Rise of the Bulbs (and Tubers)

The spring bulbs are sending up their green leaves, making the garden beds look more alive.  The lake is still frozen though I hope no one is trying to traverse the ice anymore.  I think most locals would consider it foolish at this point.  The lawn is starting to green up and I have finished planting all the direct-seed (vs. raised indoors in pots) annuals in the raised beds.   This will hopefully be a great year for cosmos.  I love their long blooming season and enduring color into the fall.     

Puschkinia libanotica - A delicate looking bulb that I tried for this first time this year (planted in fall).

Eranthis hyemalis -- Probably the smallest of all my plants.  These ones could fit on a quarter.  They were planted in fall as a tuber.  Though I planted many of them, this seems to be all I got.  They are a bit finicky, requiring soaking of the tubers before planting.

Rhubarb pushing its colorful leaves out of the earth.  It keeps company with the flowers, where it is both ornamental and delicious!

Sloped perennial bed with Chionodoxa, Siberian Squill, Pulsatilla vulgaris, and large-flowered crocuses in bloom.

I'm planning on visiting my brother's place soon, where I've been given the great opportunity to go to the garden center to consider plants for his new landscape.  Can a person get any luckier than that?  My Felco #6 and garden gloves are packed and ready!  I just love it when someone asks for some "garden consulting".  I'm also planning on trying out a new iPad app (iScape) that can do digital landscaping.  It doesn't look as good as my desktop computer landscaping program (Realtime Landscaping Photo), but sometimes gardening must go mobile.