Spring Stars

The yard is really blooming now.  I keep trying to stay ahead of things, but once the spring really takes hold things just move faster than I can keep up with.  In the last few days I pruned the apple trees of the last few sucker branches, bought two new Yews and planted them along the west side of the house, moved the Lilies of the Valley that the Yews displaced out to the creek, planted 12 potatoes in the vegetable garden, fertilized a bunch of stuff, put blood meal on the lilies that something is eating every night, moved a catnip clump from the garden up near the house so Kate and Cleo can find it, cut back a bit more dead foliage, purchased leeks and broccoli starter plants, moved a bunch of plants from the basement up to the deck and the greenhouse.  I'm sure there is more, but I can't remember.

 

The stars of this week are the Darwin Tulips, the Trout Lilies, the one single Primrose that has been blooming for at least 8 or 9 years under the Willow at the beginning of the walkway to the creek.  Also the Pasque flowers that have planted themselves in unexpected places, and the beautiful Daffodils.  I'm also pleased at the progress of the Ligularia that we moved from the area around the old pond out to the first berm.  It is coming up beautifully.  Very early spring seems to be a wonderful time to transplant perennials if you can be sure of where they are.              

The Hardening

Things are starting to "harden" into their summer forms now. Funny how fast that happens. One day it seems so vulnerable and malleable, and the next time I look things seem to have taken on a permanent form for the year to come.

But at the same time, I am just discovering the last of the perrennials as they emerge from the winter sleep. And the spring bulbs are still blooming, though many have gone over in the last week.

Leaves are filling out on many of the trees, though the honey locusts are still pretty bare. The Serviceberry is in full bloom, and the apple trees are starting. The Magnolia is beautiful, but the Japanese maples, including Mom's tree, are still not relaxing into leaf spread.

This is the time of a million shades of green. I drove to the Chicago suburbs last weekend to be at Nancy's retirement. I saw what the coming two weeks or so will bring. Her maple tree is in nearly full leaf-spread, while mine is just beginnning. I love this time of potential.

This evening, when I finally got home, I went out to look around. There were two ducks in the front yard - I'll miss the ducks when they finally move on. I hope that I get to see a batch of ducklings this year. The trillium is still in full bloom, and the jack-in-the-pulpits are really taking over the wildflower show this week. I was thrilled to find the first shoots of the butterfly weed Asclepsis tuberosa. This plant is always so late that I almost give up hope. Then it comes back. This seems later than usual, and I really had just about written it off. But today I found at least 20 sprouts from what must be a pretty substantial underground structure. Looking forward to being able to photograph it in full flower, but the link above is to many wonderful shots of this spectacular flower....

Some photos below: The American Chestnut, the "mystery tree, and the Prairie Smoke in full bloom.

Wildflowers Beginning

Today I was able to spot the beginnings of several of the wildflowers that appear each year in the wild parts of our yard. The troutlilies are just poking their leaves above the ground throughout the creekside area. And I love the Bloodroot, which some years is able to sprout, grow, bloom and fade all within a week while I am at work.

This year I think I've captured the beginnings of both. No sign yet of the Spring Beauties, nor the Trilium, nor any of the others. But these are on their way, and the next week of projected high temperatures above 45 degrees and lows above freezing should bring them close to flowering by next weekend.