous said...

Hi Lona~~ Wowzers! Beautiful flowers. The purple hyacinth, is my favorite.

"Ribbons of fire." Very descriptive. Love that.

I've read that pollen is really bad this year. I hope you're not suffering.

Stephanie said...

Thanks for the info on dwarf crape myrtle ;-)

Unknown said...

Love the idea of flaunting our spring blooms, Lona! I'm somewhat behind you--no daffs or hyacinth yet, and we're weeks from lilacs, even with this early spring. The hellebores, puschkinia, chionodoxa, pulsatilla, galanthus, crocus and iris reticulata are all doing their thing quite nicely, and the pulmonaria have begun, which makes me very very happy.
Fragrances...I love my hamamelis and daphne, but when the lilacs come I will wander around with a happy face and have lilacs in pretty much every room in the house. They're still my favourite, though some of the daffodils with their sweet scents are pretty amazing too.
Isn't spring awesome?