April the Month to Fall in Love
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Yes, I believe in “April Love” because every April I “fall in love” with my garden all over again. The gorgeous spring blooms are such a welcoming sight after a long, cold winter! You are invited to come and take this virtual tour into my spring garden. Let’s see what is budding out and what is blooming.The morning sun lights up the woodland path as it beckons with dianthus “Bath’s Pink”, clematis “Earnest Markham” with magenta blooms and “Silver Moon” silvery lilac with pale yellow stamens. Bath’s Pink is a graceful little groundcover with fragrant light pink blooms. Only 6 inches tall, Bath’s Pink with its grassy blue-gray foliage is an eye-catching border along this garden path.
Daffodils accompanied by leucojum “Snowflake” start the early spring show and if the weather stays slightly cool their blooms will continue for 2 or 3 weeks. There are several different daffodil types blooming with the earliest bloomers being the large, yellow cupped daffodil quickly joined by Ice Follies, Fortissimo, Ring of Fire, and Tahiti with the jonquils and Pheasant’s Eye making the grand finale to the daffodil season. The leucojum “Snowflake” with their bell-shaped, white and green flowers is dazzling whether they are sitting alone or cuddled-up with daffodil and hyacinths.
We are blessed with several dogwood trees on our property that are native to the southeastern United States. Their luminous, white masses of blooms splash the landscape and woods chasing away the winter drabs.
Iris begin blooming in early April and continues into June. Several are pass-along -plants from friends who shared their surplus, some I bought at local nurseries, and some are reblooming iris that I ordered from a catalogue a few years ago. Collectively there are white, purple, lavender, peach, and yellow in our gardens. These grow about 24 or more inches tall and are quite stunning when planted in mass.
Lonicera sempervirens “Alabama Crimson” honeysuckle is starting to bud and bloom. Its crimson trumpet-shaped flowers with yellow throats are already receiving visits by ruby throated hummingbirds as it is one of their favorites. There are about 180 species of lonicerna vine that are native to the northern hemisphere. Not to be confused with the many invasive species that have been imported to North America, the lonicera sempervirens is a native of eastern and southern United States and is easy to grow and keep in check.
Fothergilla is a deciduous shrub named after Dr. John Fothergill (1712 – 1780). This shrub has distinct white bottle-brush shaped flowers with no petals that are actually clusters of white stamens. These have a pleasant honey-like fragrance and are so adorable. Fothergilla is also a native of the southeastern US and provides interest to the garden in all seasons. It grows best in part shade, propagation by cuttings or seed, and blue-green leaves turn orange-red in autumn.
Azalea began blooming around mid-April starting with first the white and then the pink, purple, red, and a couple of native azalea, one yellow and one orange, join the throng. Not just a southern belle, there are hundreds of species of azalea with varieties that will grow in most any U.S. garden.
Ah, I can’t wait to see what May will bring to the garden..
