Fleeting and Fabulous

With a bunch of warm temps and abundant (and I mean abundant) rain, the spring flowers have arrived in force, all at once! Oh, climate change, you are the bane of the garden designer.

I have planted a wide range of bulbs just so I can have tulips, daffodils, crocus, etc. for as long as possible. I throw them in with abandon and forget so I have spring surprises. There are very early to very late varieties, but two weeks of warm weather is running the displays I carefully timed together. So, I sigh, and gather the tulips while I may. These four plants are fleeting in the garden and I treasure them all the more for their brief blooms.

The first tulip to bloom this year was Tulipa turkestanica, a species tulip from in and around Turkey introduced in 1875. I like its wildflower look with several flowers on a stem. So far, it’s faring well in the gravelly bit between the driveways tucked in amongst the mint to keep the bunnies at bay.

My beloved Tulipa acuminata is back again in the same area and has bulked up a bit. This seems to be the preferred habitat for the more delicate species tulips that require excellent drainage and some heat. I have paired it with Polar Ice daffodils to disinterest the rabbits and as a foil to highlight its dapper stiletto petals. It likely dates to about 1813.

The spring-blooming natives are cheerfully blooming amongst the bulbs, tossing flowers everywhere. Two that I look for every April are the bishop’s cap (Mitella diphylla) and marsh marigold (Caltha palustris). Both of these are victories for me.

Bishop’s cap is a shade-loving uncommon little native plant whose flowers resemble tiny snowflakes. It has a specialist bee that hopefully will turn up. The rabbits like to mess with me and wait until it blooms to nip off the flower stalk and leave it. It’s the rabbit mafia, I swear.

The marsh marigold lives in the bottom of the rain garden as it is happiest with abundant moisture. You’ll likely find them streamside or at the edges of ponds in the wild. I wasn’t sure I could get it to take as the rain garden does eventually dry out in the heat of summer. But, here it is! I adore those bright buttercup flowers that gleam like gold coins in the spring sunshine.

I hope your spring garden is filled with flowers, however fleeting!