It is Spring!

A few more whites:


Very luscious, a fragrant white azalea...and below, a white columbine that readily reseeds itself around....


...a close up of the clematis, Guernsey Cream, that was pictured the other day on the fence by the gate...



A Granny's Bonnet columbine that has been reseeding in the backyard for the last few years...


I get these interesting chartreuse seedlings, which I think are probably from mixing the variegated ones...


Here's one of the variegated ones and next to it, one that has mixed with a plain green one...I fear I'll lose the variegation soon....however, it is nigh impossible to keep the columbines from...ahem...mixing with each other....


This is probably the most reliable of the alliums, Purple Sensation, overlooking my neighbors' yard...


...because they're neat to look at and photograph.....



The lungwort has been especially nice...




Just a bit of the daily pleasures around here....

Daffodils and More Daffodils

It's been a good season for daffodils. I'm going to relax and enjoy these pictures tonight as I spent today digging out a nefarious weed that has been plaguing a shade bed in my backyard for a few years. It was quite a task...thorny thing with roots like a tree, a tree that is intent on colonizing. Unfortunately, it appears to be coming under my fence...I fear the battle will be ongoing.

I did remove two hostas and potted them up for relocation elsewhere. They had to come out in order to attack the infamous weed. I'm debating removing the few other hostas that survive there. It's a shame, because it is a nice shady spot where the soil is improving.

Anyway, on to more pleasant things...

Carole Lombard...


Alto....


Green Pearl...


Cape Point...


Green Goose...


American Heritage...


Dreamlight...


Jake...


Notre Dame...


Twin Sisters (two pictures)...



Ticonderoga...


Satin Blanc...


Savoir Faire...


Yellow Cheerfulness...


Sidley (two pictures)...



Cacatua...(early and then later, as it pinks up...)



Geranium...


Tripartite...


Had enough? ...for now...(*big smile*)

I'm Thinking White...

Clematis Armandii...soooo fragrant...actually makes weeding in the backyard pleasant...

Looking at it down...


....and up....(say hello to Kobe, above left, as he shares the view...)


...my deck stairs

....snowy in color, white creeping phlox....


This is a new-to-here clematis, Taki...


Growing near the new(er) gate, this is Clematis 'Guernsey Cream'


Delaware Valley Azaleas...


No longer at peak bloom, but still looking good, Bridal Wreath Spirea....


Each little flower is intricate....too bad I didn't take this picture a few days earlier...


Let's see...I think there are daffodil pictures coming up next....

Appropriate for the Day....Happy Easter

A Long Wait....

...for my Tree Peony to bloom...


...it's been at least four or maybe even five years....it's a pretty pale pink...BUT...it is not the one I ordered...sigh....which was a red/white variegated one.... I suppose you could say that I got what I paid for...as the source (not a tree peony or even peony specialist) sent a small start...and given my experience with lily bulbs (lilium) from them (not what I ordered), I should have known better....

However, hope springs eternal. I guess I thought I would hit the jackpot and be lucky. Let me just say that with the time involved, perhaps luck is not good enough...and, maybe just maybe, I will finally learn my lesson. Order from reliable sources!

Still....it is pretty and has four buds for its debut (it's just not red and white!)...



*****
Just because....here is the tiny Baby Moon daffodil that I just picked....



You can see the rain on it....it occurred to me that some perspective might help, so the next one has a pencil in it...interesting color (I just grabbed one)...

Spring....continuing...

Ipheon Uniflorum 'Rolf Fiedler'


...such a great color of blue...which I...still...haven't captured here...

Last night, I experienced a sweet little fragrance, but couldn't quite figure out where it was coming from. The daphne near there is pretty much done, as are the viburnums...not the fragrant azalea...the mock orange is about to burst open, but not just yet....so, what?


Yes, from about six to ten feet away...it was the tiny Baby Moon daffodils. I guess this year, there are finally enough of them to make a statement. So, if you should add these, order plenty...you'll want to enjoy their fragrance sooner.

Baby Moon daffodils are my marker for the late daffodils. Once they bloom, I know it is the beginning of the end. Well, it is getting toward late April....those still going will carry us to the end of the month for about two months of bloom, I'd say.

In recent years, I have begun to collect some of the mini hostas. Very sweet and tiny, they lend a nice touch to special areas. Mine are adjusting to living with shade from daylilies as the giant tree that used to shade them is now gone. They're coming up now and I'm pleased to say there were no losses this year.

My very first one a few years ago was this one, Green Eyes...


Some of them...perhaps this one...would make nice border plants in the right place.

Here's one called Cherish...


One in the Mouse series, Holy Mouse Ears.


Country Mouse...


Masquerade...


Cat and Mouse...


Cute name, Cookie Crumbs....


Elsley....


Just in case you were curious, the new daylilies are beginning to arrive....


Creeping Phlox with crabapple blooms...