This post is for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, the one day each month where bloggers all share about our favorite flowers, the ones in bloom, that is. Carol Michel hosts this day each month from her May Dreams garden blog.
Two posts in one week! What am I thinking? It’s like the good ‘ole blogging days! Earlier I wrote that spring is here in all its glory.
‘Orange Rocket’ barberry in my lower beds. Yes, it is this bright in spring especially in cooler weather. No, it’s never escaped from my garden. 
Tiny blooms on ‘Orange Rocket’ barberry would usually be buzzing with bees, but it’s too cold and wet today.
In Oklahoma, Bloom Day is always all about the weather.
Maybe the same holds true for where you live too. We have rainy and cool weather this entire week in Oklahoma. Some parts of the state may even see a freeze, but in my garden, the low will probably hit 38°F at the end of the week. It all depends on whether the skies stay cloudy or clear off.
Bring on the blooms!
Many of the usual floral suspects are in bloom this April 15th. The daffodils have mostly come and gone. They didn’t like the warm and windy weather last week. Tulipa ‘Green Wave’ is still flowering. The cooler weather helped lengthen its time in the garden. After ‘Green Wave’ finishes, I’ll pull up the bulbs and throw them on the compost pile. I can hear you groaning. but honestly, ‘Green Wave’ won’t return looking the same next year if it returns at all. Modern tulips aren’t hybridized to be long-term perennials.
Packera obovata in one of the beds in the lower garden. To see how it fits into the landscape, look at the photo at the top of this post. 
Packera obovata, formerly Senecio obovatus, round-leaved ragwort, is quite aggressive as a native, but it’s also easy to pull out or move.
Ground covers
In the lower back garden, the one fenced with split-rail, Packera obovata, formerly Senecio obovatus, always flowers in April. Although it’s a pretty aggressive plant, round-leaved ragwort is native to much of the southeastern U.S. including parts of Oklahoma. P. obovata makes a nice ground cover for sunny areas. Plus, pollinators like it. It’s also easy to move or remove as you wish.
Ajuga reptans ‘Chocolate Chip’ and ‘Black Scallop.’ 
My variegated ajuga that no longer is. It still blooms fine so I don’t really care. In the center of it is a crapemyrtle I chopped to the ground. It will come back.
Another ground cover I often recommend for Oklahoma gardeners is Ajuga reptans ‘Chocolate Chip’ and ‘Black Scallop.’ I like ‘Black Scallop’s wider and darker leaves best. You can also find one of the variegated forms locally, but it constantly tries to revert to the darker form in my garden so I’ve given up on it. Also, there is ‘Bronze Beauty,‘ but I’m not into it–just a personal preference. Bugleweed will bloom for several weeks, and the wood bees will be so glad. I saw a queen gathering nectar yesterday, and her boyfriend tried to chase me off. Silly boyfriend.
Geum ‘Tequilia Sunrise’ 
Geum ‘Tequlia Sunrise’ with ‘Green Wave’ tulips.
Geum ‘Tequila Sunrise’ continues its floral display. It loves this weather.
Flowering shrubs and trees
Southern blackhaw flowers with a honey bee. 
Viburnum rufidulum, southern-blackhaw or rusty blackhaw against my lower garden’s split-rail fence. 
V. rufidulum bloom close up 
My southern blackhaw in the lower garden is very happy there. Can you see Toonces sneaking around too?
Several shrubs and trees are flowering for Bloom Day.
Southern or Rusty blackhaw
One of the most prominent and important to the pollinators including my honey bees is Viburnum rufidulum, southern blackhaw, or rusty blackhaw. My tree is now quite large and happy in the northeast corner of the garden. It is near the beehives, and I find honey bees, hoverflies, and other pollinators on it when it’s blooming. I say the tree is happy because it is now suckering. I keep digging these up and placing them elsewhere. Now that I have it in my garden, I’ve also found two shrubs in the woods up by the barn. It is the host plant for Spring Azure butterflies, and its drupes (fruits) are eaten by birds. You need two shrubs to eventually have fruit. When I planted them, I wrote more about this shrub and other native shrubs to replace roses.
Amelanchier × grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance’ in her closeup. 
‘Autumn Brilliance’ serviceberry will one day be a medium to large tree. 
A. × grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance
‘Autumn Brilliance’ serviceberry
The ‘Autumn Brilliance’ serviceberry I planted only last week is in flower and now on sale, and what pretty flowers they are! It has been raining profusely so you’ll have to take my word for it. It’s hard to believe one day that this tree will grow to 25′ feet tall and wide. Right now, it looks lost in the common violets. Yes, the violets are blooming, and yes, I love them. I consider them a good ground cover beneath the trees where grass refuses to grow. Yes, they are also spreaders. I just deal with them the best I can in the paths.
More about serviceberries on our podcast.
Carol and I spent a lot of time on the Gardenangelists podcast talking about serviceberries if you want to learn more.
What else is blooming?
Plants for shade
A lot of sweet spring things are blooming right now. In shady spots, we have hellebores, epimediums, variegated Solomon’s seal, lily of the valley, and woodland phlox.
Polygonatum falcatum ‘Variegatum,’ variegated Solomon’s seal is a bee magnet in spring. It turns a lovely yellow in fall too. 
More hellebores. The ones that are faded have been pollinated. Soon, they will spread seed everywhere. I usually edit out most of their progeny, but not always. 
Hellebores nearly at the end of their bloom time. In front of them is Phlox paniculata. 
Convallaria majalis, lily of the valley. I finally got some to plant around the shady parts of the garden, and so far, so good. 
Epimedium ‘Pink Champagne’ with tough, leathery hostas, a golden-twigged dogwood in the back, purple heucheras, and hellebores. I love, love, love the little epimediums.
Plants for sun
In sunnier sections of the garden, it’s all about the remaining daffodils. Most of the ones flowering now are the smaller types. Woodland phlox has also spread to sunnier sections because it was once shaded by crapemyrtles. We will see how it does this summer in full sun. Also, Amsonia tabernaemontana ‘Blue Ice’ is in bloom. A. hubrichtii, which has more delicate foliage will bloom a bit later. I love them both.
Narcissus x medioluteus Twin Sisters daffodil is a late bloomer. 
Amsonia tabernaemontana ‘Blue Ice,’ a cultivar of the native. 
Amsonia tabernaemontana ‘Blue Ice’ up close.
If you’d like to know what to plant in April, I’ve got you covered there too. This is my wrap-up of my April Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day collection. I’ll float around the internet and see everyone else’s contributions. To find other bloggers head over to Carol Michel’s website. She’ll have a list.
Interesting flowers for your April weather. Very lovely.
Thank you Yvonne. ~~Dee
I planted a serviceberry because it met all my parameters, deer-resistant, tolerates black walnut, not fussy about soil type. After 3 years of pouting, it gave up. I’ll be watching to see what further re-habbing you do after your damaging winter.
Patricia, I wonder why it was so unhappy. I often wonder these things in my garden too. Maybe it needed a different spot with a bit more sun and less competition from roots. Who knows? Thank you for stopping by. It will be an interesting gardening year. ~~Dee
I love your posts! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and lovely garden vistas.
Thank you Maribeth! It means so much to me that you visit and comment. Makes my day!~~Dee
All beautiful, but the ‘Green Wave’ Tulips are absolutely magnificent!
Have a wonderful day!
Lea, those ‘Green Wave’ tulips have been a true joy all spring. I think they’re still blooming this morning because the weather is cool and rainy.~~Dee
Glorious garden. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for stopping by. It means so much to me.~~Dee
This is the year I really must get geum. I say it a lot, but this time I mean it!
Lisa, it’s a pretty easy and forgiving plant. You should buy one or three. I wish I had more. ~~Dee
Just visited Carol’s blog and linked for the first time..thanks for sharing. Love all your blooms. I’ve been thinking about planting a multi-trunked service berry if I can find a good price on a larger one. Your collection of plants is so amazing and all the colors in your garden are happy. I’m branching out and trying some new perennials this year! Thanks for all the information!
Hi Sonia, I’m so glad you linked up. I hardly ever meet a plant I don’t like. This can sometimes be unfortunate because it is hard to string so many plants together and make something that looks even slightly cohesive. I’ll come over and visit your blog this morning. Happy Saturday!~~Dee