Garden Photo of the Day

Spring in Northwestern New Jersey

The first plants to emerge after this garden's winter slumber bring colorful blooms and vibrant foliage

colorful spring bulbs in a container

Hi GPODers!

Yesterday we toured Steve Schmidt’s Atlanta garden, which is already filled with an array of flowers and new foliage (Steve’s Springtime in Atlanta). Today, we get to contrast that with the slow start to spring color that Phyllis Strohmeyer captured from her gardens in Hope, New Jersey. Phyllis has shared her beautiful, flower-filled garden a couple of times in the past (check out those submissions here: The Year That Was in Northwestern New Jersey and Highlights from Phyllis’s Garden in New Jersey). Before her beds and borders erupt into their dazzling display of peak-season blossoms, the start of spring brings pockets of bright blooms and fresh foliage as the rest of the garden just begins to emerge from its winter hibernation.

small welcome sign in spring garden
Welcome sign with spent snowdrops in front of andromeda

colorful spring bulbs in a container
Crocuses, daffodils, and tulips planted lasagna style last fall

antique plow used as garden art in spring
My antique plow, which will be surrounded by flowers in summer

spring bulbs in a variety of colors
Colorful hyacinths with foxglove rosettes in front

fern unfurling in spring
Lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina, Zones 4–8) fiddleheads springing

daffodil with spiky petals
Rip van Winkle daffodils (Narcissus ‘Rip van Winkle’, Zones 4–8) are perfect for anyone that loves the early color daffodils provide but are looking for a flower shape that is a bit outside the norm. Rip van Winkle is a double daffodil, so each bloom is packed with skinny petals that give each flower a spiky appearance completely unlike their trumpet counterparts.

small white spring flowers
Another one of the first blooms to emerge in the garden is the summer snowflake (Leucojum aestivum, Zones 4–8), which has one of the most deceptive names in the plant world. While the plant sounds like it celebrates summer, it can bloom as early as January in some areas.

concrete artichoke sculpture in garden
Hellebores surrounding our artichoke sculpture. Artichokes symbolize hope, which is the name of our town: Hope, NJ.

Thank you so much for sharing these early signs of spring in your garden, Phyllis! There are few things as exciting as seeing those first green sprouts emerging from the brown fallen leaves, and it’s amazing to get a sense of the transformation that takes place from the start of spring to the height of activity in summer.

What are the earliest spring plants in your garden? Does color burst into your garden quickly, like Steve’s Atlanta garden, or does green growth emerge more slowly, like Phyllis’s New Jersey garden? Let us know in the comments below, or consider sharing your spring garden photos with Garden Photo of the Day! Follow the directions below to submit photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.

 

We want to see YOUR garden!

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5–10 photos to gpod@taunton.com along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!

Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.

View 2 comments

Comments

  1. User avater
    treasuresmom 04/29/2025

    Love the spring bulbs.

  2. btucker9675 04/29/2025

    So pretty and I love the artichoke sculpture!!

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Related Articles

The Latest