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Since we’re in the dead of winter with snow covering everything, it’s a good time to think about flowers. I’ve already started receiving seed catalogs, but I’m not sure how much ordering I’m going to do this year. I seem to be on track with my seed saving, so we’ll see.

I wanted to see when all the perennials we have here start blooming. Mainly to see what needs some help from annuals, but also maybe moving something around or adding something.

Blooms by Month (when the flowers first appear):

March
First to bloom every year are the snowdrops.

Next is something I’ve been calling Siberian iris but I think that’s wrong.

And the yellow crocus arrives before …

… the purple crocus.

And then come the species tulips.

Hellebore usually appears around Easter. This stuff spreads everywhere and is tough to pull and get out of places I don’t want it. But it is evergreen, for what that’s worth.

The daffodils also appear around Easter.

April
I’m counting bulbs as perennials too. Here are some daffodils (first to appear).

And tulips (last to appear (in April)).

Not much in April, but don’t worry – May will make up for it.

May
Crabapple tree – one of my favorite, I wish I would last longer. On the plus side, I’ve found several seedlings from it, so in several years I should have multiple trees blooming like this.

Bleeding hearts – both red and white varieties.

Some unknown ground cover-type thing. Nice thick leaves.

Another unknown ground cover-type thing.

Another unknown ground cover-type thing. This one blooms blue but then the blooms fade to purple.

Yet another unknown ground cover-type thing.

Ok, last ground cover for May. This one looks like Lamium.

Allium start appearing.

One of our dogwood trees likes to bloom in May. This is the variety with the fruit you should not eat.

Our chives also bloom in May. Note they are closely related to allium.

Next is columbine.

An unknown flower, this time it’s not a ground cover.

And the oakleaf hydrangea also blooms in May.

I think the honeysuckles just grow wild along the treeline, but I’m counting it.

And the woody peony blooms in May, earlier than the other kind.

And that’s it for May, which seems to be the busiest time for flowers blooming.

June
First up for June is the wisteria. This is the Kentucky version, not the Chinese version.

And then more allium. These are the bigger blooming variety.

Astilbe.

June is when our other dogwood blooms. This is the kind with the edible fruit in the fall.

I call this a low-growing flower, not a ground cover. It’s Siberian bellflower.

And our catmint. Not catnip.

There are a number of clematis around the house. This one is the first to start blooming.

Then the rose bush starts blooming. That keeps blooming until hard frost. The first couple of frosty mornings don’t bother it.

I call this a rock garden flower, not a ground cover. It’s creeping phlox.

Now in June the other peonies (non-woody stems) start to bloom.

We have a smoke tree. All the catalogs I get seem to call this a Pink Smoke Bush, but it’s got to be about 25 feet tall, so I think it’s a tree.

Another rose, this one – the one they call Piñata – is supposed to climb, rather than be just a shrub. It has not progressed very far yet.

These are our little lilies. They stay under 2 feet tall.

And our foxglove.

And some dianthus.

And last for June, baptisia. It’s more of a shrub than a plant. It takes up a lot of room for not much blooming show. I’m thinking of moving this one.

July
I just planted this yarrow the year before. It should get bigger.

This is ajuga reptans. Also planted the year before. I got it more for the foliage color than the blooms, but it does bloom so here it is.

The mallows didn’t do so well this year. I hope they come back. My wife calls these German hollyhocks.

Tickseed. Not sure about this one, as I certainly don’t want to be feeding ticks (nor planting them).

Another clematis

And daisies. These are practically weeds around here.

This is our tall lily. It’s around 4 feet tall, but it’s never that high since it doesn’t stand up straight.

This is the fun garlic. It reminds me of swans. It could also be geese, but I don’t like geese. I suppose it’s not actually blooming in this photo, but to me this is when it’s most picturesque, when the seed heads start curling.

I’ve heard this is called California firecracker. Not sure what it’s doing in Michigan, but it has done well enough.

This is the regular hydrangea.

And now the tall phlox starts blooming.

Blanketflower.

And a purple clematis.

Hardy geranium.

We have normal milkweed that just grows wherever. It’s a weed. But we also have this showy milkweed that I planted specifically. It has much better blooms than standard milkweek.

Coneflower. We have purple and white varieties.

Some purple flowers. Not sure exactly what they are. I could look them up if I wanted, but they’re just filler (not focal points) so I’m not going to bother.

August
Scabiosa. This is the dark flower, mixed in with the showy milkweed I already showed you.

This is a type of aster that I planted earlier that year. I think they didn’t come back the next year, so either they weren’t perennials or my weeding was too aggressive.

I want to like delphinium, as the flowers have a rich hue. But so far they’re not very cooperative. If they come back this year I’ll upgrade their stakes.

September
Not much happened in September, as far as new blooms goes. I think what happened was our September was not cold enough for the fall bloomers to activate.

October
In October the hollyhock finally did something.

The matchstick mums appeared.

The pink flowers also appeared, but I have no idea what they are.

And finally, last of all for the whole year: anemone!

I did not get pictures of the flowering fruit trees, but we have apple and cherry and peach and plum trees that bloom in the spring. Oh, and elderberries too. Probably something else flowering too, but I think that’s enough for one day.

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