Get ready to throw your hands in the air and feel the thrill of spring! 

It’s funny. I walk around The Garden at Newfields, and I am struck by how much it has changed since writing this update last week. In my very humble opinion, I think we’re coasting into our first week of peak blooms. If I were to suggest to my family and friends when the best time to see Spring Blooms presented by Wild Bird Unlimited is, it would be in the next 10-14 days. However, I can’t predict the weather, so don’t fuss at me if I’ve gotten a little too excited about all of the bright blooms out there. 

Wallflowers (Erysimum ‘Sugar Rush Yellow’ & Erysimum Brightside™ Fuchsia Glow) waiting to be planted at Garden Terrace. 

The horticulture team is in the home stretch of planting annuals. Pansies, wallflower (Erysimum), ranunculus, and even petunias are tucked in among the bulbs and will dazzle us now through the end of season. Especially when we’re having a spring that trends early, like I believe this one will, the annuals hold down the fort in the weeks leading up to Mother’s Day weekend.

Cheery containers on Lilly Terrace.  

The tulips are in my favorite stage right now. Patty Schneider described them this morning as Easter eggs. And there are some areas of The Garden that truly do look like someone tossed those malted robins’ eggs everywhere as they danced through the winding paths. You can’t walk through a single garden space at the moment without seeing some kind of cheerful colorway. I noticed a lot of yellow and mauvey purples out there this week–a lovely combination indeed. 

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) 

Our native plants are starting to put on their own song and dance. Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are up and blooming. They are starting a purple-pink and will develop into an icy blue. The haze of eastern redbud flowers (Cercis canadensis) is also beginning to brighten up the landscape with their vast array of purple, pink, and white adorned branches. I even spotted a few Trillium as I wandered. 

An interesting, diverse mixture of bulbs near the bench in the Horticulture Society Overlook Garden. 

I could go on and on telling you how magical these moments are, but I’m going to be cliché and remind everyone that even though a picture is worth one thousand words, seeing it in person can’t be replicated. Set your feet down a garden path and explore for yourself. 

Until Next Week, 

Jaime Frye