Betsy Thompson has a small townhouse garden near Albany, New York.
These are some portraits of flowers blooming here this month. There are many more. It isn’t easy to choose which to include, so I thought it best to go for variety.
This is Tulipa turkestanica (Zones 4–8) an old and very reliable variety, fresh and distinctive.
Fritillaria raddeana (Zones 5–8) is a favorite flower of this type. Unfortunately, lily beetles love fritillaries as much as lilies. It has taken a lot of work to keep these plants since the beetles invaded my garden two years ago. (See Fine Gardening’s tips on controlling lily beetles.)
Pulmonaria ‘Trevi Fountain’ (Zones 4–9) is the largest of this type that I grow and is very attractive indeed! Also, my deer don’t eat it (I should probably add: so far!).
Muscari ‘Valerie Finnis’ (Zones 4–9) is especially sweet. It is also prolific, but I don’t find it invasive in the way the common grape hyacinth is.
Chionodoxa ‘Pink Giant’ (Zones 3–8) is a better-behaved variation on the invasive blue Chionodoxa. The white-flowering variety is also noninvasive.
While the blue Mertensia virginica(Zones 3–8) is most often seen, this plant can also show a range of shades from blue to lavender to pink.
The very earliest iris I know is Iris × histrioides ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ (Zones 5–9). It is best planted in groups of at least a dozen.
Helleborus ‘Golden Lotus Strain’ (Zones 5–9) is a different look for this genus.
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Comments
You have a lovely selection of early spring flowers. The color palette strikes me as gentle and serene...kind of like a soft mist. Nothing is screaming "Spring is HERE. Look at me!". Instead there are soft whispers of light blues and pinks, off whites and pale yellows. It's very calming.
Spring bulbs are my absolute faves. Their bloom time doesn't last long here in the deep south so seeing yours brightens my day.
Nice close up shots of spring in your garden!
Wonderful photos! Such lovely plants! Such lovely thoughts!!!
Just lovely...
That is an interesting note regarding the Iris × histrioides ‘Katharine Hodgkin’. "It is best planted in groups of at least a dozen."
One of my many pet peeves in gardening catalogs is a pic of probably 30 or 40 small beautiful plants when the price of even just one is at least 6 or 8 dollars. I guess it does give one an idea of what some patience or lots and lots of disposable income can accomplish but I think it's somewhat misleading.
Very nice and interesting
That small blue iris with the delicate yellow is just beautiful- the perfect spring plant to say "stop a moment and take a careful look!"
I love all those soft colors in your spring bulbs...so very calming and serene. Not many people in my area grow a large variety like you do because persistent cold weather until May doesn't encourage people to be outdoors enough to enjoy them.
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