Photos: House Yard

[ysabetwordsmith]

I took some pictures today. These are from the yard by the house.


Violets are blooming in the house yard. They are approaching full bloom, starting to form mats, but they haven't reached maximum flower density yet and the leaves are still pretty short.




This closeup of the violets has a white butterfly off to the left. Official seal of approval! \o/




The orchard is largely carpeted in violets.




Tulips and grape hyacinths are blooming by the barrel garden.




Here is a closeup of a salmon tulip. I have a lot of warm colors right now.




This one is streaked in yellow and red. It's probably a Rembrandt. I like to plant those.




The bluebells are in full bloom in the forest garden.




In the closeup, you can see how some bells open sooner while others are still little pink buds.




The purple and white garden has many things blooming.




This tulip is blooming in purple and white streaks.

Comments

[cmcmck]

We've not seen much of the butterflies so far so that's nice to see!

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I've been seeing them for weeks, which is bizarre. Cabbage whites like this one, cabbage yellows, a red admiral, others too far and flighty to guess at identification. Normally they don't come out until much later. Bees everywhere too, and they're not supposed to emerge until after the last frost!

I like taking pictures of insects when they land on my plants. If your wildlife garden isn't crawling with bugs, it's a failure.

[full_metal_ox]

The presence of the white violets also affords the cabbage butterfly camouflage.

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

It landed on the blue-and-white violets first. I have pictures. You can't really see the butterfly in those. i was lucky to get a picture when it moved to purple ones.

Re: Yes ...

[full_metal_ox]

Not suggesting that it was deliberate on the butterfly’s part, of course; merely a moment’s happy accident.

(Back in Ohio, I tended to subdivide spring into approximate yellow, pink, purple, and white stages: crocuses, dandelions, forsythia, and daffodils; redbud, magnolia, dogwood, apple, and crabapple; violets, lilacs, and irises; hawthorn, bridal veil, Japanese honeysuckle, and viburnum.)

Re: Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I love your color stages of spring! :D

Re: Yes ...

[full_metal_ox]

Forgot the final stage, the green stage; that’s approximately from U.S. Memorial Day to solstice, when tree blossoms have largely yielded to foliage; when purslane and lambs-quarters have come up, wild chives have come into squiggly tendriled bloom, and the grass is startlingly green, before full summer heat has had an opportunity to yellow and crisp it.

Re: Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

So awesome. :D

[shirebound]

Ohhh, lovely! Daffodils and grape hyacinths are all we have so far in my area. I absolutely love violets.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Ohhh, lovely! <<

Thank you!

>> Daffodils and grape hyacinths are all we have so far in my area.<<

I have them together in a few places. I like the contrast between yellow and purple, but it's tricky to find ones that will bloom at the same time.

>> I absolutely love violets. <<

I have solid purple, lavender, and blue-and-white here. Rarely I see a solid white one. I've tried planting yellow but without much luck. However, I have violet patches bigger than some people's yards. :D They're good for bees in spring, and a host plant for some butterflies.

[redbird]

We're still at daffodils, crocus, and early forsythia, and this sneak preview of violet season is a pleasure.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Ironically I still have all of those too. The early crocuses are long gone and the first daffodils are starting to fade, but later-season ones are still blooming. So is forsythia. Winter aconite and dwarf iris are done though.

[adafrog]

:)

[pameladean]

Oh, so lovely! All of it is wonderful. And there is nothing quite like a really huge number of violets.

P.

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

They're even blooming around the firepit, which is not typical. They rarely extend beyond the south edge of the ritual meadow, which borders the orchard and is shadier. The middle of the ritual meadow is open and sunny.