The Garden in April

The garden is beginning to take off

and the colors are exploding.

It's enough to make even the most hardened of hearts melt.

 Until last year this azalea had been hidden under

two barberry bushes.

Finally, it is its time to shine.

 A Columbine.

 A Heuchera, or coral bells in bloom.

 My Rhododendron in bloom.

Typically, rhododendrons and azaleas do not do well

in this area as they like acidic soil

and we, being in limestone country, have alkaline soil.

I seem to be blessed as my plants are doing well.

 Close up of the rhododendron blooms.

 English Perfume, an English Rose.

And yes, it does smell quite lovely.

 I'm sorry that it opened too late for the Hawthornes to enjoy it.

 Gertrude Jekyll, another English Rose.

This is a highly perfumed rose.

She is also very temperamental.

 Stoksia.

 Another Columbine.

 Glade bluestar or Amsonia tabernaemontana.

 Clematis.

 Yet another Columbine.

 Another view.

And what is this???!!

I'm so ashamed.

I'm just glad that the Hawthornes weren't here to see this.

This is mutinus elegans, or the Devil's Dipstick.

It is a phallic fungus as one can easily imagine from its appearance.

Hmph, and right out there where just anyone can see...

Sure Signs that Spring is Here, Part Deux

I have been busy collecting more photographic evidence

that spring truly is here.

The college girls don shorts and flip-flops.

I'm sure the young men appreciate that.

Daffodils bloom downtown.



My hyacinths are blooming.

The Cleveland Select pear trees

burst into bloom.

Close-up of the flowers.

Caterpillars begin moving in the garden.

This is the larva of the Giant Leopard Moth.

Accounts conflict on whether the
bristles can cause a rash if touched.

Redbud trees bloom on the Clear Creek Trail.

Spring rains swell the creeks.

Eastern Redbud.

The lake level is high.

A blue heron takes flight.

The lake is not yet at flood stage.

Boaters are out on the lake.

A gentleman fishes.

The deer missed this tulip in my garden.

I had forgotten that I still had tulips

as the deer eat them before they can bloom.

The dogwoods and fothergilla in bloom.

A bee visits the fothergilla flowers.

Dogwood "in bloom."

Remember,

the "petals" are actually bracts that frame

the cluster of tiny flowers in the center.

Lichen on the trunk of the dogwood.

Lichen is a composite organism,

formed by a symbiotic association

of an algae and a fungus.

Lichen does not hurt the tree

and is a sign of clean air.

My rhododendrons are blooming.

A prostrate azalea peeks out from

beneath the barberry bushes.

This is a lovely shade of pink.

I am thinking the barberries need to go

as they are taking over the space.

Welcome spring.

Welcome flowers of all kinds.

After the Rain

It was a dark and stormy night. Really? Night is dark? No wonder that sentence has been voted among the worst opening lines ever for a book.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Yes, it did storm last night, and the evening before that and the afternoon before that. It stormed to the tune of 3-1/2 inches of rain.

Let's go see how my garden fared, shall we?

My azaleas are blooming.

I just love this lichen. Can you tell?

Another azalea is blooming.

The Canada Red Chokeberries are beginning to turn purple.



The Little Kim Lilac is putting on a fine display.




While a Columbine nods nearby.





My Spiderwort, or Tradescantia virginiana L.

Oh goody, the Foxglove (Digitalis) that I planted last spring are blooming this year. Just remember, the heart medicine Digitalin is made from Digitalis, so no part of this plant should ever be ingested. Even a small bite can prove to be fatal.

This Rhododedron is just beginning to bloom.

While its neighbor is already in full bloom.

The Baptisia australis, or False Indigo, is just beginning to bloom.

Up on my deck, the Provence Lavender is coming into flower.

Well, what do we have here? This, uh, interesting specimen is a fungus known as Mutinus elegans, or the Devil's Dipstick. As might be obvious, this is a phallic fungus. While you ponder that bit of information, I'll just say that I was glad that I can't really smell anything right now because this fungus is in the stink horn family.

Really, right there where just anybody can see it!