Color Gems of the April Garden

It has been a rather warm and pleasant spring (so far) and the sights and smells of wild and cultivated flowers are amazing.  The wild oregon grape (Mahonia) shrubs are in bloom here and the Saskatoon bushes are just finishing.  My narcissus and daffodils started a few weeks ago.  Every fall, I plant more, but our landscaping is so sprawling that I would need quite a few more for good effect.  I plant a variety of shapes and colors just to enjoy the variations. 

Narcissus "White Lion" in front of some Lavender "Hidcote superior" (not in bloom) and a blue oat grass

My "rock garden" includes samplings of all my favourite compact plants, looking like a quilt of color now.  My "Black Lace" Elderberry is at the left in the foreground. 

Purple flowers on the right are Aubrieta (Rock Cress)

White flowers on Iberis "Snow Cone" with a tiny yellow Draba bruniifolia in the background. 

Aubrieta, variegated red

I have many little hummocks of purple and pink flowering Aubrieta (Rock Cress) at the edges of the rock garden.  The variegated leaf one is absolutely stunning.  I have been so impressed by the aubrieta that I have started a tray of "Cascade blue" from seed.  They are quite easy to grow from seed.

I did try Aubrieta in Saskatchewan, but they were not hardy there.  There certainly grow well here.  I always think of the wild ones growing in cracks of rock faces above the highways on Vancouver Island.  Amazing!  These make quite a dense groundcover, so I am thinking about combining them with other low-growing flowering plants like Alyssum saxatile and covering some of the edges of the mulch-covered areas to prevent weeds seeds from taking over.

Muscari latifolium with low lilac-colored Phlox

Muscari latifolium are distinguished from the common muscari by their wider strap-like leaves and two-toned flowers

  Muscari are a great bulb because they naturalize in an area, multiplying each year for bigger and brighter shows.  They make a nice contrast for other flowering plants at this time of year.  I have some Bergenia (Elephant's ears) flowering pink next to the muscari, making a great combination.  

Blue Muscari armeniacum (left), Primulas at center, and white mat of Arabis caucasica