April showers bring May flowers

After the fourth-warmest April ever recorded in our area, I thought it best to show everyone the spectacular color that comes with a warm spring. In the last landscape update we shared some pictures of the daffodils in bloom, but the tulips definitely stole the show with thousands of yellow and orange blooms. Though they only lasted a few weeks because of the heat, they were definitely eye-catching! For next April’s grand opening we will most likely plant even more.

The color just keeps coming with magnolias, redbuds, viburnums and, of course, our pansies from last fall. The pansies are now at their peak and will remain until the first week of June, when we will plant our summer annuals. They are being contract grown for us with specific varieties and colors.

Of course, with warm weather comes fast-growing grass and at times it can be very hard to keep up. The grounds crew will be expanding this year as more and more gardens are developed and installed.

It is going to be very exciting the next couple of weeks as the entire bog garden is planted! Some of the plant material has already arrived with several more loads of aquatics and carnivorous plants still to come. It is a tricky time of year to plant, with some cold nights still expected---some of these plants will be a bit tender! The carnivorous plants are to be shipped on Tuesday the 9th and we will start planting as soon as the weather allows. This is going to be a very unique and beautiful garden!

We continue to plant new trees, some of which are huge and give an instant effect. I have lost count of how many we have planted and don’t want to count how many we have left. Hopefully by the time I have to do the next blog update the entire carnivorous bog will be complete!

Thanks again for joining us. We appreciate all of your prayers and support for the museum.