Blooming under the drop cloths

Roofers in the fall, painters in the spring. Ah, the good life. Actually, I am very excited about getting our flaking, shabby house scraped and painted. They’re also going to paint all the wooden steps and—hell, I don’t know anyone else who has these so I don’t know what to call them—the garden enclosures? Essex green. The painted red brick is being repainted red, and the black trim repainted black.


However, the plants, as usual, are getting the worst of it. The viburnum (top) has been lassoed and pulled away from the wall. The lilies are all kind of bent over from being covered by a tarp. Containers are where they shouldn’t be. Oh well, should be over in a few days.


So. Blooming. I still have the single late tulips, the acuminatas (previously posted upon), the clusianas (ditto), the batalini "Bronze Charm (shown here)," and, just coming up, the bakari “Lilac Wonder.” I still have the hellebores. The viburnum, in spite of its travail, is coming into bloom, as is the sweet woodruff. Geranium macrorrhyzum (below) is making its appearance, and I have tons of lamium in bloom. The GWI garden is not a late spring or even early summer garden; I lack iris, peonies, and many of the other favorites of the early season. But I will have some columbine and some early roses. Just not yet.