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.

What the flurries?! We had a few inches of soggy snow on the ground this morning. This should not surprise anyone living in this area. It is still unpleasant to wake up to though, especially when there are bulbs blooming. The temperatures are just cold enough to allow for snow, so hopefully the flowers blooming right now will not be harmed.

These daffodils in the Lot’s south bed were just beginning to open. Also with color in their buds and starting to bloom are the ice-stick tulips and scilla.

When I compared my photo notes of this month from the past few years, the bulbs on the Lot this spring seem to trailing about a week behind the 2009 schedule. Conversely, last spring at this time all the tulips were already blooming in the south bed. Spring will arrive when it’s ready to, I suppose.

I will be better about posting photos for Bloom Day this year. Visit May Dreams Gardens for a listing of garden blogs that are sharing their April Bloom Day treasures.

There are a lot of blues and purples blooming on The Lot right now. Hyacinth varieties and crocus are both putting on a show. It was quite chilly and cloudy out this morning, so the crocus were too shy for photographs. Here are the hyacinth.

Making it’s Bloom Day debut is our lenten rose. This hellebore was planted in the fall of 2009. Last spring it did not bloom, but showed healthy growth. This spring it’s so pretty. I believe the leaves were nipped by some overnight frost weeks ago, but it still seems happy.

I had heard before what looks like petals on the hellebore are not really petals but “sepals.” These sepals are not shed like petals by the plant, so they often remain on the plant for a longer period of time. Other plants with colorful or interesting sepals are jack-in-the-pulpit and columbine.

The sepals on a hellebore surround “nectaries.” These nectaries are modified petals to hold the nectar of the plants.

Also blooming on The Lot are these little wild violets. At least that’s what I think they are. I noticed them for the first time in the park down the road from us this past Tuesday. They were peppered throughout the park underneath trees. When I was cleaning out beds on Wednesday, I found some back by the fence and compost bin.

While reading up a bit about the violets on The Internets, I noticed many people writing into lawn care forums complaining about the little flowers invading the lawn. I wasn’t sure if I was reading about a plot of grass or chemical warfare tactics. Making The Lot look like a golf course is not a goal this fledgling gardener strives toward. The little violets are welcome to stay.