Magnificent Tulip April Spring Garden

 

On Sunday, I took some snapshots of my Tulip Spring garden. Amongst the tulips are also daffodils and hyacinths blooming.

Early spring: how I'm covering the flower garden & Fruit trees

Many of the flowers this Spring are blooming three weeks ahead compared to previous years. The fruit trees such as Pears, Nectarines, and Peaches are blooming in the garden as well. With the fruit trees I covered almost all of them with Agfabric with a drawstring that you see in the picture below. 

For the trees that were blooming, I double wrapped them with an additional garden cloth or blanket. With the biggest pear tree that had blooms and the nectarine with blooms, I covered them with two cloth fabric sheets and a plastic sheet. With the fig trees, I covered them with plastic and the fabric cloth on the outside. For the flowers like Hyacinths and Tulips that are blooming early, I have covered them with plastic sheeting and plastic cloches to retain moisture and heat throughout the night. This week it will be below 20 degrees amid some risk of snow/early frost warnings, so I am keeping the fruit trees and flower and garden covered as well as the polytunnel garden as you can see in the last photo. 

Plastic sheet covering Tulip/hyacinth/crocus/flower seed mix bed

Tulips protected with recycled dog cone

Hyacinths covered in small plastic tub with foam sheet over top & refrigerator glass shelves

Plastic over cabbage plants

There are 2 holes in the 'reservoir' center to slowly drip rain water

March (Spring) Flowering plants & Fruit trees

From December to March, Kentucky had a couple snow days, but for the most part we went into a Fall weather, some snow, and days of summer weather. It was 70 degrees last week and 80 degrees one day this week. This weekend will be colder with rain, but because of the persistent warm weather, I am noticing one of the Nectarine trees is flowering several pink blooms, which you can see in the picture below. One of the Cherry trees has one white bloom. The pear and peach trees are also preparing to bloom.

Nectarine

Keiffer Pear tree budding

Tulips growing below the pear tree

Cherry blooming

Several months back I posted pictures (and a video) of the new Tulip bed gardens. Almost all of them are pushing through the mulch. I wasn't sure they would come up because it looked like animals had been digging in the spots we planted them in. Other plants that are blooming are the Hyacinths, crocuses, and Daffodils, of course they are usually the first plants to bloom.
 

Crocus

Hyacinth

Star flower

Daffodil

Crocus

Hyacinth

100+ Tulip flowers 

Recently, I planted peas in the row on the right (in the picture), and the row on the left (of the picture), I planted red onion bulbs and various seeds of Arugula, Red Romaine Lettuce, (I think Red Russian Kale), Broccoli, Spinach, Cilantro, and I'm not sure what else. I covered the rows with a garden canvas so that the birds wouldn't eat the seeds.

Also, I may have posted there was several additions to the food forest, for example two new Elberta Dwarf Peach trees, and a Cherry tree, including 16 blueberry and raspberry plants (Anne variety raspberry, Sunshine Blue, Pink Lemonade, and Blue crop blueberry plants.)

Anne variety Raspberry plant

I also took pictures of this beautiful magnolia tree on a university campus.

EARLY blooming Spring Flowers (February-April)

Hyacinths growing in the snow

In my area, the Daffodils pop up as early as January and February. Of course they do not bloom until early March.

I live in Northern Kentucky, where the Dogwoods and Locusts trees bloom through March and April. The Hyacinths are in full bloom, as well.

Sometimes they bloom so early I feel the need to mulch and cover early blooming flowers with cloches. For my post on Cloches and making your own plant protection, read here: Cloches plant protection (early planting & extend growing season). I remember one year when the Daffodils were growing through the a Winter storm, and I made sure to protect them with plastic bottles and other plastic containers to keep them warm and protected from the snow.



Daffodils withstanding snow and cold

 It's nice to see flowers pushing through the snow and begging for Spring weather.  Growing early blooming flowers sets the pretext for a beautiful summer. Design your Perennial garden to bloom from Early Spring and transition into different times of the year.

 
Below is a list of the following Flowers which bloom early in the Spring.



Ajuga	Lenten Rose
Azalea	Lungwort
Bleeding heart	Lupine
Bloodroot	Mahonia
Camellia	Marsh Marigold
Carnations	Pasque
 Dogwood	Primrose
Cowslips	Scilla
Creeping Phlox	Snowdrops
Crested Iris	Spicebush
Crocus	Spiraea
Daffodils	Star Magnolia
Eranthis	Sweet violet
Flowering Quince	Tulip
Forsythia    	Vernal Witch hazel
Fritillaria	Viburnum
Giant Snowflake	Vinca
Grecian Windflower	Virginia Bluebells
Heartleaf Brunnera	Winter Aconite
Hyacinths
Japanese Pussy Willow	





Feel free to look through my Floral photographs of many of the Early blooming flowers, here: Collection of Floral Photography 2014. One of the photographs from last year's collection was of the Hyacinths that grew at the end of March and early April, seen below.



Hyacinths from the yard