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

Winter Losses and Some Rock Garden Gems

I just realized that it is the peak of the apple blossoms and I didn't photograph them!  Oh well, will try to remember it tomorrow.  However, my greatest enjoyment at the moment is the "rock garden" or so I call it.  The bright colors of the spring bulbs and violets make me happy.  While I did plant most of the spring bulbs in fall, I did cheat on a few of the grape hyacinths and bought a few pots of them at the garden center.  Every time I see these little gems I do want more of them (and the other spring bulbs).   

Grape hyacinths

Kitty stalking nature (a rare stroll outside)

 Yellow colors in the rock garden are from the new growth of the Euphorbia polychroma and the densely planted mass of Narcissus "Tete-a-tete" (mini daffodils).  Both are winter hardy, unlike the hardy ice plants, Delosperma nubigenum, which did a disappearing act over the winter.  This was particularly irritating, as this same plant survived all winters in northern Saskatchewan.  Either it lacked the protection of snow cover, or it resented being damp in a bed covered with bark mulch.  I am testing my theories by planting some of the same ice plants in some sandy soil in a non-irrigated dry part of the yard.     

Hybrid "Sorbet" series violas, which I started from seed

Rock garden, with Tete-a-tete narciccus (yellow bunch) with a background of apple trees

Finally, low-growing, white-flowered hardy perennials.  I hope to see these develop into lovely white mats over time.  I also have another white-flowering rock garden plant, Arenaria montana, which I started from seed and should flower next year.  The Arabis is a bit taller and more loose, while the Iberis looks like it will make a nice dense carpet. 

Iberis "Snowball"

Arabis caucasica next to a Primula auricula

Aside from the ice plants, my forsythia produced only a few feeble blossoms and looks half-dead, my Bay laurels are dead (I just realized they are "zone 8" and therefore not hardy in zone 6), some of the Pieris are suffered significant winter kill, and one Cornus sericea "Kelseyi" did not make it.  I saw more of these same plants being sold at the Canadian Tire, but I don't think it would be rational to plant the same again.  Moving on, trying other things.  How has your garden fared?