A dry spring but the flowers keep coming ...

Tall bearded Iris Braggadocio blooming for the first time. A very striking color combination.

We had a few Dame's Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) reseed last season and they are now starting to bloom.  The flower heads are very similar to Money Plant.

We moved this Weigela florida "Variegata" into a sunnier location in the garden last year and it wasn't to happy. While still small this spring, it really bloomed nicely. In fact, today a hummingbird performed its territorial "U" shaped flying display to warn competitors to back off. You have no idea how aggressive hummingbirds can be. We routinely witness this behavior in our garden.

A closeup of the steroid digitalis in the back under a plum tree. It is still growing and is now over 4 feet tall. Bees love these due to the little pockets of pollen on the top of the flower.

This is a little blurry do to the wind. Its a Korean lilac (Miss Kim) with fragrant abelia in the back. This is an excellent pairing for a blast of perfume. We have it planted just out the backdoor so you have to walk by it as you come and go. 

Mixed Digitalis purpurea Excelsior Hybrids starting to bloom. This spring has been so odd. They are blooming early at the same time as the azalea (red in the background).

Cytisus scoparius 'Firefly' starting to pop. The flower pod starts out purple and opens orange and yellow. This one almost died last year but came back strong this season. It should be quite showy next spring.

The middle of April and the flowers keep coming ...

Our High Noon tree peony graced us with a single large flower this spring. The plant grew to about 3 feet this year and spread its canopy about the same distance. It has a nice light lemon fragrance.

A small Nelly Moser clematis vine planted against a beech tree. This plant has survived two vole attacks over the last few years and came back very strong this year.

Our ostrich ferns have really taken off this spring. 

Unknown clematis blooming on the back fence.

An unknown azalea species.  This image was taken when sunlight was hitting the plant. It looks a little bright but the vivid color is spot on.

A classic french hybrid lilac bloom.

The tiny flowers of purple mazus reptans. The flower clusters are usually a bit more dense. It has escaped the border and is now in the lawn.

An unknown grown cover we found at an Amish garden center.

Non-Stop Fire begonia. The flowers are about 2 inches on this variety and if you look in the middle between the blooms you will see its ancestry showing with a single flat flower.

A nice shot of a Creme Brulee Heuchera in the morning sun.

This digitalis spike will reach about 3 feet when done. The soil underneath must have made it quite happy. Its also growing under a plum tree and only gets a few hours of sun. We'll let this one go to seed and collect them for next season.

A Viburnum macrocephalum on its second year in the garden.  It went nuts this spring with every new limb sporting a flower head. From the photo, this could be mistaken for a mophead hydrangea but the flowers are only about 2 to 3 inches. We wish it was fragrant like other viburnum.

A Rhododendron Lemon Lights finally blooming heavily. It was a little sparse last season. The fragrance is nice and noticeable when downwind. 

A pair of tall white bearded iris. These blooms were exceptionally large this year. The fragrance is reminiscent of grapefruit.

This is the corner of the dogwood garden. I just thought it looked nice so I took a photo.

Abelia mosanenisis is a very fragrant plant that pairs well with lilac. We've planted them with Korean and Evangeline. They don't get much love at the garden centers in our area but they would sell well if offered in bloom. One sniff is all it would take.

Early April and the garden starts to emerge.

An angel nestled comfortably in the ground cover.

This image shows how bright Heuchera Citronelle and Lime Light foliage is against the rest of the plants in this bed.

A Declaration Lilac starting to bloom. I lost a large limb on this plant and I'm not sure why.

An unknown species of white azalea.

Lunaria Annua, also called the Money Plant has translucent silver dollar like seed pods that form after the flowers fade.

We planted two Delaware Valley White Azaleas this year. They have larger blooms and reach five feet tall.  Should be a showy display in a few years.

Delphinium elatum Guardian Blue starting to show off.

Dicentra spectabilis Bleeding Heart and the Buddha.... chillin'.

These are Liberty Hosta and boy do they standout.  The leaves are large and the yellow edges are very bright. We moved about 20 to a new bed in the back of the garden so next Spring should be quite showy.

Today while researching our Spirea, I discovered that I had used the incorrect name. This is Vanhoutte spirea (S. vanhouttei), commercially sold as Bridal Wreath Spirea. The other Spirea on this blog is actually Thunberg Spirea (S. thunbergii), commercially sold as Baby's Breath Spirea. In fact, we stopped by a garden center today and they had a Baby's Breath labeled as a Bridal Wreath. Clear as mud right? The easy way to tell is S. thunbergii bloom early and has flowers all over the stems while S. Vanhouttei blooms later and has round clusters.

Another confusing name game is the Rhododendron x 'Hotspur Yellow' that is also sold as an azalea and it isn't yellow. The flowers are beautiful with a nice fragrance. We planted two last year and were so happy with the blooms we bought another.

This is Max "The Critter Killer" striking a pose.