Spring: Part Three

April 11…Apr 25…now May 9.  Spring picks up speed and continues to feast our eyes (though I don't ever remember the redbuds, cherry blossoms and dogwoods in bud all at the same time!)  Just a quick visual of how far we've come in 4 weeks (my other posts are "And You Thought It Would Never Get Here" on 4/11/14 and "Two Weeks On…Is Spring Here Yet?" on 4/26/14).

The rose is down to business now, just filling out its leaves and getting ready for some later color.

Rose - May 9

The Liberty Elm is leafing out nicely but slowly.  The canopy is getting thicker.

Liberty Elm - May 9

The forsythia is pretty much done (for those of you who use that as a reminder: the forsythia blooms are falling so get your crab grass killer on if you hope it to be effective!).

Forsythia - May 9

Big difference in the Viburnum - it has put a lot of energy into those blooms over the past two weeks…

Mohawk Viburnum - May 9

The Weeping Katsura has interesting shaped and colored leaves, especially right now when they are young.

Weeping Katsura - May 9

The Sedum is off on a growth spree, already up about 6 inches.

Sedum - May 9

I never got to enjoy the cherry festival this year - the blossoms were so late that the leaves were already opening up, so just a bit of pink in between the new leaves fro this year.  I'm disappointed.

Cherry - May 9

And the Maple does its maple thing…leaves out, ready to push out some chlorophyl…

Maple - May 9

Enjoy these warmer days, and don't forget to pick out your next-year's spring buds and blossoms at the Master Gardener Plant Sale at the Franklin County Extension Office on Saturday May 17th, 9AM to 1 PM!

Two Weeks On…Is Spring Here Yet?

Two weeks ago, Apr 11th, I took some pictures of what was happening outside.  Well, I think spring is (kinda) here, and wanted to update you on the progress.  We will follow each of the eight plants to see what has happened.  (The original was called "And You Thought It Would Never Get Here" and was posted on Apr 11, 2014).

The rose has leafed out nicely…

Rose - Apr 25

(I was asked what rose this was - beats me…When we first moved here (and in my defense, long before I was a Master Gardener), I went to K-Mart as they were shutting down their plant sales and bought this for $.99.  It's pink, has grown, blossomed profusely, and been a nice addition to the landscape every year for 11 years.  We just call her Rosie.)

The elm is still working hard to produce some leaves, as are most trees.  I have seen a fuzzy green-ness around this week, but not too many leaves anywhere yet…

Liberty Elm - Apr 25

The forsythia has - no surprise here - been the most dramatic, going from a couple greenish-yellowish sprigs to its full color…

Forsythia - Apr 25

I really like viburnum - they are generally native plants and do really well here and many have some interesting characteristics.  The Mohawk Viburnum is busy growing up right now, lots more from him later…

Mohawk Viburnum - Apr 25

The Katsura is a unique tree - and I have a weeping one that is apparently extra-unique.  The reddish colors to the leaves are very showy this time of year.  And those leaves have sprung out from the tiny buds you saw two weeks ago…

Weeping Katsura - Apr 25

Sedum is reliable and busy growing.  This is Autumn Joy, and it has just continued to grow up and up since its earlier appearance…

Sedum - Apr 25

Here I thought I would be having my own cherry blossom festival by now, but not yet.  Just some bigger buds so far…

Cherry - Apr 25

And finally my red maple has had a big change in appearance, lost all its fuzzy red blossoms and ready to put out some leaves soon…

Red Maple - Apr 25

So that's where we are, stay tuned for two weeks forward…

And You Thought It Would Never Get Here!

Spring is springing all over, slowly but surely.  Which is okay with me - just recovering from some minor surgery so haven't been able to get out much.  But today was too nice to stay inside, so I inspected the progress toward that inevitable time when my estate will demand a lot more of my time.

There is lots to see, so get out and start looking around - I find these tiny buds and blooms even more interesting than the leafed-out plant.

First off, the rose by the front door decided to go green in the past two days:

Rose - Apr 11

Then we have my elm tree, that is rather anxious to show you some leaves pretty soon:

Liberty elm - Apr 11

The forsythia, as could be expected, is all ready to burst into its yellow extravaganza:

Forsythia - Apr 11

I have lots of different viburnums (viburnae?), but this is the most interesting bud I saw:

Mohawk viburnum - Apr 11

My weeping Katsura is enjoying its place in the sun:

Weeping Katsura - Apr 11

The sedum, with its warm spot next to the brick wall, seems to be further along than most things:

Sedum - Apr 11

The cherry trees are getting ready to get all pink; my cherry blossom festival is a week or so away yet, I think:

Cherry - Apr 11

And last, but not least, my red maple is working very hard to get ahead of the rest of his fellow trees:

Red maple - Apr 11

My apologies to the purists who would like to see the latin names for all these, but I would rather you just enjoy the mysterious re-creation of all these plants in the spring!  To coin a phrase - What's in your garden?

Hey Bud!

The landscape is greening up and the forsythia is in bloom and it looks great out there.  I'd like to take some time and examine the details a bit.  Look closely and you'll see lots of little miracles...

Goldmound spirea:

Wisteria:

Rose:

Hydrangea:

Jasmine:

Coral embers willow:

Viburnum:

Witch hazel:

Weeping Katsura:

And my favorite picture, Lilac:

Get out and see what you can find!