Friday, March 23, 2012

Spring in Tiger Gardens

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Spring in Tiger Gardens is glorious. Let's take a tour.
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The pulmonarias are strutting their stuff in the Greenhouse garden. They look kind of like Virginia Bluebells don't they? Virginia bluebells are also in full bloom. 
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The hyacinths are perfuming the garden splendidly. I have picked several for inside of the house but I have to keep them away from where I sit as the fragrance gets to be too much.
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The above helleborus 'Onyx Odyssy' is looking fantastic. This was a new buy at the Lawn and Garden Show.
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A new bottle tree graces the vegetable garden. Mr. Fix-it and I purchased this from The Peddler's Mall in Hopkinsville a month or two ago. Mr. Fix-it noted it would cost him more in materials to make the same bottle tree than what it costed us to buy it! It was a good buy indeed as it is most sturdy and adds to the vegetable garden.
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Spiraea 'Ogon' is the best spiraera I grow. It has been blooming for more than one month already and shows no sign of giving up any time soon. The foliage is gold (I think Ogon means gold in Japanese) and is such a frilly texture that the plant is most interesting.
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Grape hyacinths rule the day here in Tiger Gardens. I can't get enough of these. Though the bloom does not last long the interesting seedheads persist until May or June in my gardens. Can you figure out why they are called grape hyacinths?
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This little bulb is sweet! The problem is I always thought it was 'Glory of the Snow' (Chiondoxia) but I am now not sure if this is right. Perhaps this is ipheion instead? I don't ever remember buying ipheion but it is possible I suppose. What do you all think? Chiondoxia or ipheion? The foliage comes up in the fall just like the foliage of grape hyacinths. These bulbs spread fairly quickly too.
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Here is a longer shot of some of the grape hyacinths in a front garden. These guys really do a good job of multiplying.
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Our 'Black Tie' camellia is blooming. It is such a treat to see these dark red double blooms each spring.
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They look just like roses but have absolutely no fragrance.
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Bloodroot. This patch is awaiting transplant into another part of the garden. These are very hardy and tough little wildflowers.


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More Glory of the Snow or ipheion? I love this little flower.
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A double hellebore. 


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The crababpples are wonderful this year. This one glows. Come winter it will be loaded with small fruit that the birds adore. 
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Close up of the above crabapple tree.
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Blueberry blooms in the vegetable garden.
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A double kerria. This shrub and the others like it here are favored by voles. I struggle to keep this shrub alive let alone for it to bloom.
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Daffodils are still going fairly strong though the big show has come and gone.
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Tulips and irises are now replacing the daffodils.
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'Nuccio's Gem' camellia is still putting on quite the show.


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Azaleas bloom under the crabapple tree in a side garden. It was on these azaleas I found the swallowtail in the opening picture. We have had swallowtails for a week or so now.
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The front gardens are looking great. Tulips and irises are taking over.
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Another shot of one of the front gardens.
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The Foundation Garden is coming along. I have worked very hard on this particular area of the foundation beds.
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A stunning Standard Dwarf Bearded Iris (STB) that my friend Helga game me last spring is blooming. I love the dark iridescent color of this one.
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Old fashioned Bridal Wreath spirea (Spirea prunifolia) is blooming. Soon the 'Vanhoutte' Spirea will join its cousin in bloom.
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More STB irises growing under yellow 'Knockout' roses on the eastern edge of the Vegetable garden.
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African daisies wintered over in the greenhouse like champs. This is but one of several I have already planted out in the garden. I am crossing my fingers there will not be a late hard freeze. Frost I can do, no freeze please.
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Frittilaria meleargris is blooming in the Rear Center Bed. I made a mistake and planted bearded irises on top of these small bulbs last summer when the bulbs were dormant. I will have to move the irises once they have bloomed out.
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The far back bed alongside Mr. Fix-it's garage houses several shrubs and a small Korean maple. This bed is overloaded with good stuff because it is the overflow bed. There is no real design here but I enjoy it nonetheless.
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The Secret Patio garden is all aglow one 'Tamukeyama' Japanese maple, bleeding hearts, iberis, and hellebores. One of the two 'Tamukeyama' Japanese maples that flanked the Secret Patio died last summer. It happens. I hope this one does not perish as well. I probably should've watered them last summer.
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Corydalis solida is blooming all around the gardens. Most of these small bulbs came back so I am pleased with them.
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'Sango Kaku' Japanese maple is outstanding as always. It does a great job of providing privacy from the neighboring house for our deck.
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A Viburnum burkwoodii 'Mohawk' is blooming out front. Gerianne gave me this shrub a month or two ago. I read its bloom smells the best of all viburnums but I am not sold. It does smell okay but it is the white blooms that are most exciting.



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Textures in the gardens help to carry them through the early days of spring. I can't wait for the blooms to come; which will be throughout the next few seasons.
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This combination draws my eye every time I walk out the front door. The tulips with irises-perfect combo. I'll have to remember this combo this fall and plant more tulips to keep it all going.
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 Finally, when I find marked down bulbs in the stores in November and December I usually buy them-if I have a good spot in mind and don't mind losing my money if they don't make it. These tulips were a markdown in late December. I plopped them in this window box with blue pansies (I also planted them in another window box with orange pansies) and the combo has worked out well. Sometimes I get lucky because in the past tulips I have planted late have sometimes failed to show.

There are a lot of pictures in this post because next week is spring break and I will be taking a hiatus from the blog and perhaps even from the computer, so I kind of overloaded this Spring in Tiger Gardens post....


in the garden....


Also blooming not pictured are: spicebush, brunnera, two other crabapples, stinky hellebores, quince, aconites, verbena, hyacinths, Chinese redbud, another unknown viburnum, 'Forest Pansy' redbud and other redbuds, 'Brilliantissima' chokecherry, Vanhoutte spiraea, bittercress (a very obnoxious weed this year), dandelions...okay, enough on the weeds. Peonies, lilacs, and salvia are all loaded with buds so it won't be long for those blooms. How is spring in your garden?

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

25 comments:

  1. Good Morning Tina. That is a lot of blooms but good for these old eyes. Sure wish I could get several of those to bloom in my garden. Spring is slowly coming around here. I do think I'm in a cool space or maybe it's just I don't do something right.
    Glad you are taking a break. You so deserve it.
    Will try to work in my back corner garden today as it needs some work bad.
    Good Morning to all the girls, you know who you are. Have a lovely day all.

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  2. i believe that is ipheion or starflower. I have those too and adore them.
    Sallysmom

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  3. Lola, Good morning! Enjoy working in the garden. I hope you get it all caught up.

    Sally's Mom, Thank you! I don't know how I got the two confused somehow but I did. I've been seeing this on blogs so it made me wonder.


    Everyone have a great day!

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  4. Wow, what gorgeous blooms you have. And I love the different textures in your borders.

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  5. I covet your tulips! and...spirea...kerria... oh well! Your garden looks wonderful!

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  6. It amazes me as to how much you have going on. My peony's have been popping up for some time now but not even close to having buds and you have buds? What is your trick girl? We are Zoned ahead of you but you seem to have things opening up that we do not as of yet. You must have a secret. Well, I dont fetilize so maybe that is the secret.... Do share with us....

    Enjoy your Spring Break! We have company coming for the weekend. Friends we need to play catch up with since we have not seen them in a while...

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  7. Boy, you have lots of blooms!! Glory of Snow or Starflower, it is very sweet. I remember a yard in Hampton next to the place I took ballet had them growing in the whole yard. Kind of cool, though I see it spreads! We had a double Kerria in the Learning Garden, love its bold yellow blooms.My Vanhoutti is about to open. Of the nine I planted, about 4 or 5 have buds. I consider that a success, they are all alive!!

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  8. Oh my goodness! Your gardens are singing Spring so beautifully. I adore every photo here. I love the Japonica Kerria - Plenaflora 'Japanese Yellow Rose'. You know they also have the singles, Honshu and Albaflora.? And yes that is Ipheion, I have it too.

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  9. Lots going on down there. It all looks wonderful. All I have blooming is crocus in 3 different places that I did not plant any. Ones that I planted years ago are not showing at all. Go figure. My paper whites and daffys are up but not even to the bud stage yet. My bleeding heart is up a couple of inches. I thought I might have some garlic up but I removed the hay a couple of days ago and nothing showing yet.

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  10. Wow, wow, wow. Just beautiful. Love the Foundation Garden, and the Front Garden, and the tulips, and the spireas, and the azaleas under the crabapple, and well, - all of it!

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  11. It is certainly spring at Tiger Gardens. So many beautiful flowers. The Ogon is nice. I like it. Enjoy your break.

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  12. So many beautiful blooms. Your gardens are just full of beautiful flowers. I don't think I would ever be able to blog, I would always be outside looking at them!

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  13. Tina the garden is looking glorious...my garden is very close except for the tulips which are coming along...amazing that my garden is this far along...love all the blooms yours is showing.

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  14. Gorgeous splash of spring colours in your garden. Always wanted to try growing tulips but not sure if our winter is enough for them.

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  15. "The pulmonarias are strutting their stuff". That was nice! :-) I loved your photos so much. I have been sitting in our lounge today, looking out onto our small garden and wondering when my wife's going to ask me to mow the lawn and take out the furniture from the shed. It's springtime here, too. Many thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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  16. Gorgeous is the right word! After our week of near summer temps, nearly all the snow melted but the only blooms I've seen are a few crocuses on a sunny patch off Maine Street. Your blooms will tide me over for now, thank you!

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  17. Chionodoxa is blue. I have it in my garden although you would never know I had a garden because we are still having winter and it is still buried beneath snow. Surprisingly almost all your beautiful flowers, or another species of the same genus that are pictured in this post, except Camelia and viburnuma are hardy in my garden. Spring is still so far away, sigh.

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  18. Your garden is looking gorgeous. Definitely Ipheion uniflorum, spring starflower. You can check because the leaves smell like onions. Are you going to get rid of that word verification, almost everyone else has? Sorry to be such a pest but I really hate it.

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  19. Wow, so much gorgeousness in your garden Tina. You are WAY ahead of us which is somewhat normal but I think even more so this wacky weather year. I LOVE that dark red camellia! Happy Spring!!!

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  20. WOW! Tina you have some real beauties going on out there. Hard to say which is my favorite, but maybe it would be that dark purple iris. A real knockout.

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  21. My goodness what a great garden tour. Thanks for taking us along, Tina!

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  22. Wow! I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this visit to your garden! Wonderful blooms of all type! I know what a joy it must be for you to just walk through and breathe deeply of the beauty and the fragrance!

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  23. Beautiful, Tina! Thanks so much for the tour of your garden; everything seems to be bursting into bloom at once. I love the combo of the pink tulips and purple irises, too. I don't know if you planned this or not, but sometimes happy accidents can be inspirational. And yes, that is Ipheion--I know only because I have the same ones and I managed to save their tag:)

    Enjoy your spring break!

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  24. WOW! Really delightful and beautiful garden! I enjoyed this so much! I was surprised to know that your grape hyacinths, tulips and daffodils are beautifully in bloom. Mine have not yet begun to bloom. My winter daphne has finally begun to bloom! My most faovites in this post are the 'Nuccio's Gem' camellia, the black tie camellias and the crababpples! Your camellias are incredible! I especially love the white one. Thank you so much!

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  25. Wow!! Your flowers are absolutely beautiful. I don't know how you keep up with it all. I love the hellebores and that iris,tulip combination is just perfect!
    Thanks for sharing.

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