Early April Flowers

Spring has arrived early this year!














And so have the spring flowers! These scillas bloom early in the front hosta bed, before the hostas emerge from the ground.














These mini-daffodils have also come up. I think I planted them last year.  They may have survived because of the rocks I put around them... (to keep the squirrels from digging up the bulbs and eating them!)














Two of the three hellebores I planted last year have bloomed. (One of my neighbors said that it took five years for hers to establish themselves and grow into a large mound.) I think they are sometimes called "lenten roses."














 Here is another small flower I planted last year (and surrounded with rocks to keep the squirrels away!) I don't know where I wrote down its name...














 The tulip tarda are also blooming in my back yard near the cedar hedge.














 Also flowering in the back yard is this ivy (a ground cover) that threatens to overtake the north-east corner of my flower bed.


















 The tulips in my front yard are blooming - I sprinkle paprika around them every few days to keep the squirrels from eating them!














 Nearby the snow fountain cherry tree is also in bloom.














 The roving neighborhood rabbits hop through the flowers beds, but I haven't noticed any of them munching on flowers!


















Indoors I'm enjoying the tulips I bought at the Algonquin College Spring Garden Show. I hope they look as lovely next year when they bloom outdoors!

It's amazing to see how many flowers are in bloom by mid-April... compared to April 2011!