More April Flowers

The middle of April is beautiful in Athens. Most days it's sunny, and warm enough for shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops but not so hot you need to close the windows and turn on the A/C. The flowering trees and shrubs--especially the azaleas--are spectacular.

Many locals consider planting the lowly azalea to be a waste of valuable garden space. Not me. I think azaleas are the most gorgeous shrub on the planet and add a few more every year. In this picture are four different varieties in bloom with candytuft--a shrubby, white-flowering groundcover. As always, click on any picture for a larger version.

If azaleas are the most beautiful shrub in town, then clematis is the queen of the climbing vines. I started out with six named varieties years ago, and was amazed when they produced seedlings all over the garden. Here several different varieties climb a dogwood trunk behind a large grouping of bright pink Rutherford azaleas.

Another favorite shrub, Kolkwitzia amabilis (Beauty Bush) is covered with fragrant pink bell-shaped flowers. The Knock-out roses next to it are just starting to bloom. I added some red verbena a few weeks ago. You can see the Rutherford azaleas in the distant background.

I planted California Poppies in the garden several years ago. They must like cold winters because this year they came up everywhere. They're just starting to bloom and a tad hard to photograph since the flowers only open on sunny days.

And that's what's happening in my garden this week. Enjoy!