April: Loveliest of Trees

Seasonal Page: April 1999 You can't hear them, but this little quartet is belting out, "Singin' in the Rain"!

Loveliest of Trees - Page 2

Time for more photos... had to rush out during a sun break to get some of them!

This unknown old primrose variety by the entry is still blooming its head off!

The white Anemone pulsatilla seems to bloom a bit later than the purple ones. Here it is knodding its blossoms under the weight of all the rain we'd gotten. This is in the back near the path going into the back yard.

I love this photo except for the slingshot affair going on in the foreground! If I were at the beach and it was a weathered piece of driftwood, it would be different. It's been cut off since this was taken... belonged to a hardy fuchsia that broke new growth below the point I'd initially cut it to. We had just enough sudden cold over the winter to kill back a few plants. Didn't seem to hurt the Osmanthus in the background though (left). It's gone as of May, but was wonderful in April. The pink flowers underneath it and by the bench are the Daphne odora... it lost all its leaves due to cold but is now sending out some new ones. To the right of the path and to the center is the clump of Dicentra 'Luxuriant'.The green flowers in the right foreground are Helleborus foetidus. Way in the back ash bed (across the lawn) are some white tulips. You will see them below.

A closer view of the flowers on Osmanthus. A few migrating hummingbirds dropped in to enjoy this plant. I suspect they come every year... don't see them later in the spring and summer.

Here are the white tulips in back... 'Purissima'. They are very reliable rebloomers and come on just when I'm in the mood for tulips... early. I don't like the later taller ones so much because there's plenty else going on in the garden by then and they don't seem to be as hardy as the early blooming species and hybrids (usually shorter as well). The yellow clusters in the background are the Euphorbia polychroma beginning to open. It will be much brighter in another couple of weeks (which it is as I write this).

Near the trunk of the ash tree and in the same bed as the tulips at left, are these little Erythronium 'Citrina'... Trout Lilies. They are probably not the happiest here, but still come back each season. Now that it has been weeded, I expect they'll be in better stead for next year.

Since I spayed deer repellent in time this year, I got to see these. The name of this tulip is 'Maja' and it has a wonderful delicate color, slight red streaks and appealing fringed petals. If it were open, you could see the black markings deep in the throat. A few days ago, I found two purple tulips with 2 inches of stem attached, laying in this bed. Think a deer nipped them off and then thought better of it. Probably time to spritz the back again. They love tulips that are just starting to color, heuchera and the fresh leaves of hardy geraniums. Go figure!

A leftover 'Orange Bouquet' tulip that found a home in this deck planter. Sure spiced it up! See all the lilies coming up in the barrel behind? Two years ago I planted about 5 'Lollypop' and they have gone nuts! There's no room to put in much else.

Wish I could get the color right on these dwarf Iris pumila. They are actually that wonderful sky blue that irises can attain. Even Photoshop could not fix it. I thought I'd lost them in the grassy mess behind, but managed to pull these out and replant them near the path. What a thank-you they have given me this spring! Tulips are more 'Orange Bouquet' (I still don't think they are orange!).

This is the area I was working on last fall and have made a bit more progress on in April. Just beyond your sight, it is a MESS still! The tulips here are 'Toronto'.

This is awfully dark, but shows my three younger girls helping by spreading bark. One of them stays the course until it's properly finished, while the two others usually stop early. Karen is under the arbor to the left still spreading, and Diane and Lynda are playing with Goofy, the cat. (They were working until just before this was taken.)

Ron is weeding the strawberry patch which is mulched with a few leaves. He had just tilled the back part of the garden and planted some potatoes.

Remember 'Grace Seabrook'? This rhody stops the show in April and is one of the first large trussed ones to come on in the garden. It had fewer flowers this season than last.

We're a little strange around here. I had the most interesting batch of separated soap and Robert took quite a few photos of it before I chopped it up and remelted the thing! If you want to see the pictures, go to the "Botched Batches" page.

An alien has landed! Back by the cherry tree is a friend of Michael's clowning around with Mike's welder's helmet. He was working on building some shelves for his work truck (white one in right foreground) when Bill dropped in.

What I was really doing when I took the alien photo was trying to get a shot of this miniature iris. I complain about it every year... think it's kind of ugly! You know what the solution would really be? I should find a spot near the bronze sedge in the ash bed. It would look great with something nearby to pick up the bronze tints of the flower. With this sea of bark around it...it's wasted. It did not look at all like the tag and what I'd wanted at the time of purchase... that's why I always complain, I guess! :-)

Think I took this same photo last year... I am always fascinated by the succulent new leaves of Sedum 'Autumn Joy'.

More cherry blossoms... only this time on the fruiting tree in the orchard. The birds will destroy most of these before they even get ripe enough for us to enjoy (crows).

In the front yard, Rhododendron 'Dora Amateis' is covered with white blooms. Looks like some sort of creature is stalking (shadow on right). The feathery tree behind is a Cedrus deodora (Deodar Cedar). The bit of red in the background belongs to Rh. 'Elizabeth', another early variety.

What a glorious day it was! While Michael worked on his shelf building project, Robert decided it was time to wash his car. [Since this was taken more than a few years ago, he has a new VW Jetta... also red. The CRX has been passed down to Karen, Lynda and now is being used by our other son for paper delivering! - March 2004]

This page last updated on May 14, 1999.

©All materials on this website (excluding graphics or photos that are credited to other sources) are the property of Kathy Miller and are not to be used for web or commercial purposes without permission. If you want to print out the site for personal reference or use photo images on greeting cards or personal craft items that are not for sale...that is perfectly okay with me!

This unknown old primrose variety by the entry is still blooming its head off!	The white Anemone pulsatilla seems to bloom a bit later than the purple ones. Here it is knodding its blossoms under the weight of all the rain we'd gotten. This is in the back near the path going into the back yard.
I love this photo except for the slingshot affair going on in the foreground! If I were at the beach and it was a weathered piece of driftwood, it would be different. It's been cut off since this was taken... belonged to a hardy fuchsia that broke new growth below the point I'd initially cut it to. We had just enough sudden cold over the winter to kill back a few plants. Didn't seem to hurt the Osmanthus in the background though (left). It's gone as of May, but was wonderful in April. The pink flowers underneath it and by the bench are the Daphne odora... it lost all its leaves due to cold but is now sending out some new ones. To the right of the path and to the center is the clump of Dicentra 'Luxuriant'.The green flowers in the right foreground are Helleborus foetidus. Way in the back ash bed (across the lawn) are some white tulips. You will see them below.	A closer view of the flowers on Osmanthus. A few migrating hummingbirds dropped in to enjoy this plant. I suspect they come every year... don't see them later in the spring and summer.
Here are the white tulips in back... 'Purissima'. They are very reliable rebloomers and come on just when I'm in the mood for tulips... early. I don't like the later taller ones so much because there's plenty else going on in the garden by then and they don't seem to be as hardy as the early blooming species and hybrids (usually shorter as well). The yellow clusters in the background are the Euphorbia polychroma beginning to open. It will be much brighter in another couple of weeks (which it is as I write this).	Near the trunk of the ash tree and in the same bed as the tulips at left, are these little Erythronium 'Citrina'... Trout Lilies. They are probably not the happiest here, but still come back each season. Now that it has been weeded, I expect they'll be in better stead for next year.
Since I spayed deer repellent in time this year, I got to see these. The name of this tulip is 'Maja' and it has a wonderful delicate color, slight red streaks and appealing fringed petals. If it were open, you could see the black markings deep in the throat. A few days ago, I found two purple tulips with 2 inches of stem attached, laying in this bed. Think a deer nipped them off and then thought better of it. Probably time to spritz the back again. They love tulips that are just starting to color, heuchera and the fresh leaves of hardy geraniums. Go figure!

A leftover 'Orange Bouquet' tulip that found a home in this deck planter. Sure spiced it up! See all the lilies coming up in the barrel behind? Two years ago I planted about 5 'Lollypop' and they have gone nuts! There's no room to put in much else.	Wish I could get the color right on these dwarf Iris pumila. They are actually that wonderful sky blue that irises can attain. Even Photoshop could not fix it. I thought I'd lost them in the grassy mess behind, but managed to pull these out and replant them near the path. What a thank-you they have given me this spring! Tulips are more 'Orange Bouquet' (I still don't think they are orange!).
This is the area I was working on last fall and have made a bit more progress on in April. Just beyond your sight, it is a MESS still! The tulips here are 'Toronto'.	This is awfully dark, but shows my three younger girls helping by spreading bark. One of them stays the course until it's properly finished, while the two others usually stop early. Karen is under the arbor to the left still spreading, and Diane and Lynda are playing with Goofy, the cat. (They were working until just before this was taken.)
Ron is weeding the strawberry patch which is mulched with a few leaves. He had just tilled the back part of the garden and planted some potatoes.	Remember 'Grace Seabrook'? This rhody stops the show in April and is one of the first large trussed ones to come on in the garden. It had fewer flowers this season than last.

More cherry blossoms... only this time on the fruiting tree in the orchard. The birds will destroy most of these before they even get ripe enough for us to enjoy (crows).	In the front yard, Rhododendron 'Dora Amateis' is covered with white blooms. Looks like some sort of creature is stalking (shadow on right). The feathery tree behind is a Cedrus deodora (Deodar Cedar). The bit of red in the background belongs to Rh. 'Elizabeth', another early variety.
What a glorious day it was! While Michael worked on his shelf building project, Robert decided it was time to wash his car. [Since this was taken more than a few years ago, he has a new VW Jetta... also red. The CRX has been passed down to Karen, Lynda and now is being used by our other son for paper delivering! - March 2004]

Seasonal Page: April 1999

Loveliest of Trees - Page 2