Early Spring - Bulbs and Groundcovers Delight

I thought Autumn was my favorite season.  But having moved back to the Northwest, I think Spring is taking first place.  Maybe not as awe-inspiring as fall colors, but the contrast from winter to spring is so dramatic and uplifting and desperately needed!  It's been a dreary winter.

Ranunculus bulb

This is the first thing I see when I open my back door each morning.  It reminds me how glad I am that I plant bulbs in the fall.  These diminutive 'Tete-a-Tete' Daffodils have been in a few years so they've had time to multiply.  I'm not a huge fan of yellow in the garden, but I make an exception for these cuties; they're always a cheerful, welcome sight. 

My lawn on the west side of the house (was no-mow fescue) is new sod.  But before it went down, we planted 300 Crocus bulbs in blues and whites.  This is the first one to push through.  We'll wait until they're completely finished before the first spring mow.  South of the cottage the Anemone 'Sylvestris' is spreading in front of a Pearl Bush, while Sweet Woodruff comes back in the background.

       

Spring at the front door is all white.  You can barely see the Snowdrops (bulbs) amidst the white Vinca Minor.   The shrub under the window is a white Daphne with a wonderful heady fragrance.

        

Pink Tulips 'Angelique' have surprised me with their reappearance in front of the cottage fence.  I never thought tulips were a reliable perennial, but they're prettier than ever.

        

Grape Hyacinth bulbs naturalizing well.  They also must seed, because I find solitary new ones in surprising places.  Perennial Bleeding Hearts are emerging, and the Lamb's Ear 'Silver Carpet' is looking full after a messy winter.

        

The blue below is Vinca Minor.  It's my mainstay in ground covers and I have it on all sides of my driveway.  Contrasting are the first of my white daffodils.  With staggered blooming, the different varieties we planted will continue blooming for a full two months.

        

             

A variation on my blues is this more purple 'Labrador' Violet that is slowly creeping around the garden.  It grows in clumps, which tends to look full in front of the Camellia, between the hellebores, but it looks lumpy around a few 'De Caen' Anemone tubers (similar to bulbs).

         

I've always loved pictures of a bluebell woods--a springtime carpet of bluebell underneath a leafy canopy--and I'm trying to create my own small version beneath my giant maple in the meadow. 

Probably my most satisfying groundcover has been 'Irish Moss' around and between the stepping stones to the greenhouse.  This year it's almost completely covered and looks and feels like a lush green carpet.

~ The End ~