Scilla siberica

Scilla siberica, sometimes known as Siberian squill, is a small bulb native to southern Russia. It is notable for its ability to grow under black walnut trees, which is useful if you have a black walnut and are looking for things to plant under it. I don’t but I still love this spring ephemeral. It is similar to the related Chionodoxa forbesii but the flowers on that are turned upright while Scilla’s face down. It was getting late in the evening when I took this (6:55 PM) and although the camera was steady (on a bean bag), there was a slight breeze moving the flowers around a little.

Muscari

I don’t know that we’re finished with frost for the spring, but it is definitely spring. It was very pleasant out today and Cathy and I got a lot done. Over the winter we generally leave last year’s stalks and seeds of Rudbeckia, Echinacea, Verbena, etc. for the birds. It’s time to tidy up the yard, though, in preparation for this year’s growth. I used a hedge trimmer to cut them all down near the ground and we cleaned up most of the garden in back and a little of what’s needed out front. After most of that was done I took a break and spent some time photographing flowers. These Muscari are growing under a cherry tree at the north end of our front yard.

Spiraea japonica

This largish Spiraea japonica was in our back yard when we bought the house. Every few years I cut it back quite hard and it rewards us with a wonderful show of airy, white blossoms each spring. There’s actually a cherry seedling growing up through the middle of it, which I need to chop down one of these days, but that’s neither here nor there. The small white flowers are pretty on their own but of course it’s the effect of a seven foot shrub covered in them that’s the real show. Aside from the occasional once over with a hedge trimmer, it takes virtually no work at all.

Grass

I’ve been over to one of the other buildings on campus a fair amount lately, for teleconferences with our client, working through the transfer of a system from our server to theirs. It’s dragged on longer than seems like it should have done but we will see it through. One nice thing has been that I’ve had more opportunities to walk through the woods between the two buildings. It’s the more direct but slightly slower route. Of course stopping to take pictures slows it further. The seed-head of this grass was shining in the afternoon light and I thought it looked nice. I’d be curious to know what you see in this image (beyond the literal, of course).

Chionodoxa forbesii ‘Pink Giant’

This pink glory of the snow had started to bloom before our late snow and I was a little afraid that they were not going to come back from that. I shouldn’t have worried, as they are apparently made of sterner stuff. These are quite tall for Chionodoxa, although that isn’t saying much. They are tall enough to hold their flowers above the top of the pachysandra among which they are planted. They came back after the snow and are quite lovely. The regular, blue Chionodoxa forbesii growing nearby are also doing quite well and happily blooming now that the snow has gone.

Purple Hyacinths

As I think I’ve mentioned before, hyacinths are not my favorite flower. They’re pretty enough and at a distance, I like them just fine. I find the fragrance to be awful, though, so as a centerpiece on a dining room table (for instance) I would just say no. Not everyone shares my opinion, I know. In fact, I know people who actually like the fragrance. It is in their honor in general (and for Julia Y in particular) that I dedicate this photo of purple hyacinths, blooming in our back yard.

Rhaphiolepis indica ‘Moness’ Enchantress™ Indian Hawthorn

It was raining this morning but we wanted to do something outdoors. We picked up Maggie and went to Brookside Gardens, where there are both indoor and outdoor parts, so we could come inside if it continued raining and go out if it stopped. As it turned out, by the time we left the sky was mostly blue and it was a lovely day, so we wandered over most of the grounds as well as spending some time in the greenhouse.

This is indoors as it’s only hardy in USDA zones 8 to 10 but it’s a lovely shrub with fragrant, delicate pink flowers less than a centimeter across.