Given that March felt like May and April felt a little like July, it’s been really hard not to move everything outside and start planting annuals and tomatoes as if it’s safe. But then didn’t April end on a sort of February-ish note? That was just the warning we needed (I guess) to sit tight in limbo a little longer. According to the National Climatic Data Center, there’s only a 10% chance we’ll see a frost around here after May 6. So the good news is we won’t have to wait much longer.

I think I’m ready to move out just because that’s next on the list of to-dos. For the most part though, the plants don’t seem to be in a huge hurry. They actually look remarkably healthy and unstressed. Sometimes, if we’re really busy in the gardens in the spring, we come back into the greenhouse and are shocked to see that the plants have gone downhill. But this year because we were able to start working outside so much earlier, we have had ample time to pay attention to the greenhouse despite the lack of rainy days like this one to devote to inside work. Add to that the fact that the winter was so mild that the shading never etched off of the glass so the plants have not been subjected to those sunny spring days that can really set the greenhouse cooking. The plants are still just trucking along like they have all winter.

At home it’s a different story. Gail calls this time “the bewitching hour” because one minute our houseplants look fine and the next time we look at them, which could be weeks from that last time because we’re so consumed with our gardens, they’re infested, wilted, dead, or a combination of the three. They’ll be much happier outside with us. That said, tropical houseplants will have to wait even longer for nights to warm into the 50′s.

If it hadn’t rained today (we needed it – again!) we would have planted sweet peas. It already feels late to get them in the ground because we usually plant them the last week in April. Maybe tomorrow. After that we’ll watch the night temperatures and continue the methodical move out of the greenhouse. Marginally hardy plants like phormium and rosemary are out already and have been perfectly fine. But then we didn’t get the frost that some did.

Have you started moving houseplants out yet? Have you been able to resist planting tomatoes?

This week we just about finished planting 300-something new perennials – with the garden volunteers’ help, thank goodness! – and that meant it was time to pick up another order. One of the highlights of Gail’s and my year is our spring trip to Avant Gardens in N. Dartmouth, MA to grab our order and see if there are maybe a few other things we can’t garden without. We found a lot this year. We should have brought the truck.

The owners, Kathy and Chris Tracey have a love of plants that is obvious and totally infectious and their nursery is like a fabulously curated art gallery. — But less fancy-pants; it’s as comfortable as a kitchen. They grow and sell plants that they know are awesome performers and they trial every new plant that intrigues them in their own garden, which is attached to the nursery. They’re also famous for fabulous pot combinations and the most sublime trough gardens. Seeing their plants so artfully planted and growing gangbusters just makes us want everything even more.

The nursery is well off the beaten track but so easy to find. Just head north (away from the mall) from the Faunce Corners exit off 195 in North Dartmouth and follow the road until it Ts. Take a left there and go winding along the shady country road until you just begin to wonder if you’ll ever get there. Card carrying Blithewold members who visit Avant Gardens will be richly rewarded with a 10% discount but they also have a fabulous online catalog here. If you aren’t already hooked to her feed, Kathy writes one of the most read-ably fun and informative blogs with the best name: Garden Foreplay. The plants she sells are definitely seductive…

Have you been to Avant Gardens yet? Did you find treasures too?

We were pretty worried this winter, when the oaks withheld their acorns, that the squirrels would eat every last tulip bulb. Thank goodness they left a few for us and our visitors to enjoy – it really was very generous of them. We’re all especially glad they left a few Akebono in the Rose Garden, and everybody’s other favorite, Miranda in the Display Garden. This is our second year for Akebono. We can’t get enough of that yellow rimmed in a pencil of red and dashed with green. Miranda, a new one for us, doesn’t even look like a tulip. More like a peony with flowers the size of cereal bowls and so heavy they’ve been snapping right off their stem. And their color is so intensely over-saturated that the only way I could get an approximate shot of it was to go out first thing on a cloudy morning.

I’ve heard a lot of visitors exclaim over the size of the tulips as if they’ve never seen anything like them. I have to wonder, since tulip bulbs come with everything they need right inside the bulb, and their showiness has little to do with how awesome our soil is, if most people buy inferior box-store and joblot tulips rather than ordering from reputable bulb companies. I can see the appeal of one-stop shopping but I believe everyone’s garden deserves better! We buy our bulbs from John Scheepers, Inc and they have a wonderful array of choices. I’m already thinking about next years order – while they’re blooming is the best time to take those notes, but we won’t place our order until the end of July. We might need more of a few of these…

This weekend we are faced with bit of a dilemma. The tulips are at their fragile peak and a potentially damaging rain is in the forecast. I hate for anyone to miss the tulip show but I have to hope we get a really good soaker. It’s been too long and I would sacrifice the tulips if April showers relieve our drought and bring us extra May flowers. Are you forced to pray for rain too?

… but most spring flowers don’t. It hasn’t yet reached the temperature that was forecast for today (82!) but it’s definitely warmer than most things want to be so early in spring. As much as I hate to have to say it, the daffodils are now officially past their peak. Not to worry though because the tulips have taken over the show. Of course, warm temperatures this week might make some of them a passing  fancy too. But then, that’s what spring is all about. This is definitely the week to take a day off to sit under the cherry trees as they snow, breathe in the heavy scent of winter hazel, listen to the frogs sing, take a photo essay of faded flowers, and celebrate the preciousness of life. Since every day is bloom day from now on, here’s a small sample of passing fancies for a hot and sunny Monday.

To see what else is blooming (and passing by) all over the country and the world, visit May Dreams Gardens.

So many of our favorite groundcovers have their day in the sun, so to speak, in the spring. Particularly the ones that are made for the shade. Before the trees leaf out they get the light they need to really take off. I never noticed before that Mukdenia rossii ‘Karasuba’, which is known more for its bright red and glossy fall foliage, has such pretty flowers. And I think the new foliage is handsomer now than ever.

You might never find where we hid the bergenia (hint: under the grape arbor) but it’s happier tucked away there than anywhere else we’ve tried it. I’m not sure which species this is (Ed, if you read this, please help!) but just look at that flower. Precious princess-pants. After living in Seattle where rough looking bergenia fill every streetside rockery, I never thought I’d think it was that special. But maybe this one is especially special. You get a prize if you can find it. (Finding it is the prize.)

You can’t miss the epimedium. It will fill up your view as you walk through the moongate. It’s amazing to me that such a delicate – and often expensive plant could be so prolific. It’s tough as nails and I say — we all say — the more the merrier. I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t want such a beauty to spread its little wings wherever it could. (It grows so happily in dry shade that it’s as if we got it wrong about such sites being difficult.)

And of course there are the daffodils, groundcover-ers themselves swimming in a sea of periwinkle (Vinca minor). And the question of every day is what is the groundcover with the mottled red leaves? It’s trout lily (Erythronium americanum), one of our native wildflowers. Not many are in bloom yet as I write this but they’re coming. (Although they did have a big show last year and deserve a break.)

Now that spring has really sprung, there is so much to see, it might be impossible to notice it all. (I’ve tried.) The daffodils will continue to be in peak probably through the weekend and now that the tulips and cherry trees have started there’s no longer any reason at all to not visit right this minute.

Do you have a favorite spring groundcover? Or is there one that you like better in spring than any other time of year?