Happy Bloom Day! While I was away for a week in Florida, plants on the Lot grew by leaps and bounds. Many bloomed and some are already fading. Today was rainy, cool, and overcast, but I snapped a few photos anyway. The front, South bed is full of Star of Bethlehem right now, but the flowers are all closed up. They are a bulb that absolutely refuses to make an appearance unless the sun is shining on them. A more appropriate common name for the flower would be Starlets.

The little Fothergilla shrub I purchased on the 2009 Spring Nursery Crawl is in bloom. This plant makes me smile every time we pull into the back driveway. The bottlebrush-like blooms have a very faint, sweet scent. In the fall, the foliage turn a pretty rust color. The shrub should max out at 5’x5′. It seemed to be a good solution for adding a bit of height in front of the fence in the back alley. The area is partial shade, so those tufts of white really stand out.

Also blooming on the Lot for May are the Queen of the Night tulips and Bleeding Heart. The tulips are not as dark as I’d like, but they are a lovely blood red color. I wonder if since they receive sun almost all day long the petals are not as dark as they could be. I’m debating whether or not to move the tulip bulbs since they are bullying around that poor poppy.

The dwarf irises that share the bed with the above tulips just opened yesterday. Like the more traditional irises on the Lot, this variety seems to spread like crazy. They’ve easily doubled in area since last season.

Just behind the little irises, the columbine is on the verge of blooming. One blossom has opened already. To the left are both the Snow Angel Coral Bells and Sea Pink Thrift with buds. A few beds to the right, in the gate bed, the foam flower is blooming. Right outside the gate, the Labrador Violet has been blooming for a few weeks now.

Over in Loki’s bed, the Forget-Me-Nots have joined the Grape Hyacinth. The Solomon’s Seal purchased last season is back stronger than ever and in full bloom. And throughout the Lot, little violas and pansies that half self-sown are adding dabs of bright color here and there.

Thank you as always to May Dreams Gardens for hosting such a fun event! Now to go snoop around in the other gardens.

This late afternoon was spent cleaning up the fence and gate beds. A lot of fall leaves and winter-damaged leaves from the perennials were caught up in the emerging spring bulbs and shoots.The weeds are beginning to grow as well.  While I was cleaning, I noticed a few more plants sending shoots out of the ground.

Here’s the list:

• Gayfeather
• False Indigo
• Key West Astilbe
• Toad Lily
• Painted Fern

As I was cleaning, I enjoyed the icestick tulips that have opened and joined the color of the grape hyacinth in those beds. The crowded tulips reminded me I have to research how to trim woody herbs like Winter Savory and Lavender. I am not sure if I should cut them back or if it’s even possible to divide them.

The Queen of the Night tulips look like a group of bouncers around the rapidly growing poppy. I will have to move those bulbs around this fall. When the wooden stakes used for irises become warped and worn out, I chop them down into shorter lengths to use as markers. The tulips will be marked while they’re blooming so I can remember where they are when the spent leaves die back and the poppy goes dormant.

After cleaning the beds, I snuck up front to the South side of the Lot to see what other activity had occurred since the 15th. Despite the snow Monday morning, the daffodils by the front stairs are in full bloom. The vinca beneath the tree is also beginning to bloom. Among the vinca are tons of little tree saplings beginning to grow. My gardening friend, Miss A, suggested finding several sets of small fingers to weed the sprouts from the vinca. I will keep this in mind for when my friends’ kids are old enough to do so.