April 2024 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Robert]

A typical garden scene in our Sacramento garden, Dipterostemon capitatus ssp. capitatus with the California native annual Eschscholzia caespitosa. I see our garden as a blend of art with science.

[ian mcdonald]

Ashley, it was interesting to see your photo of the growth on the pine tree. I have seen a similar one but can,t find the photo. I must have deleted it.

[Gabriela]

I have had 'Jacob' since 2011, and I don't think I have ever gotten seeds from it. Many times it starts to flower too early and flowers are damaged, but I'm glad not this year. Maybe because it hasn't had seeds, it is so long-lived here. With other H.niger, I have the same experience as Mariette, they are not easy to please, but they seed around so there is always some. Some H.niger I have are not as good-looking, with only a few flowers and also there are differences in leaves. Some have nicer leaves than others.
Kris, I'm sorry to hear yours don't do well. In Finland H.niger is considered to be hardier than H. x hybridus, but I think it also depends on the strain/type.

I should have better said ex. 'Jacob' Leena because I grew it from seeds. Like you mention, it wants to flower too early, the picture I show is from March 13!!! Usually we have snow standing till April, and even worse, the location remains shaded until late spring.
In the pictures I've seen from the wild, it flowers beautifully on sunny slopes. I have a sloped area where the sun shines and the snow melts faster in the spring (sometimes too fast) and that's where I will move it.

I should add that in the same location, Helleborus purpurascens, which is a deciduous species, does well, although in other parts of the garden it flowers as early as the snow melts, here it holds on. Only recently the foliage appeared.  It is very hard with our limited garden space to offer proper spots for some species and it takes careful observing of the way the conditions of snow cover/sun/shade, moisture are changing over the seasons.

[Gabriela]

Robert - your garden is a riot of colors at this time! We can only hope for it later in the summer.

Mariette - the Hyacinthoides are lovely. I don't know why you would think my garden should be more advanced? Actually this year we have an early spring!
Primula sibthorpii is having a particularly good time this year; Corydalis malkensis to the left.

[Leena]

So floriferous in your garden Robert.

I should have better said ex. 'Jacob' Leena because I grew it from seeds.

I should add that in the same location, Helleborus purpurascens, which is a deciduous species, does well, although in other parts of the garden it flowers as early as the snow melts, here it holds on. Only recently the foliage appeared.  It is very hard with our limited garden space to offer proper spots for some species and it takes careful observing of the way the conditions of snow cover/sun/shade, moisture are changing over the seasons.

I got my 'Jacob' as Christmas flower, so it must have been micropropagated, and that is maybe why it doesn't produce seeds, not at least in my climate.
Helleborus purpurascens from your seeds is hardy here, too, and quite early like H.multifidus and H.odorus, while most H. x hybridus are later flowering in my garden. Only couple of yellow H. x hybridus seem to be earlier than others.
It is difficult to find good spots for each plant if when I have more space. Yesterday I moved (my husband helped me) big Darmera peltata to the edge of the garden to make space to more choice plants instead of Darmera which is so big. I can now plant there many smaller plants instead of one big one.

Weather seems to go up and down this spring. After a period of relatively warmer weather we are now again experiencing cold. The past two nights have been -5C and days barely over zero Celsius, and it won't get warmer until the end of next week. There was even a bit of snow last night, but luckily not as much as in easten Finland where they got 20cm more snow.
The first picture of Daphne mezereum is from April 16th.
 


This picture is from today.



'Jacob' and Corydalis solida today



Helleborus multifidus, I guess there will be no seeds from this plant this year. It was so advanced in flowering and now it is so cold again.

[ruweiss]

Some shrubs:

[Mariette]

Interesting shrubs, ruweiss! The scented lilacs are among my favourites!

Leena, I like the white daphne, it looks so much brighter than the ordinary one! The changes of weather may be similar here, though resulting in pics similar to Yours 2 months earlier.

Gabriela, I´m sorry - I changed by mistake Marc´s and Your location for a moment. Of course, zone 5 will be later than zone 7!

Robert, Your garden is as colourful as ours only may be in summer! We don´t know these strong, bright reds, blues and yellows here at this time of the year. Diplacus aurantiacus was a leggy plant for me, indeed, and I wasn´t sorry when it passed away. Erythranthe bicolor is very pretty.

In my garden, the tree peonies are in full swing, this is a hybrid between ´Gessekai´and ´Major Howel´.



Paeonia rockii and its first generation hybrids succomb to the wet condtions here, but my seedlings of ´Gessekai´ pollinated with them do well on their own roots. This is another one from the same cross.



Again a seedling of ´Gessekai´, this time crossed with a nameless white F 1 hybrid of P. rockii. Both the pollinators died.

[Mariette]

Two more pics from our local bluebell woods.





 Lilies of the valley grow together with the bluebells in the wild, also here in the garden.



An Arisaema triphyllum seedling grown from US-seed.



A hybrid between Arum italicum and maculatum with spotted spathe.

[Mike Ireland]

Lewisia tweedyi alba from seed & Pleione growing outside in moss covered tray.

[Leena]

Leena, I like the white daphne, it looks so much brighter than the ordinary one! The changes of weather may be similar here, though resulting in pics similar to Yours 2 months earlier.

It is also my favourite. We had now almost a week of cold, and today was finally +5. It is amazing how well most plants cope with cold periods, and Daphne is now like there was no cold spell at all.

[Mike Ireland]

First Clematis hirsutissima in flower today, also Cassiope lycopodioides.

[Maggi Young]

First Clematis hirsutissima in flower today, also Cassiope lycopodioides.

Very nice.   Is that Haberlea to the left of the Cassiope photo?

[Mike Ireland]

Yes it is Maggie, it has been in the same large pot for about 35 years. As you can see its about twice the size of the pot.

[Andre Schuiteman]

Ericaceae are loving the cool, wet spring weather here (near London).

A dwarf form of Kalmia buxifolia, better known as Leiophyllum buxifolium.

The moonlight-coloured Rhododendron sargentianum.

[Robert]

Some scenes from our Sacramento, California garden.

This tub full of Layia gaillardioides has been blooming for many weeks now.



Erythranthe bicolor RMB 1017 has also been blooming for many weeks now. I am getting a great deal of genetic variability with this accession. Some plants produce flowers abundantly.  Some are upright in their growth habit, a characteristic I have observed in other accessions. It will be enjoyable selecting and working with these plants into the future.



DIplacus kelloggii RMB 1053 is another new accession. I found Erythranthe bicolor RMB 1017 and Diplacus kelloggii RMB 1053 growing in the same location in close association with each other. They both bloom at the same time and combined attractively with each other in their natural rock garden setting. I will see if I can duplicate this in our Sacramento garden.



Twining Brodiaea, Dichelostemma volubile, is a common, widespread species in the lower elevations of California. The vining flowering stems travel around, with flowers appearing in surprising locations throughout the garden.



Allium unifolium – It is difficult to improve upon this beautiful, easy-to-grow species. There are many local species of Allium to work with in our part of Northern California. Working with the other Allium species will keep me busy for many years.