I enjoy displaying seasonal photos in the sidebar on my website and have been doing so for a couple of years now. It frustrated me that I couldn’t easily caption them or credit the photographer. I finally decided I would do a post every month highlighting these photos. So, here we go:

Photo by Cadence Purdy. Taken in April 2006 at the old house.
These daffodils are descendants of those originally found on our property. One of the first things I did as a gardener there was dig up and divide the clumps of daffodils that were no longer blooming.

Photo by Justin Purdy, April 23, 2008.
Even in late April, the trees have often not leafed out.

Double bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis ‘Multiplex’. Photo by Kathy Purdy, April 25, 2008
This bloodroot grew so well for me at the old house that I divided it up and used it as a ground cover under a shrub.

Photo by Kathy Purdy, taken April 17, 2006 at the old house.
Cornelian cherry (
Cornus mas) blooms earlier than forsythia but takes longer to get really showy. Some cultivars are bred to be more floriferous and some are bred to have larger fruit, for the fruit is edible.

Photo by Cadence Purdy
Weather can be very moody during mud season. Advection fog occurs when warm air moves over the snow pack. You can see the fog condensing on the bare tree branches and dripping off.

Crocuses on the Crocus Bank at the old house.
Read the story of the
Crocus Bank.

Plum colored hellebores and passalong daffodils in the Juneberry bed at the old house. Photo by Kathy Purdy
The daffodils were growing on my neighbor’s property when she moved in. I dug them up for her and we divided them between us. The hellebore was an unnamed seedling from Seneca Hill Perennials.

This plum colored hellebore came from Seneca Hill Perennials as an unnamed seedling. Photo by Kathy Purdy

Siberian squills look lovely against a low stone wall. Photo by Arlan Purdy April 2002

Chickens roosting for the night.
We have raised chickens for over twenty years. We let them out of their yard to scratch because the grass isn’t green yet and they have cabin fever, too. Or should I say coop fever?

Lovely Siberian squills
These self-sow along the stone wall. Did you notice they have blue anthers?

Spring truly begins with the greening of the grass.
The grass doesn’t turn green until the soil has thawed.

I just love this photo.

Crocus vernus ‘Striped Beauty’

Puschkinia scilloides, the striped squill

Erythronium americanum, trout lily or dogtooth violet

Violet, possibly Viola sororia
Looking forward to seeing so many of these blooms soon as spring has come.
Love te double bloodroot! I have not seen that before. I will have to go looking for it this year!
So many beautiful photos. I especially love the crocus bank and the cornelian cherry, a shrub I wish I had. Spicebush is another nice alternative to forsythia, though much more understated.
If spicebush is Lindera benzoin, I just planted one last year. I’m looking forward to seeing it bloom this year!
I also really admire the double bloodroot – we have a lot of wild ones growing here and there in the woods, but they are all single. You photos are making me homesick for spring, which apparently has business elsewhere this year…
Love your long shot images, Kathy. And I do enjoy the transition from Winter to Spring as the grass begins to green.
Such wonderful shots, Kathy. Kudos to all of the photographers. I love seeing your spring blooms and hearing their history.
Love your spring photos, especially the double bloodroot. It is really beautiful.
Ooooh, love that double bloodroot! I’ll have to put that on my wish list. The other photos are lovely as well. Enjoy your spring!