National Arboretum on 4/21/2012

We went to the National Arboretum (Washington DC) last Saturday. The weather was so wonderful that we parked in the overflow parking because there were so many people that had the same idea. The azalea walk was at or near its peak as you can see from the montage below.

Growing among the azaleas were May apples that all seemed to be blooming under their umbrella of leaves.

And an unusual jack-in-the-pulpit type plant.

I’ll post pictures of the bonsai display and the exhibition of ikebana from our trip to the Arboretum later this week.

Azaleas Are Blooming

The azaleas are blooming a bit early in Maryland this year but they aren’t past their peak…so you still have time to enjoy this aspect of spring if you live in the area. Brookside Gardens and the WSSC Brighton Dam Azalea Garden are my favorite places for azaleas. if you can't get there to see them for yourself --- enjoy the pictures below.

This first series of pictures is from Brookside Gardens on 4/7. There were still lots of bushes with buds still to open. I expect that there will be lots to see for at least another week. 

The pictures below are from 4/14 at the Brighton Dam Azalea Garden. They have even more bushes that are yet to reach peak bloom. The ones closest to the road are the ones most fully opened at present.

Also at Brighton Dam - there is a lovely dogwood on the path going left from the entrance. I’ll share dogwood pictures later this week.

Brookside in Early April

There was a Camellia Show at Brookside Gardens this past Saturday. I enjoyed walking through it and taking pictures. There are a number of aspects to the flowers that I was trying to capture: many yellow stamens, vein patterns in their petals, varying colors of the petals, and the slight variations of the petals themselves.

Many of the ferns had already unfurled with the earlier warmth this spring but there were still a few fiddleheads.

The tulips are also most their prime so I found myself looking at the color variations in their petals - like the purple and white below. And then there are other springtime flowers - Jack-in-the-Pulpits, wisteria, dogwood, azaleas and other bulbs. Spring has sprung!

Around our (Maryland) Yard in April

It’s already April. We had some unseasonably warm days in March but now seem back into a more seasonable pattern. I took a walk around our yard this morning and created a montage of the pictures below.

So - the early April checkpoint for our yard here in Maryland is: The early bulbs (hyacinths, crocus and daffodils) are spent. The day lily leaves have recovered from the deer browsing so they may bloom normally later this spring. We have two tulips blooming in the same bed as the day lily greenery; the deer ate the rest down to the ground. The robins are very active and singing every morning. The maple samaras are about ready to fly - the lower branches have been thoroughly browsed by the deer so may 'self-prune' in upcoming months. The oak buds are popping from the top down. Our tulip poplar has a lot of spring green leaves and tight green flower buds all over. The iris green leaves are up already; they must be too tough for the deer since they don’t even have teeth marks. The tortoise that lives in that garden was out on one warm day but retreated when it got colder here during the past week; I didn't see him at all this morning. Our struggling azalea has a few blooms. 

Previous Months 

• March 2012
• January 2012