May Update

It's finally starting to feel like Spring!!!  The flowering bulbs are in full bloom and perennials and the perennials are coming out of the ground.  Here's a round-up of what I've seen so far in the front garden:  

(Starting from top left corner, across to right, and down)
1. Crocus "Orange Monarch", 2. Hyacinth "Oriental Mix", 3. Hyacinth "Oriental Mix" , 4. Nasturtium "Alaska Mix" , 5. Narcissus "Kedron" , 6. Muscari "Armeniacum" , 7. Tulip "Yokohama" , 8. Tulip "Orange", 9. Narcissus "Texas" , 10. Violets, 11.Daffodil "Sir Winston Churchill" , 12. Lamium "Herman's Pride", 13. Silvermound, 14. Phlox "Emerald Blue", 15. Tulip "Rajka".

One group of bulbs that did not come up are the "Libretto" Parrot tulips I planted in the Fall.  These were supposed to be tall, glorious, beautiful pink tulips so I'm a bit disappointed that they didn't come up.  Not sure if it was just a bad batch of bulbs or if the squirrels found them before it had a chance to grow.  

Otherwise, most of the plants in the garden survived the harsh winter we had this year.  One of the English lavender is a bit roughed up from the cold weather but I noticed that it's still alive (a few tiny green leaves) so there's still a chance to nurse it back to life.  

Next, it's time to tend to the vegetable gardens - divide,  re-pot, transplant, etc etc.  Updates coming soon!

~ Rebecca 

Spring Bulbs

 

Spring bulbs in the front yard have started to come up for a few weeks now.  This year, we have:

(Left above) Hyacinth (Orientalis Mix - various colours) - first ones out of the gate this year, very fragrant and beautiful colours.  The kids in the neighborhood seems to like them :) 

(Right above) Daffodil "Sir Winston Churchill" - these are beautiful as well as incredibly fragrant.  The only downside to them is that they are quite "head heavy", as they have double petals as well as multiple flowers per stem.  So if there's heavy rain fall, the think stems aren't actually strong enough to hold up the flowers and ends up snapping.  So this years these ended up as cut flowers I have in my house, which are perfect because they smell so nice! 

(Left above) Narcissi "Texas" - double petal yellow bright yellow daffodil.  Really gorgeous, strong stems.  

(Right above) Muscari "Armeniacum" - first year planting these.  Apparently they're also known as Grape Hyacinth.    They are low to the ground and have very pretty purple colour.  

 

(Left above) Orange tulips - we got incredibly lucky that the squirrels didn't get to these before they were in bloom.  Theses are not as orange in colour as I was hoping for, but still beautiful to look at :)

(Right above) And lastly, these beautiful little flowers (which I did not plant) came out again this year.  Last year I had a post just for this flower trying to see if any of my friends/family would be able to identify it.  This year I finally found out what they were called!!  These are "Puschkinia".  A flower named in honour of a Russian botanist.  

The only other bulb still yet to bloom are the Allium "Purple Sensation" also known as Dutch garlic.  I'm hoping in a week or two they will be in full bloom.  Can't wait! :)

Here's a link to a handy little bulb planting chart http://www.bhg.com/gardening/flowers/bulbs/planting-charts-for-spring-flowering-bulbs/  .  I'm already brewing some ideas about how to re-arrange some of these bulbs later and what to plant for next season.