Things emerging, but nothing much in bloom...a few hyacinths, the purple flowers on the vinca. the forsythia, the quince, the andromeda (smelling unbelievably delicious).

Not yet close to blooming, my clematis is really coming out of the old wood,and things are popping up here and there, mostly looking very healthy (Thank you Mother Nature!). I love seeing how perennials planted last year are re-emerging with a much bigger "footprint".

Itching to get to the regional market to beef up my garden beds inexpensively. This year I am needing some more coral bells, some more geraniums, some more asters, some things to go with nepata, some things to replace the day lillies I am moving out of one bed, and so forth. Having fun deciding.

Patty

The daffodils are out in force, as are the pulmonarias and the forsythia. The deer got a fair amount of the tulips, but the rest are putting on a decent show. I went looking for rose buds yesterday on the early yellows, and found some on R. primula.

Life is good.

My garden is coming to life slowly this year - well, except for the weeds, which seem to be starting off to a banner year this year!

I had to work Saturday, so not as much time for me in the garden as I would have liked. And I'm still raking last year's leaves, so as usual I am behind.

But, my daffodils are gorgeous, and the forsythia finally decided to burst forth also. The grape hyacinths, chionodoxa, and blue creeping phlox add to the show.

I've got some pulmonaria in bloom (Mrs. Moon and Sissinghurst White), and some rockcress, but nothing else. Oh, except one huge pink hyacinth that I never planted that showed up in a new lasagna bed last year and made a comeback this year!

But it looks like most things made it through the winter and are sprouting nicely. I'm really enjoying my little container planting of lysimachia punctata Alexander. The early spring foliage on this is nicer than anything else it does all year!

On the veggie side, spinach and lettuces are planted out. Pea seeds got in the ground waaaay late and are doing nothing yet. Hoping to get my onions and beets and carrots planted out this week, and I'm going to try my hand at potatoes, thanks to a bag of old ones from the fall I found last month, lol!

:)
Dee

slow to start here too..

- forsythia getting close to opening
- daffodils full force
- iris reticulata (late start?) just winding down
- chiondoxia hanging tough for awhile now
- Magnolia loebneri (sp?) Leonard Messel just opened
- azalea cornell pink buds puffing.

Me slow starting too.. just finishing up cleanup of beds - two small ones to go. I promised myself I would not hit the garden centers until I finish some of this cleanup, feeding and high priority edits. Getting the purchasing adrenaline going and feeling the pressure of pots to plant will not help me keep up with the magnitude of this garden. I want it smaller, but I keep making it bigger. how does that happen??!?!?

I bet I could keep totally busy on my "to do list" without buying a single new thing all season. If I just fully tended to the things I have, I might learn to appreciate what I have and stop spending oodles of dollars every year on more stuff. Noble thoughts for April... check back in July... LOL

LOL, Wendy! I've been keeping busy with my "To-do-list" going on my second year now, what with about 200 potted perennials that STILL need to get in the ground!

I was actually very proud of myself for not buying lots of stuff last year (just some more groundcover to add to my slope project), and I am desperately trying to get new beds made. What gets in my way is all the annuals I do every year! Not to mention my ever-expanding list of vegetables I've been growing.

Ah, to be independently wealthy and be able to spend all day, every day, in the garden!

:)
Dee

In bloom:
Early daffodils are blooming, others in bud.
Scilla, mostly blue, a few white.
Pieris
Forsythia
Pussywillow
Vinca
Pachysandra (next door)
One hellebore
Galanthus still blooming.

I've been raking and dumping stuff on the compost pile; mixed with the used coffee grounds I've been collecting all winter.

An old pitch pine is almost dead and has to come down, so I've been digging out and potting up the plants at its base. The stump will be ground and the parking area will be shifted to include the pine spot. Once that's done, I'll replant the plants plus a few small trees nearby, in an attempt to form a partial windbreak for the fierce NW winter winds.

Claire

Carpet weed in full bloom..some already heading to seed! Have pulled probably 20lbs of it..now going to cover the rest with cardboard..my back is killing me...

mixed in with that is the chickweed (some flowering) and henbit..

My 20 year old azalea is in full bloom (no one seems to remember the name)..

Peonies poking up..
Delphinium peeking..
Phylox greening..
2 plants whose tags got shoveled away with the snow..will be a mystery till bloom time..

Hydrangea finally budding...but mostly look like dead twigs..

Visited all the time by my feathered friends..yeah!

paigect - hope you like Franklinia as much as I do. Dirr actually says not to "fall in love with it", as it can be a little fussy and might even disappear. I lost a couple but kept buying more, I have always wanted to grow it and now have a few that are blooming size. And, when it blooms, it's all worthwhile!

Daffs are in full bloom now, including a pot full of bulbs that somehow didn't get replanted after I redid one of the overgrown borders last fall. Yikes, they were so beautiful that I dug up a new spot just for them. I'll have to replant them in the fall, as I didn't want to disturb the roots too much by prying them apart. Some old drifts of "minor" spring bulbs, like Chionodoxa and scilla have really turned into a river of blue - amazing what 20 years will do for even the most haphazard gardener. A few tulips, various kinds of hyacinth are out there too.

Mayapple and bloodroot are also looking pretty spiffy out in the "woods" - a shady corner of the garden. Dawn Viburnum, winter honeysuckle, and winter jasmine are tooling along, still showing nice color (and that honeysuckle is mighty fragrant). Rhody mucronulatum is in full swing.

The hellebores are great this year - especially the many young h. orientalis (now called x hybridus) and the Corsican (h. argutifolius). My large patch of h. foetidus has sort of died out - afungus, I think - and now there are about a half dozen where there used to be many dozens; I've moved a few volunteers to different, sunnier areas where they're doing well.

New growth on the lavender and nepeta; I'm waiting (bated breath) for some sign of life on sunset agastache. A tree peony that I moved last fall is leafing out well - big sigh of relief here.

I dug out a huge old weigela that was too wide for the redesigned patio garden, and plan to get another Stewartia planted in its place. Can;t have enough of them.

Finally got up to Katsura Gardens in Plymouth - the owner is an interesting guy - and he really knows his trees and shrubs.

Great thread- it's fun to read what everyone is up to -
and what their plants are up to as well.

I am lucky because the type of work I do gives me a lot of time in the garden during the day. There is hardly anyplace where I'd rather be. The weather has been simply mahhhh-velous, although we could seriously use some rain. What's going on in the gardens -

- Tons of bulbs blooming, courtesy of the previous owner, Daffodils, Hyacinths, several little blue and white things (Scilla, Chionodoxa, and some others I think)...no tulips yet

- So many perennials coming up. Plenty of new shoots everywhere, except the Asclepias, Eupatorium, Cimicifuga are slow starters.

- Lots of reseeders popping up in the established gardens already. Alyssum, Cosmos, Cilantro so far and there are about a MILLION California poppies out there! I think the direct sown poppies are up.

- Checking the winter-sown containers 2-3 times a day lately and discovering new sprouts almost every time - such fun! Lots of little sprouts and I am beside myself daydreaming about the flowers these sprouts will grow into

- Creating lasagne beds has been constant since the snow melted - made with cardboard, coffee grounds, leaves, and garden debris, etc. - I've got big plans for new gardens since some a couple large trees were removed last November and need to have beds to plant out all these seedlings!

- Planting and transplanting...planting out the pots of perennials and grasses that over-wintered, re-designing beds here and there, moving shrubs and perennials into the start of a new shrub border.

Oh I just love Spring!!! A very busy but happy time in the garden..:)

Clean up underway here, too. Much still to go, alas.

Not much blooming save bulbs, though the Magnolia stellata began opening on Sunday and there are signs of action from Pulmonaria and Epimedium. The Forsythia received a severe "scalping" last summer, so no blooms there, sadly. I have a couple of "favorite" specimens around town and I've been deliberately driving by them to enjoy the show, which hasn't started quite yet.

This three-day weekend was intense! My husband moved half of his tomatoes to the new bed, planted a half dozen other vegetables, and dug half of a new row. Our good soil here is only six inches deep, so starting this vegi garden has been a matter of excavating large quantities of sand and rock. We have rock borders and low rock walls all over the yard now due to the vegi beds!

On Saturday I built a new flowerbed around our mailbox and lamp post, filled it with a heap of soil, and planted oodles of plants relocated from around the yard lupine, New England aster, obedient plant, ground cherry, iris, lily; and I worked on some nearby beds to match. I hope that this space blooms like mad this year, to distract onlookers from our swath of dead weeds that passes for a lawn.

On Sunday I worked behind the house adding soil and relocating plants along a short path that I had made which leads to a small frog pond which I dug in the swamp a few weeks back. I dug up all sorts of strange objects that have been dumped in the woods over the years part of some wrought-iron decoration, a hula-hoop sized circle of some sort of plastic mulch (which I discovered after dumping two wheelbarrows of soil on top of it.) I moved various types of ferns into the spot, and a couple of plants that I havent yet identified.

Out around the frog pond, the skunk cabbage is putting on an amazing green show. Armies of it are unfurling. And I seem to be able to find a salamander under every rock. While scooping back leaves to dig ferns, I had a close encounter with a sleepy little snake so cute! I would guess it was an Eastern brown snake. If I had known for sure I would have grabbed it, but to be safe I kept my hands clear and ran for the camera. Alas, it slithered off before I could get a picture.

Yesterday I was too out of energy for any more big projects in the garden. Instead I did little things: helped my husband sort rocks, planted a few seeds, transplanted one or two more things, talked to all of my little plants, tried not to get dirt on the sofa when I crashed and watched a movie.

All of this follows the planting I did during the week: thirty raspberry bushes and twenty-five asparagus went into the ground. With any luck, by the time Im out on maternity leave Ill have a real garden to admire from the comfort of the bench. Our push to get this all done before Im too pregnant to help is almost done. Woot!

There are pictures in our blog, if anyone is interested.

stoloniferous, your yard is a little slice of heaven! What a wonderful place to welcome your baby to. Loved the blog.

Chelone, how's things? I am having cat health issues. Lily has an eye tumor. Fingers crossed that it is benign and slow growing. Hope your beasts are doing well.

Terrene, I'm very jealous that you get to spend time in the garden during the week! I get sidelined in the morning on my way out. More than once I've had someone point out that I have spots of mud on my heels. :-)

DTD, I may start another thread on this in case you don't check in here again. Please tell me what conditions seemed best for the Franklinia you got to survive. I am debating between several spots, with varying sun and levels of protection - - as the sun amount decreases, the protection increases, as you can imagine. The spot I am leaning toward has morning shade, afternoon sun/filtered sun, and is very protected in an ell between my house and garage.

Malorn, by carpet weed, do you mean pachysandra? If so, I, too, have finally resorted to cardboard. I hate pulling that stuff up, and it is everywhere in my yard.

Wendy and Dee, repeat after me: My name is Paige (Wendy/Dee), and I am a garden addict. :-) But seriously, I think I am. I was talking to friends about this, and gardening is one area of our lives where we are in a fair bit of control over what happens. Sure, mother nature plays a big part, but for the most part we plant and nurture stuff and, on a fairly reliable basis, we get pretty leaves and flowers in return. As a mother of a soon-to-be-teen, it's a good foil for parenting!

MG, I didn't realize there were roses that are this early. I had to get rid of my yellows - - they are magnets for japanese beetles in my yard. The good thing was that they kept them off my red roses.

Patty, do you mind if I ask which regional market you go to? Is it the one in Hartford? I've heard good things about it and might try it this year, but most of my friends go at 4:30 in the morning, which seems just wrong to me!

Hope everyone gets to sneak in an hour here or there during this beautiful week.

Daffs
Pulmonaria 'Mrs Moon'
Virginia Bluebells
Pansies
One Hellebore
Hyacinth
Vinca
Viola odorata lovely fragrance and potent

Phlox subulata has some buds just showing color.
Buds on Viburnum carlesii
Cimicifuga thankfully has open leaves on it, relieved because it looked so awful at the end of summer last year, I thought it was a goner. I need to move it to a moister location but looks like I missed my chance.

Have fall planted garlic up about 6 inches and planted peas but they haven't done anything yet either. I forgot to soak them.

Most everything is already showing signs of life but my Hardy Hibiscus, Asclepias and Eupatorium. A lot of things look really good and healthy, a few never look that good this time of year, like the thyme. I had a nice batch of it going into the winter and now there is only a little green on a few stems at the end. I think I have to give up on the thyme. I had three ajuga and I only see one. Surprising.

Hydrangea Endless Summer is down to the ground this year, which surprised me.
Butterfly Bush leafing out from the base after trimming back to a foot.
Pennisetum Hamelin which always greens up a little late had me worried for a few weeks but is now showing signs of life. Carex and Elijah Blue have been showing for at least three weeks.

We had a large limb on a tree that had to come down and managed to get to that and very happy with the change that has made.

mad gallica...I am surprised that roses in zone 5 would be budding already. Mine in zone 6 are just opening leaves.

Dee...weeds already here too. Still raking leaves out of my bed too and still have about a dozen bags of leaves needing something to be done with them.

Wendy, slow start working here too. Haven't got all the perennials ready or the beds cleaned out. Still moving a little here and there. Mulch needs to go down, lawn is ready for a rake. Too much to do and can't get to it soon enough. High priority editing here too which is slow going. Some may have to wait until the fall, since everything is taking off fast now. Something always comes up in prime editing time to keep me from getting it all done. Oh well. Have to be happy I got anything done at all, I suppose.

Dee...I make a lot of lists. [g] Checking things off the list, not always easy. I knew I would have a lot of moving and dividing this spring, so I deliberately cut back on the winter sowing. We did 100 containers last year, which as I hear myself say it I wonder how we managed that. lol This year we did 20. MUCH easier. I would have felt totally overwhelmed if I had a 100 containers waiting to be planted. Also see myself really holding back on the veggie garden because I just have such a hard time juggling it all. Haven't started one annual yet and I may not. I might just buy what I need and not worry about it. Decided to cut back on the containers I fill every year too, so that is feeling a lot less overwhelming, so I am trying to find the balance. Not easy is it? :-)

Claire, we have a tree that might have to come out too. Not looking forward to it. I always wish I saved coffee grinds, but we are not big coffee drinkers here.

malorn....we had a persistent weed that drove us crazy that we finally got rid of with a thick layer of cardboard and bark mulch for a whole season. SO happy to be rid of it!

DtD...your rivers of blue sound wonderful! I have neglected the minor bulbs to my sorrow. Enjoy them!! :-) Sorry about your hellebores. I have exactly two plants and only one is blooming but looking good. They are always on my list to get more because it is one of those plants that I hate to start from seed, taking so long to bloom. I really enjoy them.

terrene...we did one lasagna bed in the fall and are pretty much done creating beds and on to editing. Great way to do it though, isn't it? Much better than double digging for sure.

Chelone...thanks for reminding me, I need to check out the epimedium.

stoloniferous....checked out the photos on your blog, wow, you are really working on the garden! Would love to know where your DH got the Grade A Loam? Love your rock borders and very impressed with all those raspberries and asparagus!

paige...every parent needs to have a garden. [g]

OK, ok, I know this is way too long a post! [g] It's just that I relate to what everyone is saying and I can't just comment to one and leave anyone out. LOL Really sorry! :-( Everyone's garden sounds lovely!

pm2

I have a lot of seedlings coming through. I am taking a wild guess that Nicotiana is coming through in droves as seedlings in the front garden.

Something that looks like it comes up from a bulb is sprouting and almost ready to blossom by the driveway. I can't wait to see what it is since I don't think I planted it personally.

Another plant is sprouting along the driveway cracks and putting out white flowers. I wonder what it is?!

{{gwi:1064854}}

I have visitors from Texas too. I had no idea what a plant was in the front that I like, but just did not recognize. Texas Bluebells they told me. Welcome from Texas I told the plants!

This year is apparently full of surprises.

These are early blooming species roses. They usually bloom with the lilacs in May. If it gets cold between now and then, they will just sit there waiting for warmer weather, like daffodils and other early plants. They tend to have gorgeous ferny foliage.

terrene & Pairiemoon2--What is a lasagne garden??? To someone who has not heard of such a thing, it sounds bizarre!

Paige, we're down one feline unit. It was a sad day when Flo. went to the happy hunting ground, but she was 18 and loved from the time she came to us (8wks. old). The "kittens" (3 adopted the same day) are now 5 yrs. old, in their prime and wreaking havoc on the resident rodent population, yippee!). Dog's drivetrain is now nearly completely rebuilt, with recovery for the second half now underway. Bummer about kitty's eye tumor... when will you have more details about the condition?

PM2, I wouldn't hesitate to move the Cimicifuga now. Just take a nice big root ball and go for it. I have to move one to a more favorable location and if you dig "large" it'll be fine... it's still early!

Skunk cabbage and salamanders sounds like groovy combination to me! :) The Salamander was the symbol of Francis I of France and appears in carvings throughout many royal residences. Another useless fact from your's truly.

DtD, any salamanders in your sump pump? (love that you check for them there). I still haven't found any in my clean up. :(

On my walk around the garden this afternoon I noticed bluebells and violets in bloom. I've got Freckles violets which are spreading a bit alarmingly, but they are so darn gorgeous I don't have the heart to pull them - at least until after they bloom!

I also have some kind of unidentified teeny-tiny flowers in the lawn. They are quite pretty; perhaps some type of oxalis???? Whatever they are, we make sure to walk around them and not step on them, although most people wouldn't even notice them, they are sooooo tiny.

cayuga2008, a lasagna bed is a bed that is made without digging. Instead, you lay down cardboard or a few layers of newspaper, and then layer organic matter - grass clippings, shredded leaves, composted manure, etc. After a few months, the stuff has composted, and eventually the soil underneath is conditioned nicely.

It is so much easier than digging. I only make beds that way now.

:)
Dee

Are these your tiny white lawn flowers, digger? http://ghs.gresham.k12.or.us/science/ps/nature/gorge/4petal/must/draba/spring.htm
I just discovered them this spring, too. They started blooming in dry, weedy, salty lawns here about a month ago, and just only wilted from the heat yesterday. They're about the only good thing about my so-called lawn!

Chelone thats neat about Francis I of France. I enjoy useless factage! :)

Prariemoon2 Thanks! :) Im glad I went rock-crazy when I did, because I would be taking a risk to lift the bigger rocks now. About the dirt, my hubby called local business advertising loam and asked a lot of questions about what their loam was made of and the proportions of the ingredients. What does DH stand for? I cant wait to see the raspberries and asparagus a few years from now. This is the first time Ive ever really been able to plant something with the expectation of enjoying it years down the road. Its so exciting!

Paigect "a little slice of heaven" is the perfect way to describe my yard. I happen to have a coworker who lives on six acres of lakefront property with an island, and I have a hard time not getting land envy when he talks about it, but then I walk in my own yard and realize all over again that this is more than I ever expected to get my hands on, right here!

Cheers everyone!

Evonne...I guess someone close by has some Texas Bluebells. Sometimes they are an ingredient in a wildflower mix.

mad gallica..... yellows and apricots are my favorite color. It must be so nice to have roses a little earlier. I imagine you get a long season with your roses. :-)

Chelone...thanks for that information. I will get the Cimicifuga moved, now to find a place that has more moisture. Thanks!

Dee, I love Freckles. I had some that died after their first winter.

stoloniferous....there will always be someone who has a bigger better garden. It sounds like you couldn't be having any more fun. :-)

I found a couple of photos on my camera from the other day...does anyone else have some?

Gee, PM2, could that sky be any bluer? Looks like a gorgeous day!

Stoloniferous, I'm not quite sure if that is the little flower I have - I'm used to looking down on them, not up at them like the photo, lol! I'll have to see if I can either get a photo or try to ID them.

I also have a "so-called" lawn, lol, but I don't mind too much. One, I figure I just don't care about the grass. Two, I'm hoping to seriously decrease the amount of lawn anyway, and three, contrary to most people, I think my "lawn" is kind of interesting, lol. Lots of wild strawberry-type plants, wild violets, a strange moss everywhere, lichens, several kinds of grass, those pretty little blooms, and now some ajuga here and there. And lots of acorns, lol. Today as I walked across the lawn it sounded like I was walking on a gravel driveway, lol!

:)
Dee

Pictures!

Here is one of my transplanted lupines, taken last weekend. The new growth is already much bigger!

This one is already in my blog, but I can't resist reposting it. Mmmm, juicy colors!

Digger, here's a photo I took of whitlow grass in a tea spoon. Though, I noticed that once the weather warmed up, the little plants did get bigger, particularly in the length of the flower stem.

As soon as I can find a source of clover seed, my so-called lawn will be cloverized. I don't plan to do any discouraging of weeds other than hand-pulling, because so many of the weeds are fun plants themselves! My lawn has been a constant source of yarrow volunteers, and last summer it even had stray pansies in it. Unfortunately the good topsoil is only six inches deep, so last summer's drought walloped it good. Between that, and my pulling up the tall weeds for compost, pretty much the only things left growing across it are whitlow grass and crab grass. At the moment, it's. . . crunchy.

I don't care for the suburban neighborly lawn competition this culture indulges in, but hopefully by the time my kid is old enough to run around outside, I'll have some decent plant layer out there that can withstand being stepped on. :P

Hey Dee, when are you going to get all those plants in your pot ghetto in the ground?? ;)

Malorn, cardboard is truly a gardener's friend! The cardboard and lasagne bed techniques are exceeding my expectations. The beds are so much richer with organic matter and I am amazed at the number of worms in the beds this year. Not to mention - no weeding! I am still digging beds and planting holes though, where there isn't time to do a lasagne.

Stolon, your woods are gorgeous, and I'm jealous that you have wetlands and salamanders and a frog pond! I am "pond"ering making a pond or some type wetland garden here because my lot is dry upland, and would love some wetness. But, too busy to do anything about it now...

Paige, (Wendy, Dee etc) you guys are not alone. My name is "terrene" and I am a gardening addict. I am powerless to control it. This is a progressive addiction with a poor prognosis. There is no treatment, except perhaps being 9 months pregnant or breaking your legs or arms, but those will only provide temporary relief. It is reported that the Internet and websites like Gardenweb greatly enable this addiction.

Cayuga, lasagne gardening is a funny term! Also called sheet composting. I use it for making garden beds, or to smother the Vinca or other weeds. Much easier way to do both. You can also use cardboard/newspapers with a couple inches of mulch on top and it suppresses weeds all season. Try a search on Gardenweb or google, there is lots of info.

A few Spring photos -

Like I said, there are a million California poppies reseeding out there along the driveway. Here is an example of what a few square inches looks like - I don't think I need this many California poppies!
{{gwi:1064859}}

One of the Trillium grandiforum I bought last fall. They were dormant so it looked like I was buying a pot of dirt. This is the only one out of four that looks like it will be flowering -
{{gwi:1064861}}

A honeybee on one of those little blue bulbs - not sure what this bulb is -
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Stoloniferous, have you ever posted that photo with the teaspoon before? I swear I've seen it, because I remember being amazed by it! How cool!

"...Hey Dee, when are you going to get all those plants in your pot ghetto in the ground?? ;)..."

Um, why... are you going to hold me to it, lol? I'm making a push to get some more (lasagna) beds made this spring. Okay, it's turning out to be more of a nudge than a push, lol, but I am making *some* progress, and then I'll get some of those potted guys in the ground.

And probably a good 50 or so of them are destined to remain potted. I want to build some (big!)planters that will hold pots that I can switch out with the seasons. Lots of them will go into those planters, and then I will put potted evergreens in the planters for the winter.

Now I just need to get the planters built, lol....

:)
Dee

That teaspoon photo is lovely! With a different background, or the background photoshopped out, it could be a prize winner! It is like life in a teaspoon! The sand is even pretty.

I'm probably a little further North than a lot of you and seem to be further behind.

A lot of green is showing in the perennial bed - however I haven't done the usual walk through. I did notice that all my Peony have sprouted about five inches (probably happened in the last 36 hours). It's time to place the Peony cages. I was very happy to see green buds on my three new Snow Mountain Hydrangea trees (running down the middle of the Perennial bed). This is a very good sign as I adopted them from Home Depot's abused plant lot last fall (a lot of abuse can happen by fall in a place like that) and wasn't sure if they would make it through the winter. It will be fun to see how they come along and change the look of my perennial border.

I have been distracted by my Tree removal project in the front yard. I have moved almost 40 large hosta, plus companion plants. I hope to be done with that part of the project this evening. I'm taking Friday off from work so I can visit a few places to evaluate some of my tree options.

This weekend DH and I cleaned up about 3/4 of the gardens/lawn and have edged some planting areas...looking much better than last week.

Stop and smell the roses? In my case, it is stop and observe the varying colors of the hosta eyes. Purple, green, red, blue, every shade...My hosta babies (the collector talking) are popping, growing and in a few cases, unfurling. I can't wait for the beautiful, fresh foliage that follows and I can only hope we don't have a frost to mess up the first leaves.

Time to dig...

Dee - if you have hairy bittercress in your lawn (like I do) it can become a real pest.

PM2 - that hellebore is *beautiful* - what a great shot.

My Nepeta - Little Wonder, I think - is starting to bloom! I've got 4 different varieties and always think of it as a summer-blooming plant. I'm so happy to see these in flower this early.

Thought I would report that I still have a little pile of snow left!!! Even after today's high temps. Had the A/C on in the house today even! The pile is about 8' wide by 1' high. Its the remnants of where the snow plow guy stacks it, so its not exactly a "natural" remnant, but still rather peculiar with this weather.

re addictions: Just came home from a hort class where we planned a field trip for next week to Garden in the Woods in Framingham. The whole ride home I was trying to figure out if I can manage to leave work even earlier and sneak in a trip to Russell's in Wayland... my MOST favorite garden center in the world. There goes my good intentions....

My front peonies are at least 15" high and my ones in back are just 2" or so. Both same sun, but apparently one of those microclimate things.

Amazing how one warm day can really get things caught up.
Everything is moving along.

One of my earliest pulmonaria - David Ward - is blooming nicely.

{{gwi:1064865}}

Diggerdee Thanks, and yes, I had posted the photo of a whitlow-grass-in-a-spoon already, over in the Natives forum, when I was trying to get it identified. (Sadly, it isnt native, unless there was already a strain of it here when the European version arrived.)

Evonne Funny you should suggest that: Im pretty handy with PhotoShop. . . I used it for a few years for my job. . . but Im also a silly purist when it comes to photographs. ;) Thanks though! I hadn't thought of my photos as being anything other than a (very) lazy point-n-shoot hobby.

Wendyb Haha about the snow! We had a 20-foot-tall pile stacked up by the plow in front of our place over the winter. I thought it was going to be there until July, but it quietly dwindled weeks ago. Crazily, Im looking forward to the challenge of gardening in that spot someday. . . perhaps some costal grasses that can withstand the salt and that will die back to roots in the winter. Maybe Ill continue the neighbors pebble bed along the very edge of the road. Decisions decisions. .

Wonderful pictures everyone! More, please! :)

Wendy, I LOVE that pulmonaria! Are all the flowers pink? Yes, you can't go to NEWFS without going to Russell's. :-)

DtD...thank you, glad you liked it. Someone else mentioned to me the angle of my shot. I realized the reason I can get it is because I have the Canon that has the pivoting LCD screen, so you can see your shots without turning into a pretzel. [g] I also do not have the steadiest hand, so I try to support the camera somehow. I have that Hellebore near a Sambucus Sutherland's Gold and I just noticed the other day how great they are together. I am hoping to find a half a dozen more this spring and move that one too to the base of that shrub. I hope they don't mind being moved? Wow, on the Little Wonder Nepeta. I only have the Walker's' Low, but loved it last year. Foliage is up about 4 inches that's it.

terrene...thanks for posting the Calif Poppy seedlings. I was looking for mine and forgot what they look like. Beautiful trillium!

stoloniferous....the teaspoon weed is awful cute for a weed. :-) Tell me what is that photo of the plant with all the red foliage?

hostabuff...I didn't realize they were so many colors when coming up. I haven't seen one coming up yet, I think mine are normally a little late. Hope you will post a few pics.

pm2

terrene, that trillium is beautiful! That's on my must have list for when I get ready to replant my "woods" - first I have to get rid of all the garlic mustard, perennial foxglove, wild strawberry and poppies.

Love all these photos, thanks for sharing, everyone. Gotta get my camera outside, soon.

Chelone, sorry about Flo. It sounds like she had a happy life.

Loving the photos as well. Here's some of mine.

This one needs an i.d. - - it's a shrub in my backyard planted by the P.O.s and I have no idea what it is:

Here is my Cercis canadensis 'Covey':

Any my old cherry, probably in its last years:

It's a slow spring here, lots of daffodils and other spring bulbs, and the forsythia are out.

But this is a happy sight! Silver Dawn Mix peonies. No other peony is even close to this stage.

Claire

I love that last photo Claire!

I finally took some pics of that little flower I have in my "lawn". Maybe someone can identify? You can see the acorns there to get an idea of how tiny these blooms are.

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Also, here's a shot of my Mrs. Moon pulmonaria. Gotta enjoy it now before the powdery mildew of summer sets in, lol!

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:)
Dee

diggerdee those little blue flowers are a native plant called bluets, or quaker ladies. :) Im currently starting some from seed. If you can figure out how to get seeds from them, you could use them for trade in the fall. . .

prairiemoon2 the plant with all the red is a bleeding heart. I transplanted it from a hidden spot under the deck to along a path I built, and Im absolutely amazed at how quickly it has grown! It is already knee-high and has flowers starting to unfold.

paigect your cherry makes me pine for Japan!

Theres a jack-in-the-pulpit up in my yard now, complete with a flower! Ill get a photo tomorrow. . .

Paige, I love the color of flowering Quince. There's just something about those hot, neon colors that never fails to "grab" me. Aanother one I love is "Cornell Pink" (I think), it's one of those Korean rhodos.; flowers before leaves, but the hot, intense pink is just delicious. Can anyone tell me if I have the name right?

Flo is missed greatly, but it was time for her to go to the happy hunting ground. And she is now fertilizing Arborvitaes planted last fall, her grave marked with a small cat statue. How is kitty's eye, do you know any more yet?

Here is Flo at age 13/14:
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Hey chelone! Flo looks a lot like my cat. This was a photo at about 14 years just before I first got her (she was a pass-along cat).

Claire

I love cats and mine go outdoors, but I live in place where that's practicable.

My father loved cats. So does my brother. I learned early on to never trust a man who didn't like cats. Too much "baggage" for me, thanks. ;)

I have a very soft spot for orange ones, brown tabbies&tigers, grey ones... . OK all of them! There is an old adage in horsemanship that there, "never was a good hoss in a bad color". Translates equally well to kitties. Esp. to your lovely kitty, Claire. Love that you "took her on" even at her advanced age.

But I digress. :)

Thanks for the ID, stoloniferous! At first I didn't think that was it, as mine are really more white than blue, but I did a google search and it said they range from white to blue.

I may try to divide them, since I don't think I can get seed from them. Not that dividing will be much easier, lol.

By the way, today I also found bleeding hearts in bloom, primroses, lily of the valley just starting, and as I was cleaning out my shade garden, suddenly noticed a dog-toothed violet with several beautiful blooms. That was a nice surprise. I kind of forgot I planted them, although I only saw one of the three I planted.

:)
Dee

Chelone, you got it - - definitely flowering quince! Thanks, it's been a mystery to me for several years now. I always forget to catch a photo of it while in bloom.

Flo and Claire's kitty are very similar! I have a penchant for orange kitties. Lily has a fluid filled cyst plus another mass in her eye. I went to an opthamologist and they recommended laser surgery, but if the second mass is cancerous it will make it spread faster, so I don't want to do that. Plus, once they get one cyst, they are likely to keep getting more, and I certainly can't afford to perpetually spend $1700 on laser surgery for recurrent cysts. So we're keeping an eye on it (no pun intended). It isn't causing any pressure or pain, so that makes me feel better.

Wouldn't you know, on Thursday, the hottest day of the Spring so far, the 50 tree and shrub seedlings arrived from the NH Nursery! However, it was NOT digging or planting weather. Yesterday, I dug a new bed and got half of them planted out and am a little worried about the remaining plants, because they should be planted as soon as possible.

SO busy though! Lots of planting, digging, weeding, pruning, and WATERING. Lasagne beds, cleaning up and organizing wood - my back and wrists are complaining today!

Amelanchier budding out the other day - the first blooms opened yesterday, which is about a week earlier than last year -
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Viburnum burkwoodii, Snowball Viburnum, budding -
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I've got a tiger "garden kitty" too! I've got 2 females, one is indoors, the other has limited outdoor privileges. Her job is to take care of the small rodents in the yard, and she does a very good job.

Here she is yesterday, lounging in the garden in the back yard. This year, she is acting more like the Maytag repairman - not much to do, because she's done such a good job removing the chipmunks, moles and mice.

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Dee, I was just reading spring People Places Plants and they had a Herbaceous Woodland Plant ID quiz and your white flower is in the quiz. It says "..member of the Rubiacaea family...at home on lawn or grassy slopes in the wild...often bloom from spring into the fall..."

But I can't find the answer page to the quiz. Maybe its in next month's issue?

My yard is blooming!

I don't know what this little understory tree is. Seems a bit late in the season for witchhazel, and it lacks seedpods. Anybody know?

The bleeding heart went kabloom!

As did my wee bearberry bushes. . .

And I swear, this popped up between 6 and 9 am yesterday, flower and all. I thought it would be weeks still until the jack-in-the-pulpits bloomed!

There's some more in my blog if anyone is interested. Cheers!

Great photos Stolon! You have lots of nice plants in your yard.

The first picture looks like Spicebush, Lindera benzoin, native, host plant for the Spicebush Swallowtail. Foliage has spicey scent. I've never seen it around here. Lucky you! :)

Note- I've been informed over at the Woodlands forum, the Trillium in the picture above is not grandiflorum, it's a spotted Trillium (T. sessile probably). I think I got 2 kinds even though all 4 pots were marked "Trillium grandiflorum".

Thanks Wendyb - is there a prize for the right answers, lol?

:)
Dee

Oooooh, spicebush! Thank you terrene!