You gotta be quick

Some flowers, whether on trees, shrubs, or standing on their own, don't last long. It is easy to miss the peak display while waiting for them to peak. Since this spring feels compressed, there is something new almost every day.

I was hoping the chives would bloom along with something else in the same bed, but the daffodils are too early and the daylilies too late. I see these when I look out my kitchen window, and they still cheer me.

Since this is the first year for the Prairie Fire crabapple and it still looks mostly like a stick, I'm not sure how long the blossoms will last. The Perfect Purple crab in the front yard is done, so I'm enjoying these while they last.

Since the prairie smoke are in the bed on the south side of the house, an area I don't visit very often, it is easy to forget them. I would like to line the front of the bed with these, but I'm afraid the more aggressive plants will overwhelm them.

We are still spreading wood chips. I still have gobs of plants to go into the ground. Before I can transplant, though, I have to weed and prep the beds. It looks like the butterfly bush did not survive being moved, but it didn't look all that great to begin with. If it is defunct, I think I will not replace it.

Are you keeping up this spring?

Redbud season!

Redbuds are one of my all-time favorites. They are forever linked to the first house I owned, the birth of my children (both May babies), and of course to spring. This is a spectacular year for them.

Fat bees were buzzing among the blossoms. I tried to get a pic of one, but it looks like all I captured was the blur of its wing.

After waiting for eons for spring to get here, now I can't keep up with the shrubs and trees. Each day something new is blossoming, including the North Star cherry. Out of four trees, one is blooming, one is dead, and the other two are biding their time.

Earlier today I noticed the purple-leaf sand cherry starting to bloom. By this evening, it was going full blast. Since I am going to be busy tomorrow, I didn't want to miss its glory.

It starts to leaf out while blooming, so the the delicate pink flowers are accented by the deep purple leaves. Yum!

The hosta bed has survived trampling by Clio the Big Foot, as has my old-fashioned bleeding heart. Some of the coral bells are questionable. Damn dog.

Pink seems to be the theme of this post!

And more pink! The prairie smoke is blooming (but not smoking yet). While visiting my local native plant nursery today, I asked if they had more. Not this year. Apparently, they are difficult to start.

Besides the flowering plants, other denizens of the yard are showing signs of life. The Prairie Fire crabapple that looked like a three-foot long stick when I planted it is sprouting leaves. Yes!

The 'Limelight' hydrangea is beginning to leaf out, but the true purpose of this pic is to demonstrate that sometimes things go according to plan. I'm talking about all that gout weed underneath the hydrangea. The plan called for it to fill in that area but NOT spread to other areas. We'll see how well that second part works out. BTW, the green plants among the gout weed that are not weeds are volunteer columbine. Not according to plan but I'll take it.

I've been actively discouraging the three forsythia bushes in my yard. Last spring's whack job was enough to prevent blooming this year, but I'm discovering I kind of like this dwarf version. Too bad it won't stay small.

For the record, I purchased a flat of alyssum today, 'Snow Crystals'. Some has already found its way into the big pots. I also transplanted the butterfly bush to where the azalea was. And I spot treated dandelions in the front yard. The trellises I purchased last year for the clematis are securely in place, just in the nick of time. I expect the following weeks to be split between planting seedlings and weeding. And eating asparagus!