I am looking for early blooming perennials to compliment my tulips and possibly hide the dying foilage in a few weeks. Ive read a lot of gardening books on the subject but its hard to make decisions on what to plant when the books arent written for our climate.
Ive also been driving around to see what is blooming in my neighbor's yards but the problem is that there are not many gardeners in this area (Littleton, near Lonetree). I did get the courage to knock on a door last week when I saw a gorgeous yellow perennial with frosted foilage in an older neighborhood in Denver, nobody answered. I should have taken a photo!
So, what is blooming in your garden right now?

What's blooming for me right now:
- Arabis (rockcress)
- Creeping Phlox
- Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)
- Pansies (since late February, planted them in the fall and they live through winter -- great underplanting for tulips)
- Anemone blanda (but they're so tiny!)
- Brunnera macrophylla
- Forget-me-nots are blooming in others' gardens, but I don't have them. They're also often used as a tulip cover.

What's almost in bloom for me now that could be cover for tulip foliage over the next month (although some may form too thick of a cover to really work in a tulip bed):
- Saponaria ocymoides
- Lamium maculatum (just starting to bloom -- likes shade though)
- Dianthus (also just starting)
- Salvia
- California poppies (annual but good reseeder)

Good luck!

The for-get-me-nots Steve is refering to are likely myosotis and that's what we've got everywhere. It selfseeds and that makes it easy but the color is also heavenly (don't you think that's the right word? :o).

I bought anchusa for-get-me-nots (another borage-family flower) a few years ago but it didn't make it back after a couple of seasons. The color isn't the same, either.

DigitS'

Thanks!

Dandelions? Could you ask for a nicer, buttery yellow? The dandelion jam that tastes like honey sounds good. I've heard people go on and on about the wine. I'll tell ya what, if you are really running out of both coffee and money - grinding and then toasting the roots will s-t-r-e-t-c-h what you've got left without adding much of any off-flavor.

D'S'

Just starting:
"annual" dianthus
Coreopsis auriculata ‘Nana’
And, I can’t believe it but, Callirhoe

Arabis is almost done, and my bulbs are gone for the year.

And I almost fell over when I saw this today! No flowers, but my hibiscus is already coming up! I normally wouldn’t even be looking for it till the beginning of June!

What a year!

But, Jill, if you want to hide bulb foliage as it’s dying down, I’d look more for things that bloom in "the next wave." The things that are blooming now will be done before your foliage has completely browned and you’ll be looking at it again. If you get things that are just starting in a few weeks, they should do a better job of effectively screening the bulb foliage as it finishes its work.

Lovin’ this early spring,
Skybird

I have some weed that I don't know the name of, but it's blooming. It's taking over my freaking yard! It looks like Day of the Triffids out there. I pull as much as I can out of my flower beds and dump it in the compost pile.

The flower beds might not be much to look at right now, but there should be plenty going on there this summer and into the fall!

If they're blooming and you don't have time to pull them all out right away, cut off the flowers so they can't possibly produce seed before you pull them out. From what you've described, if they go to seed, you'll wish all you had were Triffids!

Skybird

It was comforting to know that what "wasn't" blooming was the same for me. A few things are blooming, and interesting that even a few blocks or around the corner can make a difference. We just aren't ready in my location of COS, plus the rain is knocking most of the blossoms off the trees. But we are getting rain and I revel in it.

I also realized while visiting the garden and reading all the posts, that I have no clue what the names of plants are. Only the ones loved and that have grown well for me...have a bit of catching up with all of you.

Steve'sDigits

It's a larger weed and comes a little later than the white version.

You can see the story on the plant with a picture below. I think they are kinda pretty, too.

D'S'

Skybird

p.s. I have mushrooms coming up all over in the bark mulch around my perennials. I think they may be coming from some bagged compost I mixed in last year. Too bad you can't eat them!

Two whole days of Mayday celebrations for me this weekend, so no gardening for me.

I see bergenia is blooming around town. I used to have that in my yard but the flower stems were very short on those plants. Never understood that . . . it would bloom and the flowers were nearly hidden by the big leaves. Didn't mind leaving it when I moved from that home about 12 years ago.

I found no good picture of the filaree on the web. Should go out and take a shot at it myself. It would require lying down on the ground - might have to stay there. The smaller white filaree is so insignificant of a competitor that I leave it alone, don't like more aggravation than is necessary. It is the only weed that I can just tolerate and it's everywhere in compacted soil this time or earlier - so you see, I'm walking on it. Cultivation pretty well eliminates the tiny plants and anything taller than 3 inches will crowd it out. The purple redstem and the white will grow in gravel parking lots, I've noticed. I mean, if you can't tolerate a weed in a gravel parking lot . . .

Skybird, I've got that darn stuff and haven't known what it is. Grows just under the deck and creeps out into the lawn. Creeps me out, too. Especially since, I don't like the smell when I hit it with the weedwacker . . . that one may finally drive me to pulling the broadleaf weedkiller off the shelf.

DigitS'

Arabis arendsii ‘Compinkie’ It’s almost done now

Veronica ‘Waterperry’ just starting to open

Veronica ‘Waterperry’ open most of the way

Phlox douglasii ‘Cracker Jack’

Lewisia (next to ‘Compinkie’)

And, they’re not in the ground, but this is Ajuga reptans ‘Arboretum Giant’ on the right—the leaves will get big with a very narrow purple picotee, and A.r. ‘Royalty’ on the left—like ‘Bronze Beauty’, but prettier foliage when they get going. They’ll obviously do much better if I ever get them in the ground! You can hardly see it, but the little, tiny leaves in front of the ‘Arboretum Giant’ are A.r. ‘Chocolate Chip’—the tiniest ajuga I know of. And, you can’t really see it in the picture, but they’re blooming too! Tiny flowers to go with the tiny leaves!

Skybird

P.S. Cnetter, where did you get that bloodroot? I’ve never seen it before, and I love it!

Digit, I saw the same weed in between rows at Harlequin's in Boulder today, asked Mikl about it and he said it was redstem filaree, so you were right. I still think it's a cute plant.

Today I planted rock cress, creeping phlox, lavender, an iceland poppy, and a then few others that won't bloom for a while yet, and then I have a few that are starting to bud.

Dafy

There is one plant we have that I haven't been able to figure out what it is yet - there's a link to my roommate's photo gallery (if you click on the pic it will enlarge) - it's the white one behind the big gargoyle :) thanks

thank you so much
Dafy

A clump of SDB iris Black Suede:

A clump of SDB iris that's supposed to be Blood Covenant, but isn't:

A clump of Pirate's Patch:

Wood's Apricot ans Sapphire Gem SDB:

Here's a very nice, well behaved low growing veronica, whose name just won't come to me right now.

Here's the Redstem Filaree that's in the back of my lot, near the chicken coup. It's a tiny Erodium.

I've been busy lately and haven't participated in the forum as much. But it's GREAT to see that you figured out all the photo posting stuff! Looks like you figured out how to get the photos from your camera, too. Good stuff!

By the way, here's one of the wonderful things keeping me so busy these days!

This first one is a yellow dianthus, which doesn't even have buds yet. Some of you mentioned having dianthus blooming. Maybe the yellow just blooms later.

This is gaillardia 'Goblin' which you can see is covered in buds. These things bloom like crazy up until frost. I've been told they will bloom themselves out, and have a short lifespan, but so far, I've never had one not come back.

What I am missing is things blooming now. They need to be warm colors, no blues or pinks, and have foliage that looks good during the summer. What do you guys suggest?

The foliage won't last and when it begins to go down, I run over them with the weedwhacker. However, the salmon-red, silky flowers are welcome in May.

(Apparently, O'Keefe's paintings from the 1920's are now in the public domain, I find them all over the web!)

I admit, I'm more into "cool" colours. But I've got some fantastic hot colored daylilies later in the season.

Digit, you may not want one of those in your garden. When I looked it up at Dave's Garden it says it may be invasive. I did sow some poppy seeds this winter, but the germination was poor and the few sprouts I had were victims of one of our windy days. They are between 3 to 4 ft in height aren't they? I get confused about the difference between annual and perennial poppies. Do they just reseed, or are there some that actually come back each year?

I'll have to figure out how to post pics. Our neighbors have a beautiful garden, albeit neglected for a few years(lady of the house, who worked the garden, passed this year). Since we just moved in last July, it has been so interesting to see what sprouts up as spring progresses. It is a bit sad, though. Someone obviously took great joy in tending to it. There are at least 20 varieties of tulips that I can see and irises and peonies will be flowering soon. It's all I can do to keep myself from going over there, weeding and spreading a little compost around! Unfortunately, they have a surly dog and I have 3 little ones and the two don't mix...so I am not able to help out. Also unfortunate is that the house might be a scrape, so all that work will be destroyed! so sad :(

Coreopsis auriculata ‘Nana’

Bergenia - only one small flower so far

Lamium maculatum ‘Pink Pewter’

Saxifraga (past its prime)

Forget-me-nots & Solomon’s Seal

Anemone sylvestris

Erysimum allionii ‘Orange Bedder’ just starting to open (formerly: Cheiranthus cheiri)

Inmca, Oriental poppy buds always hang down like that. It looks like there's something wrong with them, but they'll "stand up" when they open.

Lovin' this spring,
Skybird

Yes, the neighbors' poppies were, in fact, Oriental poppies. About 5 opened their heads this weekend. I can't wait to see the full blown display. They are an orange color (and look like the picture digit posted above) and make ME smile every time I see them!

My glads (cheap bag from low*s) are starting to come up....I am so EXCITED! so I ran out and bought a bunch more from walmart to plant in between our foundation bushes. I am insane. You have no idea how exciting this is to have a yard that I can actually plant stuff in.

Nancy

My Skyfire iris is about to open up, too.