millertime

The greening...at long last, my green is returning. Fully a month behind last year, but I'll take it! It's just so nice to see the green blush on the grass...
....and the yellow on the mini-daffs (sorry, i'm not sure which one this is, it was planted before I kept track).... ....see how mini? Cute as a bugs' ear, and nearly the same size!

My pink hyacinth looks smaller than last year....*sigh*...my hyacinths never look as full and pretty as the catalog shows. I feed them every year, too...I dunno, but I'm not planning to spend for more of these. Stick to what works, I say. This hepatica americana works well every year, and it is one of my very favorite wildflowers! It spreads itself around, too....
...even as the "mother clump" gets bigger. Such pretty little flowers!
Trillium just now awakening...
....these mini-irises just planted last fall are nice but tiny...

....and along with the chionodoxa (planted at the same time) they all make a nice smattering of blue. The only improvement I'll make this fall- plant more! Ah, and here we have the lovely pasque flower, anemone patens. I enjoy this flower for a couple reasons: one, because it's beautiful.....
...and the other is for this fuzzy appearance to the foliage, which is known as pubescence: according the The American Heritage Dictionary...

SYLLABICATION:
pu·bes·cence
PRONUNCIATION:
py-bsns
NOUN:
1. The state of being pubescent. 2. The attainment or onset of puberty. 3. A covering of soft down or short hairs, as on certain plants and insects.
My incredibly juvenile sense of humor leads me to believe that there simply aren't enough excuses to use the word pubescence, so here's another one: the pubescent leaves of this mountain ash are beginning to unfurl....heh...okay, I'm done. ;-D
Clematis 'My Angel' coming back to life. This re-seeds nicely around the mother plant, but transplanting seedlings has been challenging. I'm guessing seed-starting would be easier, and she produces a ton!

Red leaves on a spirea are a nice spot of color right now...

....and here's a nicer spot of color on this daffodil! I'm not sure which cultivar, but I like the citrusy-looking cup! One foxtail lily just planted last fall is popping up, but no sign of the other two. Considering our late thaw, I'm not too worried yet.

This is a first! This poor bush is Abeliophyllum distichum or white forsythia , and I'm very impressed that it's blooming! I bought it in 2001, kept it in a pot for a couple of years, then sited it near my porch on the north side of the house, when it prefers sun. Not only that, but look how small it is! Poor thing looks like a bonsai specimen or something. I like how the flowers start out closed and drupy-looking.......then open up like little stars. I checked for fragrance but detected none, but hey, you can't have everything. Then to throw a wrench in things, we had three mornings like this last week! Luckily, the damage and suffering is minimal...
...this newcomer hosta, 'Olive Baily Langdon' suffered the most. These plants are tough though, so I feel confident she'll bounce back okay...

...most of the new hostas just lost a leaf like this one...
...and this newly purchased Louisiana iris didn't seem to notice the cold snap at all.
Got some growth on my bog rosemary ...cool! I'd always wanted one of these, and I plan a regular "bog garden" in this general area anyway. I was slightly concerned that siting this right by the downspot would cause too much ice buildup around the plant or something, but fortunately my concern was unwarrented. (Heh, I'm full of crap kinda regularly :)

It even looks like it's contemplating a bloom.
Thyme 'Minus' overwinters in the base of this old stump just fine every year...

...surprises me a bit since it's pretty shallow (but clearly good enough).
Arum dracunculus growing well, and I'm really looking forward to the bloom! But poor musa basjoo looks like a goner. Oh well, I'll give it plenty of time, just in case.

I have managed to get one bouquet of flowers for the house so far........however this is exciting as well as frustrating: my largest bulb planting from last fall, "purple haze" is taking its' sweet time blooming! The upshot is that it appears they will all bloom in unison, just like I planned... ....come on dude, open your mouth already! Hooray for spring!!