The Good Earth

Another Garden Vignette
Along the driveway, between the meadow and Usually Not Creek, wander to the north and this is what you see:

Grape hyacinths blanket the small strip of grass between the driveway and woods.

Daffodills start at the edge the woods and continue as far as you can see. Bright yellow with large trumpets; soft yellow, almost white, with ruffled trumpets; double whites; soft yellow with bright yellow trumpets; medium yellow with orange trumpets. Don't look too closely or you will discover they are starting to wilt. Just enjoy the splash of color.

Next to the meadow the forsythia's bright yellow blooms pick up the daffodil colors. It has been a good year for forsythia.

As you enter the woods, look down. Virginia bluebells, with reddish purple buds, burst into clear blue blooms. They are starting to spread down the slope to the creek.

Hyacinths bloom at the edge of the woodland path, reminders of past Februaries when I could not resist buying a touch of spring. Most are purple with several pink scattered throughout. Forced bulbs usually do not do well, but these provide a decent display for a woodland garden.

Now for the wildflowers. Trilliums are just starting to bloom. Trout lilies carpet the ground with their spotted leaves, but no sign of the yellow blooms. Violets galore - purple, white and yellow. The bloodroot blooms are finished but their attractive leaves are large and showy. Mayapples grow in clumps around the woods. Look close and you may find a wild ginger with its unusual brown flower. Of course, spring beauties rival the violets carpeting the woodland floor.

And the understory canopy drips shocking pink of the redbud softened by the white of the dogwood blooms. I love spring!

UPDATE: Redbuds do not drip; wisteria drips. After observing the scene again, the last paragraph should read: "And floating above are the shocking pink blooms of redbud softened by the white of the dogwood blooms."