Six on Saturday: Early May

Spring is such a lovely time in the garden. Everything is lush and green, and unlike much of the U.S., we're getting plenty of rain as of late. There are new surprises nearly every day.

One such surprise was this native phlox pilosa. I grew it from seed, one of just two plants I managed to grow from a whole pack. This is the first year it bloomed and I had to look it up on the plant ID app to remind myself what it is.

My bearded iris are also in bloom. These were all gifts from a neighbor and are so gorgeous.

The alliums are in bloom everywhere in my garden. They've become so prolific that I think it's time to thin them, which is not a problem I often have.

I'm also pleased to see this Miss Kim Korean lilac starting to bloom. This is one of the first plants I ever purchased for my garden (for just $5 back in the day!) and it had grown too tall and leggy because I've not pruned it often. I rectified that situation last year with a severe haircut and I'm pleased to see it bouncing back nicely. This is a good self-reminder not to be afraid to prune!

These happy looking columbine are popping up and blooming around the garden. Tough to get a good photo of them though as the blooms face the ground!

That's my six for the week. Visit Garden Ruminations to see what else is in bloom in gardens around the world.

March Bloom Day: The Garden Awakens

The garden is finally beginning to wake up after a very cold, snowy winter. Not only did it snow quite a bit, but the snow stuck around for weeks, which is rare for central Ohio.

Then it warmed up, followed by a week of solid rain, then a windstorm last Friday that knocked out power for a few hundred thousand people statewide. Not all of them have power restored yet. I feel we've been quite lucky not to have suffered any damage in the storms and to have only lost power for about an hour.

Hopefully the garden fared as well. We had weeks of brutally cold temps, so I'm hoping all of the plants made it.

I also realized I've never done a Garden Blogger's Bloom Day post in March, so since there are a few blooms, this will be a first.

First to bloom were the snowdrops. Between the heavy snow pack, which was quickly followed by temps in the 60s and 70s, these didn't last real long. But they are a welcome sign of spring.

Next are the crocus. The vast majority of crocuses I have are this purple color, but there are a few gold ones around that I inherited from the previous owners.

And just this week the earliest daffodils started blooming, which are some of my favorite flowers. The fact that the deer don't bother them is a bonus. I fear they too won't last long since we're set to drop from 73F today to 19F early Tuesday morning. Such is spring in Ohio.

That's it for what's blooming in my zone 6b garden this month, visit May Dreams Gardens to see what's in bloom elsewhere.