Harry Lauder is blooming beautiful!

It’s really prettiest in winter and early spring before the leaves emerge. The contorted stems and dangling catkins are so dramatic. Scientific name Corylus avellana, commonly known as Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick  or European filbert.  This one is grafted on regular stock, so two or three times each summer we need to cut out all of the straight emerging sprouts. Kind of a pain, but it’s otherwise pretty easy to care for. 













Oh, and the squills are blanketing the ground in many areas. Beautiful, bit I hate it when they turn yellow and I have to get them out of the way of other plants. 

This week’s new bloomers

The first Jack in the Pulpit just popped up in the east side garden. Tiny but beautiful.  There are several larger ones coming nearby, not fully formed yet. 

There are also many Trout Lilies all over the ground near the creek. They are just beginning to bloom. 

We spent the day finishing the compost spreading, hauling and spreading more mulch, and uncovering the greenhouse after what I really hope is the last frost. I planted cannas and some dahlias. Also moved some coreopsis plants to a place where I hope they will bloom better, and cleaned up old hosta leaves and flower stems in the willow garden. 

First Butterfly!

No pictures, but saw a Red Admiral butterfly many times today while spreading more mulch and digging rhubarb to give to a friend. Yard is blue with squills and side garden is awash in white flowers of the Bloodroot. Spring is here for sure.

Hard Working Weekend

In the last couple of days we hauled all of the plants from the basement up to the greenhouse or front porch and put them into protectable places with various covers available for sun protection and frost protection.  Bill hauled a ten more loads of wood chips, and I spread most of them out. Hundreds more bloodroot plants, squills, daffodils and crocuses are blooming. Also a new batch of Chionodoxa, Glory of the Snow just jumped up in bloom.

They’re a lot like squills, but not the same. Apparently some dispute the separation, but to me they seem very different.

Today we drove down to Fernau’s greenhouse where we were able to buy yellow sweet Spanish onions, red onions and Kenebec potatoes. Planted all the onions today. I start with plants, not sets. Reminds me of my grandfather when I plant them because he taught me how many years ago.

Also dug up and gave away some rhubarb that was more than we needed.

Hostas are starting to emerge, as are coneflowers, turtlehead, queen of the prairie, monarda, many others. Gotta get that mulch down soon.
After hauling 10 loads of mulch and helping me bring up the basement plants Bill hadn’t had enough, so he sifted the top foot of last year’s compost pile. Put it on this year’s  onion garden first, then around the other raised beds.

New blooms today - After the snow.

Bloodroot coming up everywhere!

And daffodils of course.  Also put up the greenhouse and converted the pond from winter to summer mode. Tonight it should get down to freezing for the last time in the foreseeable.  Average last frost still listed as may 15, but doesn’t look likely as of now. Darwin tulips coming up, prairie smoke leafing, squills everywhere. Got 8 yards of mulch delivered today and Bill moved 10 wheelbarrows full to the spots I told him he could dump a whole load on. Whew!  What a day. 

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Before the Big Snow

We’re supposed to get up to a foot or so of snow in two days. Today it was sunny, with highs in the 70’s. Sorta like last year. Thought I would capture some pics of the flowers in the yard today. Hope to see them again soon.

Oh, and there are lots of crocuses, snowdrops and many more daffodil clumps, some tulips , but no buds yet, some aliums  also without buds yet, some Darwinian tulips.  Watching for the bloodroot, but haven't seen it yet.  Also on guard for garlic mustard. 

More Flowering Going On!

It’s looking like keeping things blooming isn’t a big problem this year. The squils are popping up everywhere, though not yet fully emerged. 

Snowdrops in full bloom Last year the snowdrops got buried on the late April snow, but remained in bloom nonetheless.



Winter aconite just starting.