Garden Glimpses : Early April 2007

I think it may finally be Spring in Vancouver, BC, although it has been a very wierd one, and the wierdest, snowiest, iciest winter I've seen. Just when the sun is out in full force, and we think it is finally Spring, it is back to frost and snow (!!) in April!

Here are a few glimpses from my garden, both the flowers and the weeds. Enjoy!

These daffodils are a cheery underplanting to our Rainier Cherry, which, although bursting with buds, is still bare twigs from a distance. Our concrete chess board waits patiently for action.

The grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) is great in mass plantings in garden borders. But a single clump transplanted by accident provides a sweet surprise.

It took a few years for this young pulsatilla to settle in, and bloom. As always in the gardening world, it was worth the wait.

Which are the real tulips, and which one the solar tulip which has been lighting up our garden the last couple of years? (Maybe if I had washed it down, it would be more of a challenge. :-) )

Some of our rock paintings are showing signs of wear from the past two winters, but this pond scene and frog still look fresh and ready for another season.

This primula is a bright herald of Spring, and is doing very well while the slugs are in hibernation.
I love how this sedum ("Autumn Joy", I believe), is bursting with new life under the spent blooms of last summer. What a great image of renewal.

This clump of peony shoots hold great promise for this summer's display! In the background, a hardy geranium provides a reliable year-round cover of green. Don't look too closely at the soil, this Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) is a real curse for me this year, it has reseeded itself extensively through most of my garden areas, and is so quick to seed, that I have a feeling it will be my favourite weed to hate for many years to come. But at least it is easier to pull than the horsetails!