several years ago it was the decline of jewelweed on my property that made me look a bit closer at this plant. It is a nasty bit of business that easily takes over. I don't know where you are located, but around here it's ALL over. Good news -its easy to pull up and, as mentioned above, it is edible (the earlier the tastier). "Once introduced to an area, garlic mustard outcompetes native plants by aggressively monopolizing light, moisture, nutrients, soil and space. Wildlife species that depend on these early plants for their foliage, pollen, nectar, fruits, seeds and roots, are deprived of these essential food sources when garlic mustard replaces them." (from link below) Best to start fighting this beast as soon as you see just a few plants 'cause an infestation can occur very rapidly. Persistence does make a dent in the population - I can attest to this, but it is a constant battle. good luck Here is a link that might be useful: pca aliens - garlic mustard info

I've looked up Mulberries. Do they all have serrated leaves? It's hard to tell in the picture, but I think this bush's leaves are pretty smooth on the edges. I'll try to get a better picture of the leaves in the morning.

I think I do as well and they are not pods of an empress tree. The leaves are distorted enough that I didn't peg it immediately as cercis, but I think floral is probably correct. Juvenile paulownia leaves are enormous, larger than mature tree leaves, and these do not look large enough to be catalpa (hard to tell sizing in photos). It is, no matter what tree, too close to the house behind it.

I'm guessing that it's salvia caudata 'El Cielo Blue'. If you go to page two down to "Best Sites for Salvia Pix?" you can check out SG salvia album. He has a picture of it, 'El Cielo Blue' has recently IDed as salvia caudata.