"One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it brings."

Friday, April 27, 2012

Late April flowers.

 We've been pretty lucky as far as the weather goes the last few weeks.   Sunny weekends followed by some rain during the week.  It looks like this weekend will follow the same pattern.  This means that the plants are really taking off growing (as are the weeds).  After living in this house exactly 13 years this month I've really started to notice patterns in some of the trees and plants in the garden (although there are few that have been here since we moved in).  This seems to be looking like a great year for roses, Clematis, Lilacs and Pear trees so far. 

 The pear trees are in about their third year here and are absolutely loaded with flowers.  Since we've had quite a bit of sun and some warmer weather I have high hopes they were pollinated.  Last spring when they bloomed it was cold and the bees weren't out much.  We ended up with 2 pears.

Pear flowers that will hopefully be pears come this fall.

 A kind of neglected part of the front yard is slowly starting to fill in with plants.  Not sure why I ignore this section of the yard, maybe because it's been hard to find plants that like the mostly shade and clay soil here.  These plants are all beginning to show some good growth.  The large shrub by the fence is a Snowball Bush.

 It doesn't seem to be a good year for blooms on the Dogwood tree.  It had an amazing show of flowers last year so maybe it's on a break.

 I love the bright pink of the Dogwood flowers.

 Another shady bed in the front yard is starting to look good after I pretty much removed every plant 2 springs ago to start over.  I've never had my Astillbes look this big and healthy before.  This soil is also fairly heavy clay with poor drainage, but I've worked on amending it over the years.

 The Tiarella also loves the shady bed, I'd had these plants in the backyard path garden for years and they barely ever bloomed, in this spot they have tons of flowers.

 This is another area I sort of started over with last fall.  This is full hot sun and I've been working on plants that can take the heat and don't really need too much extra watering.

 Awhile ago I found this galvanized chicken feeder at an antique mall.  I can't believe how much the plants area already growing.

 Solomon's Seal in the backyard path garden is having a great year.

I planted this Indian rhubarb (Darmera peltata) in the pond last year.  It had already bloomed when I bought it so I didn't realize what pretty flowers it had.

A quick update on the chicks.  They are really wanting to try to flap their wings and fly some.  I try to take them out of the brooder everyday or so to let them have some room to move and explore.  They are all getting along really well after needing to separate the two babies for about a week after we first got them.  Two of the older chicks were really chasing them around.  I put chicken wire down the middle of the brooder and everyday would let them mingle while I supervised.  Now they all sleep together.

I hope everyone has gotten a chance to get out in their gardens some.  I read that some people were seeing snowflakes this morning! 

All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress. Pin It

16 comments:

  1. Everything is looking beautiful!. It is amazing what a little sun and rain will do to help the garden (and the weeds) along. Have a wonderful weekend. Bonnie

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  2. Oh the chicks are so cute. Love the Dogwood flowers, and the Pear tree blooms. Neither are things I see here, so the Dogwood tree looks pretty fabulous to me! The other beauties that caught my eye were the Tiarella flowers and those stunning blooms on your Darmera. Just gorgeous! Everything is looking so good.

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  3. Glad the chickens are doing well. There's a beautiful coop for them now!
    You have a lot of nice flowers. The chicken feeder is a great idea as a planter.

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  4. Wow, everything is filling in but then again I haven't visited in awhile! Looks great though.

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  5. Yep, snowflakes here and in the twenties. I too have a neglected part of my garden and it is by a Viburnum too. The clay soil and shade really limit plants from growing well, plus the Viburnum roots are very vigorous. It must be fun to watch your little chicks try to get airborne. They must be having a good time testing their abilities.

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  6. This is my first visit to your garden. I love it.

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  7. Everything is beautiful there, and I really love the dogwood blooms. We are having much needed rain, along with thunder and lightening.

    Have a great weekend ~ FlowerLady

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  8. Everything looks so good in your gardens. I like the sedum planter...cute chicks too!

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  9. Catherine, your garden looks lovely! I am always amazed at this time of the year: walk around and see empty spaces; then suddenly it all fills in and it is lush and beautiful. PS: supposed to have a nice weekend, especially Sunday, so they say. Give those chicks a cluck from me. ;)

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  10. Hi Catherine, Your front yard looks awesome. Love the area where the pink tulips reside and I think your dogwood blossoms are beautiful! Have a great wknd!
    Beth

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  11. We have had some nice weather, (rainy days and sunny weekends). As long as the weeds don't overrun the place, everything is getting into full swing. Our plum tree did really bad last year, but with all of the flowers this year I think it will be just fine. I liked your chicken feeden/planter. I see those things and can never figure out where to put them, but I love the ideas.

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  12. Your garden is looking beautiful. It has rained all month here in Kent, UK and we are supposed to be in drought. Try some Japanese Painted Ferns in that shady area, they are purple, grey and green in colour and would look lovely. I love the colour of your house, mine is a horrible pale blue.

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  13. Hi Catherine. Your Dogwood blooms are so pretty. I have had a red dogwood on order and I wish it would get here. Your astilbe's are looking wonderful and full. What a great idea. I love the chicken feeder planter. Now that is sweet. Have a lovely weekend.

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  14. The Indian Rhubarb has such pretty flowers. Have never seen this before. They are reminicent of plum blossoms

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  15. Hi Catherine, I've got my fingers crossed that the pear trees will get pollinated this year too! Your gardens look so lush and ready to pop with color! It's really amazing all the beautiful beds you've created and how you've crafted such a diverse selection of plants. Your gardens are very inspiring! Cheers, Jenni

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  16. Hi Catherine,
    I enjoyed the tour. Things are coming along nicely. I love your feeder deal that you put the hen and chicks and such in! I hope you get a good amount of pears. Your chicks are sweeties! I had to laugh when I saw you had them in your house.

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