One of my favorite shrubs is about to burst into bloom...the backyard daphne...
It's especially nice this year as the one I have in the front yard has become a vole victim. The cats have dispatched the vole...but, I'm guessing it feasted on the front yard one for a few weeks while we had all that snow....shoot, and that one was planted with vole block. At any rate, I'll enjoy this one....nothing like the fragrance...Daphne Aureomarginata....
Daphne Alden's Regal Red will also be blooming soon...unfortunately, it suffered a split in the center of the shrub (heavy snow)...however, it won't be fatal, just will disfigure the shrub.
While we're thinking fragrant shrubs...
...my last witch hazel is blooming. It's the only one I have after last fall's shrub purge...it's nicely fragrant.
The ever faithful Viburnum Pink Dawn is just getting going as well....
Yesterday the first two blooms of an iris reticulata opened...today, a few more...
Even more blooms today on crocus Lilac Beauty...
When I took this one, I was doing so to mark another little patch of crocus starting up....neat, though, to see the little pollinator...
In another area, this crocus seems to have migrated a bit, but I like its placement...
Nearly hidden away by the front steps and under the mushrooms, this hardy cyclamen is blooming...
and, of course, a couple more snowdrops...
Viridapice
and a double, Nivalis Flore Pleno...just starting to unfurl...
Still no daffodils....rain expected for the next couple of days....maybe next time I'll have some daffs...at last...to show.
I'm just guessing as I don't know frogs...after a search for frogs in Virginia...I'm thinking this one is a Southern Leopard Frog as there isn't any water nearby and I saw him on the driveway under the garage light...
