After seeing our crocus, snowdrops, and our first daffodil in March, 2021, we were looking forward to lots of daffodils and tulips in April. Mother Nature had an April Fools joke for us, and we got four inches of snow on April 1.
This is the view from the computer room window. The tall circular cages protect the apple trees from deer. The small ones along the hedge protect the hosta from deer and rabbits and woodchucks.
And there is a fence around the garden to protect the tulips from rabbits and woodchucks and deer.
We love having flowers in the house, so on April 7, some twigs were cut from the forsythia to force.
Our first daffodil bloomed on March 31 this year. Our first small bouquet was April 10, and the forsythia twigs are blooming.
and by April 19, we were able to have flowers all over the house.
April 19 brought our first dandelion. It is growing on a south-facing wall under the exhaust from the furnace, so it is early! It is accompanied by some periwinkle.
The strawberries are in for a shock - they are blooming now!
They can take some frost, but April is likely to have hard freezes.
These strawberries are everbearing, so it may not hurt their production this summer, but these blooms are unlikely to be successful. It's still fun to see.
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Don't these look like they belong in a medieval tapestry? This is Fritillaria, Crown Imperial. It's about two feet tall, with a single flowering part at the top. It grows from a bulb. Fritillaria has the "advantage" of smelling like skunk. This attracts carrion eaters, like flies, to pollinate them. It also keeps deer and rabbits away. And it makes them undesirable as a cut flower.
This flower is available in two colors - this orange and a yellow.
We got this bulb from Mrs. Wells in the 1980s, and it has multiplied so that when we sold the farm we were able to transplant some. The bulb is fairly expensive, but we are considering getting some yellow ones, since we have never seen them in a garden. These get planted, like daffodils and tulips, in the fall.
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There are still lots of violets.
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The lungwort is blooming. 
The blooms are pink and blue on the same stem! The plant is pulmonaria. I have read that it is named because the spotted leaves resemble diseased lungs. And it is used for respiratory conditions.
"People take lungwort to treat breathing conditions, stomach and intestinal ailments, and kidney and urinary tract problems. Lungwort is also used in cough medicines, to relieve fluid retention, and to treat lung diseases such as tuberculosis." WebMD
On April 19 we went for a drive to see what was blooming. The forsythia is beautiful this year. Coltsfoot has started and we were delighted to find bloodroot on Lower Ravine Road.
Is this hyacinth near the driveway lying down because of its weight or has a dog (who shall be nameless) trod here?
Mushrooms have started.
This last picture is a similar view to the one at the top of the page. We are enjoying all the tulips and the variety of daffodils.
The lilacs are budding, and they will bloom in May. Alliums are poking up, and one allium has begun developing its flower head. The rhododendron buds are plumping up. Hostas and peonies are appearing. The bleeding heart has buds, and the monkshood has a strong start. The late tulips are beginning to show color. There is always something to look forward to in a garden.
2021 Garden Pics
To see 2020 garden pics:
And the first half of June is
here.
You can see the end of May, 2020,
here.
