Lamprocapnos spectabilis (Bleeding Heart)

It was a drizzly afternoon and the ground was pretty wet when I got home but I went out to take pictures anyway. I wanted to get pictures of the bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis) before it finished blooming but that meant getting down close to the ground (and when I say close, I mean lying down). Well, I didn’t feel up to going out this evening so didn’t have anywhere to go, so it didn’t make much difference if my clothes got a bit dirty. I took a bunch of pictures of the bleeding heart as well as some fern fiddle heads coming up nearby.

Azalea Flowers

Digital cameras are quite amazing in their ability to capture images electronically. Film was quite amazing in its day, as well, and it still pretty cool. But digital cameras have surpassed film in many ways, not the least of which is the amount of detail that can be recorded and the range of colors and brightness levels (the dynamic range) that can be captured. Nevertheless, they are not perfect. There are still colors that are so saturated that camera sensors cannot easily capture them in all their beauty. Usually such extremes of color are artificial, but flowers are a notable exception. These azalea flowers are such a bright, intense pink-red that my camera cannot easily handle them. The photograph does a reasonable job of capturing them, but the result is not as intense as the original.

Tulipa acuminata ‘Fireflame Tulip’

Most of the early spring bulbs are finished. The last of the daffodils, even those which bloomed later than normal, are finished and turning brown. Tulips used in roadside beds throughout the area are done and ready to be replaced. There are a few in our front garden, however, that are still blooming. This is Tulipa acuminata ‘Fireflame Tulip’. The description on McClure and Zimmerman (http://www.mzbulb.com, where I bought them) says they are “scarlet and yellow with long, curiously twisted petals.” As you can see, mine is pure yellow. I don’t mind, though. It is still quite striking. They also say that “although classified as a species, it’s not known in the wild and is probably an ancient hybrid of garden origin.” I don’t mind that, either. It blooms considerably later than the other tulips I have and I like that about it. They are planted among some later-blooming daffodils, which probably isn’t the best idea, because they are somewhat hidden because of that. But they come back year after year, which is somewhat unusual for tulips, which are generally quite short-lived.

Narcissus ‘Limbo’

This is my last daffodil photo of the year, I promise. Well, I won’t actually promise but it’s pretty likely to be, anyway. Because they were planted only last fall, the new daffodils that I’ve photographed this spring have come up and bloomed a bit late. I expect them to be more “on schedule’ next year. This one, calle ‘Limbo’, was planted in two places in the back yard. I’m quite pleased with it. The petals are not as pure white as ‘Lemon Beauty’ that I photographed four days ago, but it’s a very pale yellow. It sets off the orange of the corona quite nicely, though, particularly when the sun is shining on it.

Camellia japonica

I was down at my mom’s house this evening, returning something and picking up something else. The camellias in the yard are finishing blooming. There are quite a few flowers but many of them are all brown around the edges. This one (on the left) is still in pretty good shape. I don’t know what name this one goes by. It’s on the end of the house, beside the chimney, which is a reasonably sheltered spot and it’s quite tall and narrow. I know he had a ‘Mrs. Lyman Clarke’ there a long time ago, but that one died. I have a small one on the front of our house and it made it through these last two winters, and I’m have hopes for it. But this one is an unknown (to me, at least). Pretty, though.

Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis)

Do you ever forget this stuff? It’s Myosotis (probably Myosotis sylvatica, but I’m not really sure). Also known as forget-me-not. It’s in full bloom in our garden right now and it’s quite lovely, producing a pale blue carpet in shady spaces. It was part of my back garden photo on Wednesday (April 22, 2015). As I mentioned at the time, it is a relatively short-lived perennial but it self-seeds to we’ve had a patch of it since Cathy planted it the fall we move in. We also have some now under the cherry tree on the side of the front yard. I don’t know that I could have too much of this. It will disappear shortly and will be forgotten (or not) until next spring.

I was going to post a straight-on shot of a bunch of flowers but decided I like the airiness of this shot better.

Daffodil ‘Lemon Beauty’

This is a new daffodil for us this year, planted in the fall with a bunch of other things. This one is on the edge of the area cleared under the spruce tree in our front yard. We’re actually talking about what to do with that area, because the tree itself is not doing very well and should probably be cut down. It only has herbaceous perennials (including bulbs) under it, so I can probably do that at any time. I’m thinking I’ll plant some sort of flowering tree, but I haven’t decided what at this point.

Anyway, this daffodil is quite nice and I’m happy with it. The only defect (if you want to call it that) is that the flowers face mostly downward so they are a bit harder to see than on many of the other daffodils in our yard. I love the purity of the white and the brightness of the yellow, though.

Cherry Blossoms

There are cherry blossoms and then there are cherry blossoms. These are cherry blossoms. In the wild, cherry species generally have simple, white flowers. As most of us know, there is some pink in the gene pool and that has been exploited by those willing to take the time. Most of the pink cherry blossoms you see are still fairly small, simple flowers but borne in such profusion that their small size and simplicity is not a real drawback. This cherry, however, it one I really like. The flowers are huge by comparison (two inches across), with lots of frilly petals. The tree is still covered in pink but I think that it has an edge. Unfortunately, I have no idea what cultivar this is. The tree was here when we bought the house.

Narcissus 'Falconet'

I think I might have mentioned that I planted a few bulbs last fall. It’s something I do for Cathy’s birthday, which is in the late fall, but that she only really gets the reward from in the spring. Of course, it’s a cumulative thing, as the bulbs I plant come up year after year (or most do, there are a few that don’t last as long). I bought more than I actually got in the ground, unfortunately, which is a bit of a waste, but what I did plant are coming up and blooming.

This daffodil (Narcissus) is called ‘Falconet’ and I’m pretty pleased with it. Daffodils are classified into 13 divisions. Falconet is in division 8, the Tazetta daffodils, those which have the characteristics of the species Narcissus tazetta. They have fragrant flowers, with multiple (three to twenty) flowers per stem. Falconet, as you can see, is bright yellow with orange-red cups. It is also fairly tall, well over a foot, but on strong stems so they don’t seem to flop over, which I appreciate.

Daffodil ‘Actaea’

With apologies to The Knack.

This is the corona (the central trumpet) of a daffodil called ‘Actaea’ that I have growing along our sidewalk out front. It is in the poeticus division (division 9), which are distinguished by their large white petals and small, dainty cups in contrasting colors. This one is particularly nice, with its large, nearly pure white petals and with such a bright corona.