Garden Bloggers Bloom Day May 2013

Today is Garden Blogger's Bloom Day! Here's what's blooming in my garden:

Tulip 'Queen of the Night'

Euphorbia

The Forsythia are still hanging on

Darwin tulips 'Apeldoorn'

Trillium

Parrot tulip

White Triumphator tulips, Queen of the Night and ferns

Tiny daffodil 'Hawera'

New growth on the spruce tree

Hellebore 'Winter Queen'

Bleeding Hearts

Crabapple 'Profusion'

Solomon's Seal

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day is a Meme created by May Dreams Garden

Gardeners post images of what's blooming in their garden on the 15th day of every month. All are welcome to participate.

Also, please check out my recipe blog Astrid's Home - the latest post is Bumbleberry Pie.

Lovely Tulips and Daffodils

Tulips and daffodils! They are so….so…..Spring-y! That sounds lame but how else can I describe the way they make me feel? They represent warm weather and being able to garden after a cold, snowy winter. They look lovely paired with other spring flowers like Bleeding Hearts and Brunnera (above).
they are sensational on their own and massed.

I look through my old Garden Journals and I have planted lots of bulbs since 1991. I should have THOUSANDS but that is hardly the case. Early in my gardening career, many died and rotted in lower areas because I didn't realize that water would collect there. Tulips really only last 3-4 years because they are so highly hybridized these days but where are the rest? A gardening conundrum, that's for sure. Even the daffodils which should multiply in great numbers have not done so. Sigh…....

Oh well - let's enjoy the ones I have:

Estella Rijnfeld - the loveliest of parrot tulips and stunningly gorgeous as cut flowers in a vase

Apeldoorn - a classic old Dutch Darwin tulip in the brightest red

Pink Triumph: an interesting colour - a cross between pink and lilac

Used to have 10 or 12 of these but now only 3 are left: Lustige Witwe

I have two "black" tulips - above is Black Parrot…….

and the famous Queen of the Night

White Triumphator (which looks quite yellow in this photo but is actually white)

I am not averse to having orange in the garden (in small doses) - this is General de Wet

And now for a few of my favourite daffs. These babies (4" tall) are Hawera

Dainty, nodding Thalia

Pale-yellow centred Ice Follies

And my ULTIMATE favourite - Tahiti.

Please check my recipe blog - latest post is Strozzapreti with Spicy Italian Sausage, Broccoli and Garlic Crema 

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day April 15 2013

Many gardeners were lucky enough to have spring blooms last month but we still had chilly temperatures and snow here in Southern Ontario.
It's still unseasonably cold but bulbs and shrubs have started to bloom. There aren't too many in flower yet but I'm enjoying the few I have!

Pussywillows

Cobalt blue Iris reticulata

Purple and pale blue Iris reticulata

Snowdrops

White crocus

Hellebore 'Winter Queen'

Early tulip 'Red Riding Hood'

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day is a Meme created by May Dreams Gardens 

Gardeners post images of what's blooming in their garden on the 15th day of every month. All are welcome to participate.

Also, please check out my recipe blog Astrid's Home - the latest posts have been Jamie Oliver's Spicy Cajun Chicken with Sweet Potato Mash as well as Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Ribs.

Beautiful Blooms June 1 2012

I know it's not Garden Blogger's Bloom Day but there are so many GORGEOUS plants in bloom right now in my garden that I thought I would show you some of the lovelies…
Above is my bright red poppy which I adore, even if it only lasts for a few days every spring.

Here are my peonies looking pretty good but the heat was making them explode and today's much needed but very heavy rain will knock them down and they won't get up :(
Here are their better moments:

Great time of year for the Rugosa roses:

David Austin 'Mary Rose' continues to astound me as it blooms in almost full shade!

Under an umbrella of leaves, (and you really have to lie on the ground and search!) is the dainty little May Apple flower

Here is a small pink climbing rose...

….with its neighbour a white cluster climbing rose!! (I have no idea what this is)

The interesting Gas Plant (Dictamnus alba) blooms at this time of year

A cute little self-seeder: "Love in a Mist" Nigella damescena

My Climbing Hydrangea is quite exquisite

Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia punctata) adds a golden touch to 2 corners

Climbing rose 'Blaze' has a rich deep red colour and a velvet look/feel to it 

And even though it's a bit "weedy" in nature, I like the look of Centaurea montana

Can't wait to see what will bloom tomorrow :)