Flowers in a Very Slow Spring

Several locals have been talking about this spring being an especially late one. I'm not sure where this trend extends to; perhaps Montana, Alberta, and Winnipeg are all feeling this late spring chill along with us in Saskatchewan. The trees here are now breaking bud...finally. There is probably another frost tonight, but I'm going to be bold and plant out some annuals tomorrow. The weather looks good for the next week.

Below: Raised bed filled with perennials and a few shrubs. The white mounds are Arabis caucasica, an easily divided perennial. I like the look of these so much that I plan to divide and spread it around. Unfortunately, Arabis blepharophylla "Spring Charm" has not appeared this spring and I fear it has departed from my yard.

Here is the least-appealing corner of the yard. Today, my mother (who is visiting) and I tore out the rambling wild raspberry canes and quack grass. I preserved the patch of pink-flowering yarrow, which is invasive enough to command control over this lawless bit of earth. I also threw in a bunch of flowers seeds that I'd probably never otherwise use, including annual poppies, alyssum, and candytuft. I'm hoping they grow quickly to disguise the remaining ugliness.

Intriguing bloom of Frittilary meleagris, a very hardy bulb I grew this season for the first time.

Frittilary meleagris (white and purple blooms) amid Scilla siberica (blue). On the right is a Primula auricula division from a friend's garden. I have tried many times to start P. auricula from seed with no success, so I'm glad to get this one.

Hosta foliage poking out of the soil.

The first primula blooms of the season:

Narcissus hybrid "Full House" has been in full bloom for a week and it already has inspired me to plant some more daffodils next year. The daffodils seem to bloom a few weeks earlier than the large tulips.

Spring Colors and Textures

Here is a perennial that looks great this spring: Arabis blepharophylla "Spring Charm". I'm not sure if it's the hairy leaves that gave it the Latin name meaning "eyelash-leaved", but the bright pink flowers on this plant look lovely. I would love to have a few more like this one.

For a perennial that you can't kill, produces perky purple flowers, will spread itself around liberally, infiltrate the lawn and give an aroma of onions when you mow it, good old chives are the answer. I have removed most of these from my perennial beds, but I leave a few around and then cut the flowers off before they go to seed. I want to try some of the giant flowered alliums next year, but I know their hardiness will be in question. Every bulb catalog claims a different zone, so I might just buy a few different ones and cross my fingers. Any tips from prairie growers?

Here are some more pictures of my tulips in the long raised bed. I have a few open spaces in this bed, but each year the spaces are filling in. I planted some poppy seeds in the back of the bed this spring and I notice that the seedlings are about an inch tall now. There is a cluster of Pacific giant delphiniums intermixed with cleome in the center, and I'm hoping for a great show this summer.

"Florissa" single late tulip in the bright morning sun.