The Grounded Gardener: Grab a jacket to see beauty that muscles through the chill

Unseasonably cold weather kept early spring from being enjoyed as it should. However, the weather has done little to dampen our garden spirits. There's still plenty to enjoy at the midpoint of the season, both in our own planting areas and in nearby gardens open to the public.

We can enjoy both woodland landscapes and the open ground of meadows and slopes. At The Chase Garden in Orting, both are on view.

The Chase Garden, the loving creation of Emmott and Ione Chase over 40 years, holds an incredible educational opportunity, as well as a great garden stroll. If you are lucky, you'll be there on a clear day, when you can round the house and see Mount Rainier looming large on the far side of the valley.

Even if the mountain isn't "out," your visit will be worth it. And remember, at The Chase and on other garden visits, it's always a good idea to have pen and paper handy to jot down particular plants or combinations you'd like to try.

At this time of year -- regardless, it seems, of the weather -- the open ground is covered with thrift (Armeria maritima) or the more compact Armeria juniperifolia (also listed as A. caespitosa), variegated thyme and other sun-lovers. And in more protected areas, mature mountain laurels (Kalmia) and pure white doublefile viburnum (Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum) flower with abandon.

Loads of natives are used -- fairy bells (Disporum), bunchberry (Cornus Canadensis) and fringecup (Tellima grandiflora), suited to both natural areas and our shady gardens.

These are accented by other ornamentals that suit the setting. Small-growing conifers, such as the bird's nest spruce (Picea abies 'Nidiformis') and the New Zealand native Podocarpus nivalis, provide interest throughout the year, and a good backdrop to spring ephemerals, including Welsh poppies (Meconopsis cambrica) and the blue flowers of Ajuga.

The early spring chill may have delayed some of the woodland flowers at the Dunn Gardens in North Seattle, but that just made it possible for the first visitors in April to catch drifts of the yellow dogtooth violet (not really a violet, but a bulb, Erythronium; it comes with a variety of colorful common names, including trout lily and fawn lily).

Dunn Gardens, originally the home of the Dunn family, with a landscape planned by the Olmsted brothers in 1916, is full of treats at any time of year, but it's particularly spectacular in spring, when the old, formidable bones of the garden are accented by flowering beauties.

Here, too, our native woodland flowers combine with other ornamentals to offer a visual and often fragrant treat. Notice the vanilla leaf (Achyls triphylla) and trillium, with shades of blue from lungwort (Pulmonaria) and navelwort (Omphalodes), and you'll soon be scurrying to local sales to find similar plants.

The late-winter-blooming hellebores (Helleborus x hybridus) continue well into April, perhaps helped this year by the chilly start to spring. They can be seen at the Dunn Gardens in white and shades of purple, from almost black to pale lavender. The flowers nod, so it isn't unusual for gardeners to snip the blooms and float them in a shallow dish of water -- the better to admire their delicate beauty.

With the cold weather behind us, now it's time to enjoy what we hope will be more typical spring weather and typically glorious spring gardens.

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SPRING VENUES

Dunn Gardens -- Situated in a quiet Northwest Seattle neighborhood, near the city limits. The garden is open by appointment for docent-led tours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from April through October, except August. Entrance fee $10, $6 for seniors and students. dunngardens.org; 206-362-0933

The Chase Garden -- 16015 264th St. E., Orting. Open Friday and Saturday, April through October, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; entrance fee $5. Groups can schedule tours at other times (group entrance fee $4 per person) and guided tours available the fourth Saturday of each open month. chasegarden.org, 206-242-4040. The Garden Conservancy will hold its Open Days June 8, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., at the garden. gardenconservancy.org

Bellevue Botanical Garden -- A city park just east of downtown Bellevue, made up of various displays that are interesting in any season. Check out the native walk, the Northwest Perennial Alliance Borders, the Japanese garden and the groundcover garden. Free; 12001 Main St., Bellevue; bellevuebotanical.org; 425-452-2750

Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden -- Open every day, the garden is at 13735 24th Ave. S., SeaTac. It's made up of several displays, including the Paradise Garden, which has a large recirculating water feature, plus rose, daylily and Japanese gardens. Free; highlinegarden.org; 206-391-4003.