Garden Blogger's Bloom Day April 2014

It's Garden Blogger's Bloom Day and time to join Carol at May Dreams Gardens to share flowering plants in the garden for April.  It has turned unseasonably cold again this week befitting this wacky winter which means the blooms have been slower to arrive.  Still there are some old reliables and new ones to share so lets get started.

Claret Cup Cactus (Echinocereus triglochidiatus) or hedgehog cactus is native to West Texas, the cup-shaped red flowers brighten up the spring garden each April.




This was shared as a small pup.  The new pups emerging at the base will eventually form a large mound covered with blooms each spring.



Bright orange blooms have appeared for the first time on Pomegranate 'Wonderful' in the front garden.  An important development because this is the only one of the four trees which had not bloomed in the five years since they were planted.  I chose Pomegranates for their beautiful blooms and fruit but they can be a bit stubborn by never blooming or setting fruit so I'm happy to see they are all setting blooms now.  A busy bee has shown up to help out with the fruiting part of the equation.

After success with purple and yellow passalong iris, I purchased a few more last fall to add to the garden for early spring color.

This is 'Batik' bearded iris which I selected on a whim from the bin at a big box store.

These are fun and a bit like those dyed orchids.  Appropriate for Semana Santa or Holy Week when cars from Mexico outnumber the locals at the shopping malls in town and the clerks speak more Spanish than English.  It's all good for our city which runs on tourism.

My garden isn't all about bright colors in the spring.  'Superstition' bearded iris is on the dark side and reminds me of the deep purple/black tulips I loved growing in pots by the front door when we lived in Virginia.  Tulips are a challenge to grow in our milder climate so these work beautifully.

We had a little rain this morning ahead of the cold front.  When the sun came out the raindrops appeared to be pink bubbles.

I'm getting more iris bulbs for next year!

The Texas Bluebonnets are beginning to fade even as the Navajo Tea or Greenthreads lead off the next wave of wildflowers in the back garden.

Prairie Verbena is taking advantage of our cooler weather and hanging around longer than usual, to the delight of the bees and butterflies.

The hummingbird moths are sticking around to enjoy the blooms as well.

The cooler spring has meant good weather for propagating and transplanting which has kept me busy.  All in all spring is off to a late but good start.

Thank you to Carol for hosting this bloom fest.  To see how blooms are going in far flung places around the globe be sure to check out the list at May Dreams Gardens.