Spring flowers

More photos from  April 18.  Since then we have had a few sunny days that really bring out the flowers.    This is the berengaria next to the west coast planter.  It looks like this planter is wearing a frilly green dress with a pink corsage.  :)

Close up of the Corsican hellebore and another self seeded hellebore with the donkey's tail sedum along the stone path at the front.  They have seeded themselves here in this fine color combination, next to a heather that blooms in late summer in purple. 

This anemone now has more blooms and is looking great.  The pleione is next to it with more shoots coming up.  You can see the lilies starting to sprout up too.  This is the litttle rock wall just across from the west coast planter and the other little alpines that are well established now.

This camas is in bud and will bloom soon.  It is along Mrs. P.'s sidewalk.  I am surprised she hasn't killed it too.  The camas is a native plant.  The natives used it as food.  :).  Above the camas, which goes dormant over the summer, is a very vigorous dark purple Jackimani clematis climbing on a trellis.  This froths out all over its space and needs to be pruned back in early spring or late autumn to just at its trellis height.  Below the camas is this very invasive bisshop's weed that looks really good as a ground cover along by this sidewalk and grows in the clay, with very little water in summer.  I need to cut it back after it blooms and it grows again and looks good until it is killed by frost.  Also along this strip of clay is the cut back camillia, and 2 rhodos and one lovely azalea.  Under these shrubs are some daylillies and some lily of the valley.  I will want to move some of these plants to under the deck; especially the lily of the valley, before Mrs. Pee kills them, too.  In front of the bishop's weed I have a burning bush with red new leaves in spring.  I have to keep this pruned back off  the sidewalk, too.  It is there to screen my front door view from their garbage cans.  Just next to the burning bush and at the corner of my house is a Japanese anemone and the lovely Simplicity rose blooming in pink all summer and autumn.  Under these plants there are violets.. another very vigorous plant.  They have to be vigorous to survive Mrs. Pee's attentions.

This is a bunch of violets.  They are lovely, and I keep some around as ground covers here and there.  But they seed themselves everywhere.  The roots have to be dug out, as they have a tendency to just break off at ground level and just spread more from the roots.  I have too many in the moss garden at the back and they need to be cleaned up there, as well as in the front garden.  I would like to get them established under the deck with some of the lily of the valley plants in the heavy shade. 

These are the two clumps of pasque flowers, or prairie crocus, that live at the front by our driveway and in front of the cedar hedge.  I could use a couple more of these plants there, as they are well behaved and long lasting.  When finished blooming they make a nice clump of feathery foliage.

This is the little trillium at the front, showing 2 blooms this year.  There are two trilliums at the back.  More on them later.

Yesterday, we spent the day going out to Port Refrew and around the loop to Cowichan Bay and home past Duncan and the Malahat.  It was a wonderful day trip.  Lunch at the Port Renfrew Hotel was scrumptious.  We also visited Skutz Falls, which are really just rapids on the Cowichan river with fish ladders added.

Last evening when I went out to look at the pond from the deck I saw a splash in the water from what I think was a frog leaping off the waterfall rocks.  I have not seen it today.  I hope it is not one of those big frogs that have been introduced into the wild and are taking over the habitat of our indigenous frogs.  I haven't seen any fish yet, either.  I wonder if the frog has been eating them.  Some of the fish were quite big though.  The splash in the pond, did not look like a huge frog... maybe 2 inches across is all.  Some of those fish were at least 5 inches long. 

More Spring Flowers

This is a red, very showy St. Bridgid Anemoney growing in the front garden beside the stone path

This is the only blossom on the anemorella plant just now.  Its a lovely big mound of fresh green leaves that grow alongside the garage in the woodland area of the garden.

The bleeding heart is in the same area as the anemorella.  It is doing much better this year after receiving a bit of compost.  All the plants in this area need another feeding this year.

This planter containing aubretia sits in the front garden next to the driveway and the grass path.  The iberis will expand to flow around the bottom of the planter.  This area is doing much better also after getting rid of the violets and adding compost.

This is a very elegant and showy fern leafed peony that grows just back from the edge of the little rockery at the front.  Behind it is the green and white of the sicilian helebore that sits in front of the West Coast planter.  I am quite happy with the arrangement of the plants in this area that I am calling the little rockery in the front garden.

These smaller alpines grow just in front of the Peony and the helebore.  Across about 3.5 feet of flat field stone path is another small rock wall where I am establishing some more very special little alpines backed by taller plants.

This is my best primula - a double.  I have lost the name of it.  When I have the woodland renovated I hope to establish a few of these plants in an area that stays more moist.  In fact, I would like to expand all of the primulas.

  These saxatilis tulips have grown into a couple of large patches in the woodland area and beside the vegetable garden.  They are so very pretty and well behaved.  They will need to be divided soon, though.

This is a sea thrift or armeria.  These plants put on a show for a long period and when not in bloom they are a good looking evergreen mound.  Very valuable plant in my rockery.  This one is across the stone path from the little rockery wall and all its newly established precious alpines.  I put in a number of alpines where I removed the wooden half barrel that held the fish and water iris.  I put plieones, a daphne that is going to eventually get to be 5 x 5 feet (slow to grow)in a couple of weeks ago.  There is a lovely little perennial snapdragon with fuzzy silver leaves and is covered with white flowers.  There is also an Iberis, an aubretia, a campanula, another pink St. Bridgit anemone and further along some sedums.  There are two oriental lilies and these plants are backed by montebretias, yellow water iris, a clematis, a solomon's seal, foxgloves and a few other tall plants.  Some of these big  plants can be quite invasive and will need to be kept within bounds.

This is the reflections of the marsh marigolds in the pond and tiny bubbles from the waterfall. 
All of the photos are from a week ago, Monday, when I did a bit of gardening.  Mowed the grass and got a bit of a start on the renovation of the woodland.  There is a sumac that was nearly uprooted in the high winds we were having. I have taken off one big branch and have it trimmed with only the long part left to use as edging along the chip trail of the woodland when I redo this path.  I see that one of my new trilliums has come up, after all.  I thought I had lost it.  It is tiny but has a bloom.  I moved a small mounding green plant from right beside it and provided some good soil in the area.  This plant needs more woodland 'duff' added to it also.
I have had a very busy week, starting with the Monday gardening, Tuesday a walk home from the Doctors Office in the morning and pottering in the garden in the afternoon..  Wednesday was a full day of house work and I finally managed to do the vacuuming. Thursday was more house work finished, reading.   My new little vacuum works so much better as does the dust buster on a handle, that I really should do this more often.
On Friday we went to lunch at the Checkered Flag, and then shopping.  I now have a new rabbitting spade, and a new Felcro #6 pruner for small hands, from Lee Valley Tools.  From Canadian Tire, I got a rechargeable Black and Decker hedge trimmer.  I read all its instructions.  I have not tried it yet, as it was raining this morning. 
In the evenings I have been getting a few things done on the new photo site.  The place is looking really good and Cyrus is getting so many new people to register, as well as working on the articles, tutorials, video tutorials and so very many things.  Ken, Jiri and their friends are helping out, as well as a few others who have been there from the start.    We are definitely on our way!

Anemonella

This flower makes a nice mound with these ethereal flowers held above the fresh green leaves. It is along the woodland path. It looks good beside the white of the garage. This photo is from about a month ago, so the blooms are all finished now. The bleeding heart will be the next show as it is getting buds now. I must give those plants some good soil and fertilizer. They put on a lovely show this spring.

I mowed the lawn today, taking down the crocus leaves. Its probably a bit early to do that but I wanted the grass strip to look good while we are away. It will be long again in no time, though. The garden looks pretty good now. Still needs a bit of weeding here and there and lawn edging.