My Spring Garden Tour

This is just one of those weeks in my garden that I want to capture forever, a rare day when everything seems to be blooming all at once. The plants that bloom in early spring are still in bloom, and the ones that bloom in mid to late spring are just coming into bloom. The camellias are still hanging on, while the bulbs are popping up, and leaves are emerging everywhere. I took some time today to take pictures, in the hopes of preserving the memory, and I thought I'd share them with you.

Flowering cherry tree

Flowering cherry tree

My cherry tree has been in bloom for a couple of weeks now, and I swear it's even more beautiful this year than it was last year. The first picture is actually from last week, when it was at its peak of blooming in all its white glory. The second photo is from today, when the leaves have started emerging, the blooms have turned from white to pink, and the petals have begun to fall like pink snow.

Muscari armeniacum (grape hyacinth) &
Hyacinthus 'Delft Blue'

I picked up a mixed bag of hyacinths at the hardware store in December (you can usually find bulbs on sale around that time). The little ones emerged first, and the bigger ones are just starting to pop out. And yes, I am a little behind on my weeding in my flower beds. I'll get to that eventually...

Tulipa 'Happy Generation'

Tulipa 'Bastogne'

The striped tulip ('Happy Generation') is left over from a container planting I did last year. I didn't think they'd do so well two years in a row, since I didn't make any special effort to store them properly. I actually left one of them lying on the patio all summer; I only stuck it in the ground in the fall because shoots were coming out of it. Apparently they're more tolerant of abuse than I realized! I picked up a bag of red tulips in December, and this is the first one that's bloomed.

Verbena 'Homestead Purple' flower among rose leaves

I found a stray purple verbena bloom popping out from among the roses.

Gelsemium sempervirens (left) and Vinca major (right)

Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) grows in large planters on either side of my front door. It doesn't have as many blooms since I moved it to the shadier location, but it still has a couple this year. Periwinkle (Vinca major) grows entangled in a bed of ivy and honeysuckle alongside my patio. It makes a lovely groundcover, especially for shady areas, but it can become invasive in wooded areas in the South. Vinca minor is its smaller, less aggressive cousin, which is usually a better choice for the garden.

Hosta hybrid

It's so nice to see my hostas returning from their winter sleep next to my patio.

I haven't planted any vegetables yet this year, but I still have some lettuce hanging on from last fall. I'll get to work planting my summer veggie garden here in a couple of weeks.

Cornus florida (dogwood)

I actually climbed up into my dogwood tree in order to get a better view of the blossoms. They really are one of my favorite spring flowers. In addition, the trees grow to a nice, small-to-medium size and get some lovely color in the fall. In my opinion, no Southern garden is complete without a dogwood tree.

From the dogwood tree, I had a birds-eye view of my kitchen garden. As you can see, I've added quite a few raised beds recently. I'll update you soon on all the new developments in my kitchen garden.