Hepatica nobilis 'Lithuanian blue'
Well it is an April Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day and as you might expect there are a plethora of flowers to choose from in reporting what is blooming. This is the crossover point between the smaller spring ephemerals, the bulk of the Tulips and Daffodils, and the major flowering trees and shrubs. There is no way that I’m going to enumerate everything that is blooming today and I’m not going to repeat some of beauties I’ve reported on recently. Instead I’m going to single out some of the most photogenic of the lot and that is, of course, a very subjective filtering.
The little gems are well represented, not only by the Hepatica above but by the following.
Jeffersonia dubia
Anemone lipsiensis
Rue Anemone (Anemonella thalictroides)
First Epimedium in flower
Trillium pusillum ‘Roadrunner’
That is my absolute favorite Trillium.
A particularly rewarding little guy is the White Trout Lily which we had never succeeded with before.
Erythronium 'White Beauty'
I don’t want to ignore the Daffodils and Tulips.
Tulip 'Portland'
This one sits just outside the backdoor. And out in the front yard is a wonderful display of Tulip tarda.
Tulip Tarda display
Tulip tarda
Daffodil cluster in the front yard
A particularly nice double daffodil
Two of the classic flowering trees have started — our double white cherry and the volunteer dogwood by the front porch.
Double Flowering Cherry
Flowering Dogwood
And for shrubs it’s hard not to mention the Spirea at the back of the garage or the Flowering Quince beside the garage.
Spiraea thunbergii ‘Ogon’
Chaenomeles 'Toyo Nishiki'
It’s also true that some things look almost as good before the buds open.
Viburnum carlesi
Glaucidium palmatum
Virginia Bluebell in bud
And as a final mention I should note that some of the Camellia flowers are getting full enjoyment in the house including this giant single.
Big single pink Camellia
You have collected a lot of really unusual shade plants—I don’t know which I would pick to seek out first. The Jeffersonia dubia flower is spectacular, and I see from one of your previous posts that its bud and leaves are too. The Adonis with the green center is amazing: where can I get that? I have always loved the buds of Viburnum carlesii which I have combined with the emerging flowers of Dicentra spectabilis and an apricot pink hellebore. I can never quite capture the essence on film. Carolyn
It is a very good question as to where one can get that rare Adonis. Since Asiatica, where I got mine, is now closed, the only place in the U.S. that I’ve seen carrying the Adonis amurensis ‘Sandanzaki’ is Far Reaches Farm in Washington State and they do not do mail order. There are many more varieties available in Japan and it is a mystery to me as to why they are not available here.
Spectacular photos and what a great collection, particularly the bulbs. I read an earlier post where your family gave you the Jeffersonia dubia, I have never heard of that and it is quite striking. Not to be ungrateful, but I sometimes dread “gifts for the gardener”. Just how many gargoyles and fake rocks with cute sayings carved on them can you have?
What amazing flowers. I love each of them but the Hepatica nobillis really capture me.