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| Malus 'Prairiefire' |
Northern Illinois doesn't have flowering dogwoods or rhododendrens, but we've got crabapples in abundance and never have they looked so good as they do right now, all over. The three days of unseasonable heat cooked all the tulips and daffodils except one that just opened,
Narcissus poeticus, that Kathy, of
Cold Climate Gardening, gave me last summer. Because of squirrel interference, only one of the three bloomed.
The heat also put an end to the
Hepatica show, but brought on the last of the native woodland ephemerals.
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| Dodecatheon media alba, with Phlox divaricata 'Clouds of Perfume' and Dicentra 'Bountiful' |
The little merrybells is not having a good year. It has been crowded out by bigger plants, so that there is only one bloom.
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| Uvularia perfoliata |
It will be moved to a better location.
By contrast, it's been a great year for the
Trilliums. Both
Trillium flexipes
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| Trillium flexipes |
and the other white
Trillium have doubled in size, and I found a lone
T. sessile plant with just foliage.
Blooming for the first time this year are
Phlox divaricata 'Montrose Tricolor', which is a wimpy little thing I'd be happy to unload on whoever wants it, and
Phlox divaricata 'Lemon Slice', which I got last year from Plant Delights. 'Lemon Slice' is really strutting its stuff. I'm not seeing much of the yellow varigation in the foliage, but it did have ruby foliage all winter, making it much more showy than other
Phlox divaricata.
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| Phlox divaricata 'Lemon Slice' and Geranium sylvaticum 'Mayflower' |
The non-native
Geranium sylvaticum 'Mayflower' and the native
Geranium maculatum are blooming now too.
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| Geranium maculatum seedling |
This darker flowered form might be the result of a cross with 'Mayflower'.
Enough with the text, on with the show.
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| Stylophorum diphyllum the native celadine poppy |
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| Polemium reptans 'Stairway to Heaven' |
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| Tiarella 'Pink Brushes' |
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| Dicentra 'King of Hearts' with Viola labradorica |
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| Allium aflatuense 'Purple Sensation' |
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| Aquilegia vulgaris seedling (Heart of Gold) |
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| Epimedium grandiflorum 'Lilafee' |
Good scents:
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| Corydalis 'Blackberry Wine' |
and
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| Iris germanica hybrid. |
along with the crabapple blooms make being in the garden a delight.
Finally, because it wouldn't be spring here at Squirrelhaven without them, a couple of
Anemonellas.
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| Thalictrum thalictroides 'Oscar Shoaf' |
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| Thalictrum thalictroides 'Cameo' |
Also blooming: a load of hellebores, the white and the pink single flowered
Anemonellas, the redbud, the
Chaenomeles,
Tiarella 'Iron Butterfly' and 'Oakleaf',
Heucherella 'Burnished Bronze',
Zizia aurea and a bunch of stuff I've probably forgotten. (I'd forgotten the
Brunneras, 'Jack Frost', 'Hadspen Cream', and 'Looking Glass', and
Pulmonaria 'Roy Davidson',
Muscari, little violets,
Arisaema triphyllum, and
Geranium macrorrhizum.
As always, thanks goes to Carol, of
May Dreams Gardens, for hosting Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.
24 comments:
Gorgeous and lush! ~It's good to see these spring lovelies again! Oscar S is a fine pink and Lilafee is a fantastic epimedium. Happy Bloom Day. gail
LOVE your little woodland plants!
So much beauty in your garden right now! It's the time of year when I'd rather stay at home than travel because everything is gorgeous. Happy GBBD!
Looks lovely! I wish my irises were closer to blooming.
Ah, how I love trillium... your photo makes me nostalgic for home, and the woods behind my parents' house. :)
Lots of good blooms at Squirrelhaven. Thanks for joining in for bloom day!
Simply incredible captures of your ravishing beauties, MMD! It is hard for me to fathom iris blooming at the same time as the little ephemerals. The shooting star shot belongs on a magazine cover!
Frances
Lots of beautiful blooms that i have never seen before...just lovely!
My favorite is the Iris germanica.
A real eye candy post with lots of color. The Prairiefire is a fave of mine. Great photos.
Don't you love that pulmonaria Roy Davidson - I never think to take pix, but it's been reliably pretty for 10 years now - love and now covet that 'Cameo' as well as a showier 'Lemon Slice.'
You have some great early bloomers still blooming with your Iris.
Wow! Your garden has really sprung to life, MMD. The crabapples have really been gorgeous this year; I only wish their blooms would last even longer.
Your garden looks beautiful - Love the Irises! Happy GBBD!
Beautiful photos. I'm still waiting for my Prairiefire crab to bloom. I figured you'd have one since they were developed at the University of Illinois. My husband is an alum, so it's like a bit of home.
You have excellent photos of all my favorite plants, thanks. I agree with you about Phlox d. 'Montrose Tricolor', a non-starter in my garden. But I would say the same about Dicentra 'King of Hearts' and Corydalis 'Blackberry Wine'. Maybe it's just too hot where I am. Would be interested in what you think (if I can remember to come back).
Really enjoyed your photos - they sing Spring!
I don't think we have even one bloom in common this month! Maybe you should send me the Montrose Tricolor Phlox. I used to live the in Montrose district of Houston and I was very happy there!
Love those Geraniums...so charming! And the Thalictrum...stop it...too darn cute!
My crabapple bloomed all for two days before the storms took down most of the blooms last week. (Chicago western burbs) Im so disappointed. I hate the tree - its only saving grace are the blooms.
Gail - Oscar needs a new home. He's not happy where he is & is smaller than last year. I have a feeling it's more finicky than other anemonellas.
Allenaim Photog - thanks!
PlantPostings - I hear you. It takes a crowbar just to get me to go to the store now on a nice day.
ROR - these Irises are always the first to bloom. The others are just forming buds. If you'd like some of these, I have plenty.
Kim - I've never seen large colonies of white Trilliums in the wild. That must be magnificent. The reds are the predominant species around here.
Christine - thanks!
Kelly - actually, I chose 'Prairiefire' for its pink blooms, red spring foliage and disease-resistance. It replaced a lousy performing 'Profusion'.
Carolyn - 'King of Hearts' has been iffy here too. I lost 2 of 3 plants, but the one plant has done wonderfully. I also lost all of the 'Candy Hearts' I planted. My Corydalis is near the eastern foundation and gets only morning sun. I planted 3 of them and 1 died. I replaced that one, & it's doing fine.
Jay - thanks. I find I take a lot more photos in spring than any other time.
Cindy - Great idea. That Phlox is wasted in my garden.
Scott - They are some of my favorite plants. The Geranium turns a fabulous red in the fall.
Anon. - that's very disappointing. It makes you want to wrap the tree in burlap or something. Another option is to plant another, later blooming crabapple, so hopefully one will be glorious.
Barbara, you have so many things going on, it's wonderful! You may not have the dogwoods of the South but those crabapples are great. I wish they did better down here. Beautiful photos as usual!
I'm glad I made it here, and now, I need to get to work. Things are looking awesome your way!
Oh, how i love finding new gardeners that share the passion of Gardening! I host a garden party on Thursday's called Cottage Flora Thursday's...would love to have you come by & peek around & would love it even better if you'd link a garden post sometime? oxox,tracie
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