“April is the cruelest month.” – T.S. Elliott

“April is the kindest month. April gets you out of your head and out working in the garden.” – Marty Rubin

So which is it? It probably depends on who you ask and where you are.

April started with deadly tornadoes in the United States. We welcome spring, but with its beauty comes beastly weather conditions. However, any month has its hazards. March was pretty horrendous too. So, we help where we can and grieve what we must, but let’s enjoy the splendor we find around us.

In my little world, within the bounds of our wooden fence, the continuous rotation of blooming things is my respite.

I always enjoy the appearance of the late Frosted Orange azaleas . (Top photo) After all the other big azaleas have quit blooming, these medium shrubs bring fresh, new color to various places around the garden.

I just bought these two nameless miniature roses and might go back and buy a couple more. I’m thinking the yellow and coral colors will look pretty, tucked in somewhere near those orange/white azaleas. What do you think?

And the pink Knockout rose bush in the middle of the backyard is absolutely full of blooms. Can you spot the red sports on this plant? They didn’t show up last year, so I thought I’d pruned them away. But here they are again.

And speaking of pink, the weedy oxalis is blooming now. (Those are hydrangea leaves in the background.) Try as I might to get rid of it or at least control it, this stuff is proliferating madly. It’s a member of the wood sorrel family and, supposedly, has some medicinal properties. When I was a kid, I used to chew the stems and enjoy the sour taste. So even though those little pink flowers are cute, I don’t want them all over the yard. It made me feel a little better when I saw them in the beds at Bellingrath Gardens. They either want them or can’t get rid of them either.

I’m really excited about these two Louisiana irises. The purple is Rocky Hunt, and the white is Waihi Wedding. I planted them two years ago, but they didn’t bloom much last year. They look much healthier now and are blooming beautifully.

Finally, one of my daylilies offered up its first bloom of the year. I think it might be Happy Returns or Stella de Oro. It seems a bit early, but a welcome sight.

I choose to go with Marty Ruben’s quote (above) about April. I plan to get my hands in the dirt a bit more this month and try to have the garden in better shape by glorious May.

God’s blessings be upon you!