A little town West of here is amidst a very large festival celebrating the tulip. People drive 3-4 hours to walk around and large variety of tulips. There is food. There is music. There are dances in wooden shoes.
Thought I would take the opportunity to log the little crop of tulips blooming right now on the South and Southwest beds of the Lot. The classic reds and yellows were here when we moved in. All others were planted in the Fall of 2013.
On this Bloom Day I’ve noticed the Lot truly beginning to wake up from its winter slumber. With a nice stretch of mid-fifty to sixty degree days, a majority of the perennials have pushed new shoots up through the soil. Here are some of the bloomers on the Lot that lead the way into spring.
There are still crocus popping up in the lawn. This area happens to be more shady than others so these little ones are running behind the pack.
The same applies to these snowdrop, while the snowdrops I photographed for last month’s Bloom Day have already faded.
Sharing a bed with one huge privet is this little primrose. The edges of the new leaves and petals have been a bit frostbitten by our still cool nights.
Here is the lenten rose, still not quite opened yet. It’s such an elegant plant and one of my favorites on the Lot!
And finally, putting on a show during April Bloom Day for the first time in two seasons, are the frilly daffodils up in the south bed.
Be sure to check out May Dreams Gardens and find out what else is blooming this month in gardens around the world.
Since having received my Master Gardener Volunteer Certification, I’ve noticed I receive a handful of frequently asked questions. One of the more popular is “When is the best time to prune (name of flowering shrub)?” In our Zone 6a, pruning can be carried out in late winter, early spring, spring, or late summer. Which of those times a gardener picks to administer the horticultural haircut depends upon when the shrub blooms.
If the shrub usually blooms in the spring, the best time to prune it would be immediately after the blooms fade. These shrubs form the next season’s flower buds during the previous summer. If you prune the shrub before it blooms in the spring, you will be trimming off all the flower buds. These shrubs include:
Summer flowering shrubs are showing off blooms from buds grown that season. Prune these shrubs in late winter or early spring before they begin to push out new growth. The shrub will be able to devote all its energy to its upcoming flower display rather than wasting time on diseased or dead branches. The shrubs include:
There always has to be that one plant in the garden, right? Hydrangeas are a special case when it comes to pruning because it depends on what type of hydrangea you are growing. Most hydrangeas (oak leaf, mophead, lacecap) will bloom on old wood, having formed buds last season. This means pruning is best done after blooming in spring. However, reblooming varieties have buds on old and new growth, so the timing of pruning doesn’t matter as much. Still other hydrangeas form buds only on new growth. These would be trimmed in late winter or early spring the same as any other summer-blooming shrub.
Additional Resources
Shrub Pruning Calendar by the Virginia Cooperative Extension