Daffodils & Tulips – Barefoot Lily Lady

Sunshine Yellows in the Spring Garden

Magnolia ‘Elizabeth’ beginning to unfurl

Classic yellow daffodils are a spring garden must!

“A garden should make you feel you’ve entered privileged space — a place not just set apart but reverberant — and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on the existing landscape, turn its prose into something nearer poetry.”
― Michael Pollan

“God’s yellow, in all its gloriously beautiful shades and hues, adds sunshine and poetry to even the smallest of garden spaces.”

~ Cindie Winquist, gardening barefoot in Wisconsin

A Week of Flowers 2024: Day 2

I’m joining Cathy at Words and Herbs for her annual ‘A Week of Flowers‘ meme, taking place this year November 30 – December 6. Though I’m a day late in joining her this year, I appreciate the opportunity to bring a bit of colorful beauty to our chilly December days. It’s December 1st–the sun was out today making it feel a bit warmer than the 19°F registering on my thermometer. Let’s travel back a few months and look at a few garden photos from Spring of 2024.

Magnolia ‘Elizabeth’ put on a very brief show this spring. A late frost turned her beautiful yellow, tulip-shaped cups brown before they had a chance to fully open. However, I caught a glimpse of what beauty this tree will hold in future springs. ‘Elizabeth’ put on a few inches of growth in her first year in our garden, but is still much smaller than her anticipated mature height of greater than 20 feet.

I have forgotten the names of most of my daffodils, but truly love each one of them. The little white one on the left has a lovely waft of fragrance that truly ought to be bottled. The lovely daffodil on the right is a charmer with peachy ruffled cups.

This lovely tulip stood all by herself for quite a few days before she was joined by a few neighboring tulips. I smiled each time I spied her stalwartly standing her ground in my flowerbed.

If I had to pick a favorite type of tulip, it would most definitely be the Angelique tulips. This magnificent red one looks like a peony. She extends the tulip season by opening a little later in spring and her tight double petals can hold their own when brisk winds fly through on nippy days. When fall arrives, I can’t resist planting a few more Angelique tulip bulbs in anticipation of the next year’s daffodil and tulip performance.

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold, when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

My 2023 in Flowers

It seems to me that the year 2023 whooshed by in a hurry to 2024. The gardener in me is already plotting out what I’d like to see in my garden in the next growing season. I thought it might be fun to reflect upon some of that beauty of last year as I look forward to the growth and beauty in the year that lies ahead. Won’t you join me?

Six on Saturday – A New Flowerbed

I am joining Jim and my gardening friends worldwide for a little Six on Saturday garden update. Wisconsin has been slow on the draw declaring it Spring, but I think it’s finally arrived. Spring has sprung in all its tulip, daffodil, and flowering tree wonderfulness. So, come along with me for a little tour of six(-ish) things happening in my garden–then hop on the virtual garden club tour bus via Jim’s blog at https://gardenruminations.co.uk/2023/05/13/six-on-saturday-13-5-2023/ and wander through a few more gardens.

The Merry Month of May

I don’t want to speak too soon, but I think winter is finally losing its grip and spring has sprung.

I took a barefoot stroll around a few of my flowerbeds this afternoon. The stroll was brief because the grass beneath my feet was wet and very cold. Even so, a warm feeling of peace washed over me. I could almost feel my winter-weary heart filling with the joy of spring as I meandered from one flowerbed to another inspecting the colorful spring blossoms.

Nothing beats the bright yellow of a daffodil in spring-time cheerfulness!

One of the first signs of spring in my Wisconsin garden is the very early blossoms of Pulmonaria, whose very unfortunate common name is lungwort. If it were not a tad bit prone to powdery mildew, I would say I love everything about this plant. It grows in the shadier areas of my garden, thriving well on the north or east side of my house, but blooms best if it gets at least a splash of sun and plenty of moisture. The leaves can’t seem to make up their mind as to whether they will be lance or heart-shaped, but each fuzzy leaf sports sweet silvery spots. To me, the leaves are incredibly cool, but it is said that the common name of ‘lungwort’ came about because their appearance reminded some botanist of a diseased lung. It has a habit of reseeding itself in the garden, but does so very politely. I have several cultivar in my garden, but the one pictured is a pass-along from another gardener, so I’m unsure as to its cultivar name. Based upon its beautiful blue, pink and lavender bells, it’s likely ‘Mrs. Moon’.

The demure pink and blue blossoms of Lungwort in an old crystal salt shaker

Winter has been slow in releasing its grip, and May is off to a chilly and rainy start, but the promise of warmer weather is in the forecast for the weekend. In previous years, the daffodils and some tulips were finishing their spring engagement in the garden; this year, they are just getting started. While it would be nice to have more sunshine, we need the rain. Another ‘upside’ is that the chillier temps will keep the daffs and tulips strutting their stuff a little while longer.

Raindrops on tulips just outside my front door

These beautiful tulips have charmed me out of a writing slump. My friend Wendy aptly described them as a “pretty sunshiny yellow,” although they take on a soft, orange-sherbet glow in certain light. Either way, they are incredibly sweet.

Well that’s my “Six on Saturday” – thanks for joining me on a little photographic spring tour of my early floral arrivals. And a special thanks to “The Propagator” for hosting “Six on Saturday” each week. If you check out Jon’s “comments” section, you can visit a whole bunch of lovely gardens, gather ideas and suggestions for your own, or have a go at posting your own six.

Another gorgeous harbinger of spring…magnolias!

Garden ‘Great Expectations’

I have been re-reading Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations this week. I remember reading it many moons ago when I was in junior high school. As a teen, I struggled with getting into the story. Truth be told, I didn’t put much effort into reading for comprehension and enjoyment. Well, I’m thoroughly into it this time through. Though it has absolutely nothing to do with gardening, I just love the title of the book and have found myself viewing my garden through the lens of great expectations.

Nothing show-stopping happening in my garden this week, but the snow has melted and there are definitely some great expectations and emerging signs of beauty to come…and a whole lot of grunt work needed to tidy up the flowerbeds.

Six on Saturday: Awaiting Spring

I’m joining The Propagator and his entourage of Six On Saturday gardeners for a little six-photo tour of what’s going on in the garden. It’s a fun little adventure. So put on your boots, come along with me, and let’s take a peek at what’s going on in my garden!