April Frost

Last night the temperature dipped down to -2°C, resulting in frost. It wasn't bad for the bulbs, or the pansies for that matter. They are hardy enough to withstand it.

The magnolia was a different story.



With the unseasonably warm weather over the past week or so, the magnolia bloomed more fully and quickly than usual. But its beautiful white flowers with a hint of pink are very susceptible to frost damage.



Some magnolia trees in our city escaped damage, particularly if they were well sheltered next to buildings. But our tree is in the middle of the lawn, and like all trees so placed, it suffered the ignominy of its flowers turning an orangey-brown that clashes badly with the lovely pink it usually sports.



At least we got to enjoy an unblemished magnolia for a few days.

On a different note, I've placed the Buddha head ornament in its usual location, where it will grace the garden for another year.


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

Busy Weekend in the Garden

Today was a busy day in the garden. We put the black mulch down, and did all sorts of tidying. Also planted some pansies in containers. (It's still a bit early for a good selection of perennials, but plenty of pansies everywhere.)

Pansies



This is the earliest we've ever put down mulch, I think. It seems like the black mulch has been really good for the garden. My husband said he thinks the black mulch helps things grow faster, and I told him it was more likely the warm front that was stalled over our area giving us many days of T-shirt weather in April, when it's usually much cooler.

Daffodils in Black Mulch



But he pointed out the difference in blooms of the same plants in the back yard where the plain wood mulch is, compared to the front where we put black mulch down last year. I'm still not convinced. The front is south-facing, with very little shade. Sure the back slope is south-facing too, but it gets much more shade from the fencing that surrounds it.

Magnolia in Full Blooming Glory



But in the end, it doesn't really matter, because we have such a beautiful garden to enjoy, with the magnolia blooming, all kinds of early tulips, clumps of daffodils, and the later perennials all starting to sprout.

Tulips, Daffodils, and Penstemon 'Husker Red'



Here is a close up photo of a beautiful double daffodil that is blooming near the front of the garden where I hardly see it, since I never walk down that way (except on purpose to check out what's blooming).

Double Daffodil



I leave you with one of my favourite pansies that we planted in the two tall urns in front of the garage. (By the way, I know that a south-facing cast-iron urn full of pansies will be lucky to last to the end of May, but I need to keep the pansies up out of the way of rabbits and squirrels, who find them delicious; also, I plan to replace the pansies with zonal geraniums at the end of May.)

Purple Pansy


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

Spring Fling

Well, the garden actually looks like spring has arrived now. Thanks to a steady supply of warm sunshine, the flowers are emerging and throwing out blooms as if their life depended on it. (Oh wait, it does.)

Here is one rather unexpected bloom: what should be a late tulip, flowering already.

Tulip, Possibly 'Ballade'



And here is its cousin, another one that just couldn't wait.

An Early Tulip



Now hyacinths you expect to be early bloomers. Mine are just coming into their full scented glory right now. (I should be honest here. I do not like strong scented flowers. But hyacinths don't last long and I am not outside all the time.)

White Hyacinth



Purple Hyacinth



The magnolia buds are starting to bloom. Two years ago we had a frost that damaged the flowers. Last year, the tree didn't bloom at all. This year, because the flowers are emerging so fast, they are small. That doesn't in any way affect their beauty though.

Magnolia Buds and Blossom



Closeup of a Blossom



And of course spring just wouldn't be spring without daffodils.

Daffodils In Bunches



Palmares Daffodil, Close Up


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

I'm not sure how long the warm weather will last, but the flowers have certainly had a strong start this year because of it. Eh, no complaints here.

Daffodils

I took at look at posts for the past couple of years, and it seems this year is sort of in between.

I guess spring 2007 was a little late, so I didn't have any daffodils on April 20th last year. (The first one opened on April 21st.) In 2006 at this time, the garden was blooming like crazy.

These Easter Bonnet daffodils have been blooming since yesterday. They're already starting to turn "pink" (the colour is really closer to apricot).

Easter Bonnet Daffodils



I had to enhance the contrast a bit to make the flowers stand out from the background. I normally don't like to do much editing (other than cropping) to my garden photos, because I want to represent things as accurately as possible. In this case, however, the flowers were lost without the added contrast.

These are the same two daffodils that have consistently bloomed first since I planted them in 2004. Here is another daffodil that has come back for a couple of years. I am not sure what variety this one is. (It could be 'Palmares', based on photos from 2006.)

Palmares Daffodil



Another bloom I have not seen since 2006 is magnolia buds. I am happy to say that the magnolia will bloom this year, after taking a rest last year.

Magnolia Buds


Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.

I am happy the show has finally started. Stay tuned for more as time goes on.

Spring!

We've been away on vacation for almost two weeks. (It was a lovely getaway to a tropical island.) The snow, though melting, was still quite deep when we left. But look what we have come back to! Crocuses blooming, and other spring bulbs sprouting foliage.


Photo belongs to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.