Mount Auburn is painted in shades of yellow, pink, white and lilac thanks to the daffodils, forsythia, magnolias, and redbuds now blooming.  For many, though, it is the April flowering of Mount Auburn’s 20+ varieites of ornamental cherries that truly signal spring’s arrival.

Here is some of what you’ll find in bloom in April:

Early April
early Cherries
Cornelian Cherry Dogwood
Forsythia
Japanese Pieris
Korean Azalea
eary Magnolias
early Viburnums

Mid-April
Daffodils
Honeysuckles
Magnolias
Oregon Grapeholly
Red Maple

Late April
Callery Pears
Cherries
Downy Hawthorn
Redbud
early Rhododendrons
Shadblow
Tulips

*Please remember that nature is unpredictable and that this blooming schedule is only a guide. A late spring can delay blooming by as much as two weeks. Depending on location within the Cemetery, some plants of the same varieity may bloom up to several weeks apart.

Horticulture Highlights: April

• 
  American elm, Ulmus americana
  Each April, we continue to count on one reliable phenological sign of New England’s spring: the American elm flowers, collectively tinting winter’s former stark canopies a light, purplish/red color. Continue reading →
• 
  Corneliancherry Dogwood, Cornus mas
  This lesser known species of dogwood produces yellow blooms in early spring. Continue reading →
• 
  Eastern Redbud, Cercis canadensis
  One of our native, small trees possessing memorable, even spectacular, early spring color is the Cercis canadensis, Eastern Redbud. Continue reading →
• 
  Forsythia
  …I begin to think about the long chronicle of forsythiahow these same flowers have blazedthrough the centuries,roused from the ground by the churning spring… Billy Collins Forsythia is primarily an Asian genus, and has been cultivated in Chinese landscapes since at least the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD). Of the eleven generally accepted species, ten are … Continue reading →
• 
  Red Maple, Acer rubrum
  Signs of spring’s figurative and literal revival are the early flowers found on our native Red Maple, Acer rubrum. While some, but certainly not all, of these trees, may have glorious red fall foliage, it is more probable that the common name relies on the annual occurrence of dense clusters of the small, red, flowers, appearing before the leaves. Continue reading →
• 
  Serviceberry, Amelanchier
  …’Tis a month before the month of May,And the Spring comes slowly up this way… Samuel Taylor Coleridge After our notable winter, countless people are awaiting proof that spring will arrive again. One native, arboreal accent appearing in the April landscape will be the white flowers of Amelanchier sp., commonly known as serviceberry or shadblow, … Continue reading →
• 
  Siberian Squill, Scilla siberica
  One of the most impatient of springtime plants at Mount Auburn is Scilla siberica, Siberian squill. Its brilliant azure-blue flowers are one of our most striking springtime sights. Continue reading →
• 
  The Flowering Bulbs of Spring
  Early spring bulbs are one of the first reliable signs of spring at Mount Auburn. Look for snowdrops, striped squill, and crocus, among others. Continue reading →