Easter flowers

It feels like the transitional period has arrived. First rose buds, first beareded iris out, first geranium Rozanne, first sedum budding.

Below are just some general phone shots of Easter 24.


First Palmyra tulip of the year



Avalanche narcs with beefly

Great idea! I've only got a couple of flowers out at the moment so I might have a peak around and see what else I can find tomorrow.

That's a gorgeous coloured tulip, I love to see it again when it's open.

This red/dark pink is the first in the series of maybe five pots. I think this time I went for more experimental ones that I had not grown before. I'm now missing some success of years past. Such as the below. Ho hum. On the whole I tend to go for single bloomers rather than doubles (super full) with most flowers. But tulips are the exception. Peonies types are so show stopping. I can't grow peonies where I am, so I grow these instead.

Orca (foreground)


Upstar and Angelique




Sarah Raven

Serious tulip envy. I love substituting peony-types for actual peonies, that's just brilliant!

Tulip envy here too. I have a problem growing bulbs as I can never remember where they are and because I use a lot of veg and annuals mixed together I end up digging up any bulbs, especially spring flowering ones. Thinking cap for next year...

No great Easter displays here but one or two to show

The very first of the year, Narcissus 'Winston Churchill'


Then I don' know the varieties here as they were given to me

I only really grow bulbs in pots. Re slugs, squirrels, rot, leaf die back etc it seems easier to manage in pots. I have a small garden so I move them all around constantly depending on what is coming in and what is going over. I can't say my back is much appreciating the effort. Lol.

That's such a lovely hellebore shot - with the light coming through.

Once heads are pollinated I have been experimenting with "dead heading" to see if I will get new bloom growth (for the bees). Anna Pavord says this is the way forward.  

My garden on Easter Day. Sorry about the plastic container

My beloved wall with bolted cavolo nero and the bees favourite at this time of year, the pulmonaria

Not great shots, just to give you an idea of my back garden. Far too high maintenance ... according to my back and knees

Fire wrote:That's such a lovely hellebore shot - with the light coming through.

Once heads are pollinated I have been experimenting with "dead heading" to see if I will get new bloom growth (for the bees). Anna Pavord says this is the way forward.  

Do you mean this year Fire?

Spirea nipponica 'Snowmound'





Ribes sanguineum





Narcissus 'Minnow'

I'm trying the deadheading of hellebores this year, yes

Let us know how you get on.

Coccinella wrote:My beloved wall with bolted cavolo nero   and the bees favourite at this time of year, the pulmonaria

I've only ever had blue pulmonaria, that pink is just beautiful.
What is that wall made out of?  They look like masonry blocks of some sort, like chimney blocks?  I love that!

Our snow melted and surprise, surprise - the crocus are blooming!


And my poor hellebore that lives in a raised bed for now.  


Daffodils and tulips are beginning to break ground, as well.  I forked over what was the daylily bed and will be my corn bed this year; I'd put some fresh manure on it last fall and it needed to be turned.  Well, at some point I planted bulbs in that bed because I forked up three fat ones with green shoots, but I haven't a clue what they are!  I think they may be daffodils, but the bulbs are almost too big for that.  Maybe allium?  It'll be fun to see what they turn out to be, if they actually bloom.

I forgot to reply to your garden shots, Coccinella - I'm sorry! I love the oasis of calm feeling you've created in among all the rectangular blocks of lawn - I hope your neighbours appreciate the view too. I don't know anyone in Lux who is into gardening much. My cousin has a sort of garden, with pots and a few shrubs - he is the only person I know who has actually planted Japanese knotweed, fortunately it must hate the poor slate ground and it hasn't spread.

And I agree about the pink pulmonaria - I must hunt that down.

A delight to see your bulbs peeking through, CrankeyY. Spring is in sight... Does it all go wild at once now?

Not at all Liz. In fact they should have gone to the general garden shots, but it was Easter Day and I got confused ...

I have some blu pulmonaria too but the bees seem to prefer the pink one. It does have a very silly name though: Shrimps on the Barbie. A put off if you ask me, but it was on offer at the time (what a surprise!) and it has performed magnificently.
Japanese knotweed I see a lot and I can spot it from a distance. Nobody seem to be concerned here, maybe house foundations are different. You are right: gardening here, like most of Europe, by and large means veggies. Of my neighbours I am the only one who hasn't paved the front garden.

@CarnkyYankee The wall was supposed to be "dry" but they couldn't quite manage it so there is some mortar between the stones. It is a natural stone, probably from France. It was filled with the Hügelkultur method. Filling that with compost would have been extremely expensive.

I love your Pasque Flower @Liz (pulsatilla?)