Time for April

April is floriferous! Don't you just love that word, floriferous? It's just the perfect description for a month when new bulbs pop up frequently, and all the spring trees come into bloom. I wish the weather had been as delightful as the flowers, but we make do. Sometimes it was warm, sometimes it was cold. I wore sandals, I wore a fleece. On a Sunday, we hit 80, the next day there was some type of icy nonsense falling from the sky called graupel. It's erratic to say the least. Here we are about to start the delightful month of May and I can tell right now that we likely won't be planting our warm weather flowers next weekend as we usually do. Phooey. 

On the chilly, rainy days, I stayed indoors of course. There I found my Hoya houseplant in bloom, which delights me. Next I made a nice salad with the spinach and lettuce we planted last fall, which survived the winter. I also did some craft painting, and made new garden markers out of paint sticks. I also freshened up the paint on some garden knick knacks that have been gifted to me over the year, made myself a new birdhouse, and decorated more spirit stones. I leave these stones at parks wherever I go, so others can find them. I also changed out the decor on my tiered tray to reflect a gardening theme. And finally, I just had to bring in a sprig of lilac to inhale. That small sprig you see has scented my entire kitchen. 

Once the trees began to flower, I thought I'd go to Dawes Arboretum to see their many blooming trees. I was just slightly ahead of time, except for the magnolias. Magnolias are such showy beauties, and often lose their blooms to frost here in Ohio. But this year they managed to bloom fully without damage. I don't see yellow ones very often, but they have just such a thing there at Dawe's. 

At home, I spent nearly the whole month of April watching the various tulips popping up around my garden. Honestly, they were a bit crazy this year. You see, I failed to plant my tulips last fall, and instead, stuck them in the fridge all winter. Finally, on a pleasant day in February, I planted them, hoping they had been chilled enough in the fridge. Some of the bulbs were a bit bedraggled, and didn't show up at all. And some I'm still waiting for. Also, our mild winter allowed tulips from prior seasons to survive, so now I have a mix of color themes scattered about, some in ones and twos. Instead of having tulips in an orderly display, there was just tulip chaos this year. I enjoy them all, but it isn't exactly good garden design! Ah well, they don't last long, and tulips are beloved regardless. 

There were other pretty spots around the yard that didn't involve tulips. My beloved, but disabled redbud tree bloomed on, despite losing her shape in a storm last summer. I've debated replacing it, but haven't made any decisions yet. It looks fine in the photo below, doesn't it? Ah, if only you could see it from the side. It's a ridiculous one sided tree! I'm thinking of putting in a Kwanzan cherry instead, which are equally lovely. But it's hard to let this one go. 

I also have a tale to tell about this crabapple tree. When we first looked at this house there were three crabapple trees planted on the side street, in full bloom. Honestly, it was one of the reasons that we bought the place! They thrived here until a few years ago, until they began to fail, and barely bloomed. I determined that they were infested with scale insects, so we began a treatment plan. This year, they finally began to bloom again! It took persistence, but I think we conquered the scale insects, and my crabapples are starting to recover. This is what the best one looked like this year. Word of warning, scale insects infestations are common in areas where they spray for mosquitoes. 

Other bulbs and spring flowers showed up this month, and while they don't get as much fanfare as tulips, I still enjoy them. I've never met a flower I didn't love! 

As tulip season came to a peak, I thought I should see the display at Franklin Park Conservatory. Everyone else had the same idea, on the same day, including the entire Columbus Public School system, or so it seemed! I escaped to the less popular areas, and still found lots to see. 

We'll have to settle for only one sunset this month. It just wasn't a good sunset month, too many clouds and too much rain. Still, I'm glad you came by to see what's happening in my nest this April. May should be busy indeed, as it becomes time for planting the annuals. I've already started buying them, but I'm storing them in my kitchen until it stops threatening frost. My kitchen is getting overrun with flowers! Hang on my beauties, it's almost time to go live outside. Thanks for checking in at my nest, hope to see you again in May!