Havenwood April Garden Tour

Tulips, Fritillaria, Narcissus, and Pear Blossom this month

Fritillaria meleagris, pink Primula and Narcissus in the Spring Bed at Havenwood this week.

“I shall learn the spring by heart…”
🌿 Elizabeth Goudge, The Scent of Water

Welcome for a walk around the garden for April!

I am Julie, and my one-acre garden is in northwestern Pennsylvania, zone 5/6, and we have been gardening here for ten years. The garden is at a full sprint right now with things changing moment by moment. So much to do, but even more to see. It makes wish for more hours to soak it in, learn every tune and every hue.

Ten spots: ready or not, here we come

There is so much going on right now in the garden that I cannot possibly post it all, so thought that instead I would give myself the challenge of choosing one photo of each area for a quick tour around the garden today. One is above (the Spring Bed) and ten more garden areas will be below. I will link each garden room to its more detailed post at the bottom if you would like to read more about how we made them!

Entry Garden

Anemone blanda ‘Blue Shades’ opened with the sun rise this morning, and you can just see the front of the Daffodil Dell behind.

Daffodil Dell

I will be writing a feature on the Daffodil Dell soon, but this photo gives you an idea of the number of flowers we have in here right now. It is astonishing after ten years of collecting to have such a golden parade. This is Narcissus poeticus.

Hellebore Hill

Hellebore Hill was glowing in the sunrise with all of the older Helleborus orientalis varieties in purples and white.

Moss Walk

The Bluets (Houstonia caerulea) in the moss are just getting going this week. There is a nice carpet here so more to come!

The Cottage Garden

I am breaking my rule for the Cottage Garden, as I cannot leave out the colors that compliment the Euphorbias I wrote about last week. Pink tulips of many types are mixed with white Narcissus 'Thalia' and dark Fritillaria persica has settled in nicely for me in the past few years.

The Birch Walk

Narcissus 'Thalia' is also in the Birch Walk, along with many white flowers this month, including Leucojum 'Gravetye Giant'

The Hot Border and Parterre

For my third transgression (I am no good at limits on spring flowers apparently), there are a mix of reds, oranges and yellow tulips in the Hot Border, but the blue Muscari latifolium is a nice foil, along with the Bronze Fennel. You get the best blend of all these colors when looking at the red unfurling leaves of the Japanese Acer.

The Fruit Tunnel

Pear blossom and daffodils - pure and simple

The Pond and Bogs

Marsh marigolds, budding Japanese Primula and golden sedge in the bog this morning. What a great combo with our new potting shed color! Looking forward to seeing how the vibrant blue sets off the plants this year on all sides.

Thanks for joining me for a quick April walk around Havenwood!

We are busy this week getting ready for two college groups coming here - a college ministry for a space of quiet contemplation and an Environmental Ethics class for their end-of-semester garden tour. I just planted all of my special plant babies from my winter orders, and have sown the seeds for the early spring garden. I am also contemplating putting in my dahlias in the raised beds this week as the temps quite warm! We have had hail and driving rain for days in the past couple of weeks, but the frosts have held off. We have topped off our soggy paths with more gravel after the rains, and it seems like all is ready for a crowd of visitors.

Thanks to Carol for instigating this tour with her GBBD!

More about the Garden Rooms at Havenwood:

• The Cottage Garden

• The Birch Walk

• The Fruit Tunnel

• The Garden Pond & Bogs

• St Francis Garden

• Iris Bed

• Beginning Havenwood

• The Long Border

Also, see Euphorbia Euphoria if you need a good perennial to pump up your bulb displays this spring.

What is blooming in your garden this month? Love to hear!