What's Blooming: April 2023

Here are some of the plants you will find in bloom this month at the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden.

walking iris

Planted in 1961, this Iris japonica has bloomed in front of Elizabeth Lawrence’s house nearly every spring since.

striped violet

Elizabeth Lawrence brought this Viola striata from an old family cemetery in Georgia.

dogwood

Cornus florida seedlings came up in front of the house in 2014. They took five years to bloom for the first time; they will only get better with age!

Japanese roof iris

A piece of Elizabeth Lawrence’s original Iris tectorum '‘Album’ was recently restored to its original location—along the terrace path.

poet's daffodil

Narcissus poeticus var. recurvus was restored to the garden many years ago. It can be shy of blooming, but is the very last daffodil when it does.

garden peony

Paeonia lactiflora “Nancy Duncan” is an as-yet-unidentified variety. Its pale pink semi-double flowers make quite a show in one of the sunny borders.

plum-scented iris

Iris graminea is a delicious delight for the nose as well as the eyes.

barrenwort

An original planting of Epimedium x versicolor ‘Sulphureum’ thrives in front of a low wall near the pool.

hardy terrestrial orchid

A fabulous native orchid, Calanthe discolor provides spring ephemeral interest in the back of the garden along the main path.

azalea

Elizabeth’s original Rhododendron indica ‘Mrs. G. G. Gerbing’ glows in the back of the garden.

wood hyacinth

All through the back of the garden, (what Elizabeth called “the woods”) rivulets of blue Hyacinthoides hispanica provide cool contrast to other spring blooming plants.

bearded iris

Iris germanica ‘Alcazar’, an historic variety, glows along the lower path.

winecolor iris

A newer addition to the iris collection, this native Iris vinicolor was a gift from friend Haley Frey of Queens University fame.

pink lily-of-the-valley

Elizabeth’s original Convallaria majalis var. rosea blooms every spring beneath a cherry laurel. Its beloved perfume seems strongest when the sun warms its flowers.