Gifts From The April Rain

Collage of new color that the April rain brought to the garden.

The geese and ducks return to the front acres as the river over flowed. This is spring in the BGgarden. The spirea bushes are starting to explode with red and orange blooms and the lilac buds are starting to take shape. I spent a good hour under the blooming willow tree with my garden friends curiously following me. This seems to be the only tree NOT taking it's time to bloom this spring. In the far right top corner of the collage the magnolia is slowly opening to a blush pink show. The delay is much to my delight because the early cold weather would have rusted her blooms with an earlier arrival. The pussy willow tree is about to burst with fuzz all over the yard as the creeping phlox begins to bloom adding more then just YELLOW to my garden color.

Princess Grace enjoys the fresh rain in the birdbath.

GARDEN NOTES: One of my dearest friends has recently taken up gardening at her new home in Texas. She is looking for something to grow as a ground cover in an area that seems to be getting wet from a drain. I am guessing this area is not always wet so we need to find something that is easy to grow in most areas. I would like to give her some ideas on what to plant in this area for some variety to this area of her landscaping
I would like to suggest one of my favorite ground covers SWEET WOODRUFF which is a ground cover and also an herb. Mine is planted along the border of the rock garden birdbath in a mostly shaded area. This herb grows in wet areas and in very dry spots of my garden. The first photo on the right is what mine looks like in early spring as it grows along the rocks. In late May it gets beautiful white flowers them seem to go on for months.
** IF anyone of my fellow Garden Friends would like to share some ideas for this area please leave a comment. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Pulmonaria Saccharata

Delightful Pink and Purple blooms on the Pulmonaria Saccharata. I just adore the spotted foliage. When I first saw this plant in the greenhouse I thought it had been watered with the wrong hose thinking the fertilizer had caused damage. Little did I know this is a characteristics of this perennial. Are the pink and purple blooms amazing?! This plant which is a perennial in my zone 5b likes to grow in near the hosta's which mostly enjoy the shade garden.

Creeping Phlox begins to bloom in light blue with shades of purple.

I collected too many photos new blooms and buds to blog about in one entry so I hope to bring you more by the weekend. Tomorrow is a busy day of planting about 100 new trees in the garden. We are so thankful for the rain we had over the past few days. I hope you will share some of your gifts the rain brings to you and your garden.