Six on Saturday – 17/04/2021 – Wet

What started as a warmer and drier than average spring has turned into a normally wet and cool spring. That makes all growing things happy, which makes me happy. It also lengthens the spring bulb season, and that makes me very happy! Bulbs in bloom feature heavily in my Six this week – to see gardens from around the world, in various stages of spring awaking (or autumn slumbering), be sure to visit The Propagator’s site.

First off, to capture a bit of the rain that fell all day Thursday and Friday, my big rain barrel, or butt, brought out of winter storage just in time. As you can see, it’s already full!

There’s another, smaller, rain barrel around the corner beside the back porch. That one will make sure this raised bed (moved here last fall) gets enough water for the garlic (seen growing, already several inches high) and the spinach just seeded in the planter. It’ll also water the peppers, zucchini, herbs, greens and beets that will soon be growing in the vicinity.

This photo is a two-fer, really. The tulips at the base (‘Toronto’ – planted last fall) were wide open (see below) on Wednesday but with the rain they quite rightly stay closed tight as a clam.

Sharing centre stage with various daffodils, this week Hyacinth blooms have been opening wide:

• 

  Unknown varieties, planted five years ago and still going strong

• 

  Hyacinth ‘Woodstock’

The daff at the top of the blog is ‘Bravoure’ – a lovely large cup Narcissus with pale petals and bright yellow cup. There’s still a half dozen varieties to start blooming but the yellow everywhere this week, even in the rain (or perhaps because of the rain) is shining brightly. Here’s two more views – a strip of Tête-à-tête along the pathway that cuts across my large island bed, and some more Tête-à-tête ringed around the base of a young Acer pensylvanicum (striped maple) – these are interspersed with Muscari latifolium. Nice that they bloom at the same time eh?

Finally, more Muscari. I love any blue flower, and these grape hyacinths multiply so effortlessly. It’s a bit sad that they like to send up new foliage in the fall, after which it gets nipped by frost and very cold temperatures which makes their leaves look quite bedraggled come spring blooming time. Oh well – at least the chipmunks don’t seem to like them! (These are likely M. armeniacum – the most common Muscari over here.)

That’s my SIx for the week. I didn’t want to get my big camera wet so all photos this week were taken with an oldish Samsung Galaxy A8. Temps are supposed to stay cool for the next few weeks, and, as we’ve just entered another quite strict lockdown, I’ll be able to spend plenty of time in the garden. Stay safe everyone!!!