Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - April 2018

April showers bring May flowers......

I hope the old poem is right! We've had a cool start to spring with measureable rain on many a day.

The tulips in containers don't mind the rain.

While I have no blooms yet on my aquilega, the plants are very plump with foliage; a promise of blooms to come.

The bleeding hearts, lamprocapnos spectabilis, are really stunning right now. I have both the 'old fashioned' and 'gold heart' intermixed in the flower beds. These perennials emerged in March and due to the cool weather, are still going strong. I have them planted inbetween the hellebores as well. (which are still blooming...can you believe it?)

lamprocapnos spectabilis

lamprocapnos spectabilis

lamprocapnos spectabilis 'Gold Heart'

The bummer about the past month is that my camera broke. I'm sure I can send it in for service, but..the opportunity to buy something new and possibly upgrade was just too tempting. However, while I was deciding what to do....I didn't have a camera on hand. Hence, not a lot of blog worthy photos this month.

primula sieboldii 'Lacy Lady'

The currant's have been enjoying a long bloom season. I think the rainy-cold weather agrees with them.
If I were just to compare blooms..the native red currant and the hybrid 'King Edward VII' are not very different. The growth habits are different. King Edward VII has lovely, long reaching branches that create a vase shape. The native is a bit more shrub like.

native 'red' currant, ribes sanguineum

ribes sanguineum 'King Edward VII'

It's not all pink and purple in the April garden....there's a bit of blue and chartreuse as well.

The carpet of spanish bluebells are blooming. It's a pretty color contract against the pink blooms above.

In the front gardens, Euphorbia 'Rainbow Ascot' continues to bloom with a show of bright chartreus.

Here's a shot of the front flower beds in April. Lot's of lush foliage with more spring blooms to come. You can see that the bleeding heart fuschia's are finally taller than the hellebores. The camelia is finished blooming and the foliage of the columbines have filled in the space.

Happy Garden Blogger's Bloom Day! Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming in gardens around the world.