It has been so warm and rainy, this March and April saw an explosion of color in our front flower beds.

Front Flower bed

The snapdragons- which are supposed to be annuals according to Home Depot- have survived another winter and are HUGE!

Lovely Pink Explosion Snapdragon

For a couple of weeks, the pink snapdragons were just bushes of color.  I loved it!  If they act like they did last year, they will rebloom again later in the summer, and again in the fall.

Giant Blooming Snapdragon

I have a couple different pinks, and a few dark reds.  The dark reds are going crazy right now, now that the pinks have dialed it back.  Over Easter weekend, I planted a bunch more snapdragons in the beds in the hopes that within a few years, they will be just as big as these.  I’m not exactly sure what I did to make the snapdragons stay alive and get so big- but I hope I keep doing it!

Columbine

In the center front flower bed, I also planted a Columbine.  I think it’s really beautiful, and should hopefully grow to be about 2 to 3 feet tall.  Although right now, it is sort of hidden by the mass of primrose.

I also have a foxglove that has come back again for the third year, and it is just as tall and lovely as last year.

Foxglove 2012

One subtle difference I noticed this year-  the flowers are a creamy, pale yellow and not lavender!

Foxglove Detail 2012

For a comparison, here is last year’s foxglove:

Foxglove 2011

Does anyone know what would cause this?  I did a quick search but did not come up with any answers.

One other flowers that has been doing very well in the front is the sweet william:

Sweet William

It never really stopped blooming over the winter, but it looked very meek compared to the number of blooms now.  It looks a little messy in the bed right now, but there are very few weeds in there.  Most of the weedy looking greenery is the primrose.  I pulled a bunch of the primrose out this year, to make room for the columbine and to try to make it look a little neater.  It is a very aggresive plant!

In the back, the daylillies I transplanted, along with a salvia I planted are doing OK.  They are not looking great, and I’m a little worried about them.  I think my soil might be too heavily compacted clay.  But, the bee balm next to the house is coming back well.

Emerging Bee Balm

I love looking at all the color — and this fall I think I’m going to start doing some serious planting in the backyard meadow so that I will have some more interest out there.  Gotta keep those bees happy!

Linking up to these parties:  Centsational Girl,  Fishtail Cottage Garden Party