Gardening and Gardens

I love seeing the little blue flowers that appear in the spring. They often appear naturalized in the lawn or showing up in the garden bed among the daffodils and hyacinths. But which are they -  Scilla  or  Chionodoxa ? The main difference is the direction the flower head faces. Scilla   siberica,  or Siberian squill, have electric blue flowers that are bell-like, drooping downward.  It's six blue petals surround stamens that have thread-like filaments and are not clustered together.  Scilla  can grow 3-6 inches high and each bulb produces 3-4 stems with medium, strap-like leaves. It's very tough and cold hardy that easily naturalizes by bulb offshoots and self-seeding.   Chionodoxa  is commonly called Glory-of-the-Snow because it is among the first bulbs to bloom in the spring. Each bulb produces six petaled, soft blue flowers with white centers that face upward and are surrounded by narrow, basal leaves. If y...

Spring has finally sprung in my Long Island garden and all my hard work planting 200 bulbs last fall is finally paying off! Some of the bulbs are in full bloom, others are still sending up shoots. Each day there is something new to see and it's all very exciting to watch unfold. In the photo above, a group of Tete-a-Tete daffodils are happily mingling with purple hyacinth.  Clumps of crocus are all over the property - some deep purple, some white and some purple and white! And the lovely chinodoxa (Glory of the Snow), smiling happily upwards. This Lenten Rose is one of three plants I planted last year. The delicious pink hue of Helleborus 'Cotton Candy' brightens my day. Looking forward to more and more blooms and new growth as the month wears on. Hope you are enjoying your gardens were you are! Head on over to May Dreams Gardens blog for a look at what's blooming around the country today.

April showers bring May flowers... Everything here is just on the cusp of blooming and today's rain showers will no doubt help them along. Spring has definitely sprung and it's wonderful to see something new in bud every day. Here's what's blooming in my Long Island, NY garden this month: I planted this Helleborus "Cotton Candy" (Lenten Rose) last year, late in the season, along with the Chinodoxa bulbs. I am so happy to see them both blooming! The daffodils have started to bloom. I love the small heads of these type with the orange trumpets. And no matter how much clean up I do, I still find oak leaves everywhere! These white tulips are a few days away from bloom. Behind them, the Endless Summer Hydrangeas are starting to show signs of life.  New this year are these cheery Primrose. A blast of color in the cool, early spring days. More Chinodoxa, complete with rain drops! (Read more about these here ) I love spring - seeing all the ne...