Spring surprise

Since the clematis by my garage does so well, I thought I'd plant two in the yard and see if I had any luck getting them to grow. I thought the plants disappeared the day after we planted them, perhaps a squirrel or rabbit ate them? The other day I was filling the bird feeder and noticed the blooms on one of the plants! Maybe the other one survived too?

The clematis behind the garage are blooming strong! This was a little over a week ago.

And my milkweed have return. They're growing like weeds. No surprise there.

Clematis and irises

Our clematis started bloomimg while we were in Jamaica. Allison took this picture for me. Hopefully, I can keep it trimmed enough it will continue to bloom for a while. I had cut it down to about eight inches in March so that seemed to be beneficial.

And the irises in the parkway are blooming. I say every year we need to divide the bulbs, but we never do.

Blooming bushes

Our Bridal Wreath looks really good this year. I should have taken a picture earlier before the delicate blooms got battered by rain.

Pretty bushes in our yard.

And the hostas look good. I transplanted some from outside the fence into the yard just a couple of weeks ago and they seem to be thriving. I need to add some more dark green and variegated ones to this area.

Oh, no! The vase of flowers I set on the dining room table got mysteriously knocked over while I was at work Thursday. Pretty sure I know who is to blame. Interestingly, they only messed with one of the vases. The one on the buffet was left alone.

More spring blooms

We never planted this, but it shows up every spring - Woodland Phlox.

The darker purple flowers are lunaria, the money plants.

And our Bridal Wreath is blooming.

And look at the progress my clematis has made in less than two weeks!

That’s a fire

Rather than stuff this dried, decorative grass in yard-waste bags, we had a fire and burned it.

Turned out to be quite the fire.

Parkway tulip

Our second parkway tulip on April 16, getting ready to bloom.

In full bloom Tuesday.

More spring flowers

While we were away our tulips decided to bloom. This is one of two tulip plants we have.

As did this bush by the back porch.

Just a few weeks ago I cut back our clematis to about one foot. I tore out the remaining wooden trellis and replaced it with a metal one. The recent warm weather has helped it grow. I've been trying to weave the plant through the trellis.

I checked the 30-day weather forecast and decided to take all of my plants outside. They didn't winter well in the basement and they look dead but sometimes they miraculously come back. We shall see.

When I left for work I noticed a tulip bloomimg in the parkway and another one ready to bloom.

This is in the parkway by our garage apron. We can't remember what we planted there, but it's growing. Suppose we'll be surprised.

First-time bird visitors

This is the first time a Black-capped Chickadee stopped by. Such a pretty bird but it didn't pose long enough for a decent picture.

And another first-timer - a Brown-headed Cowbird.

I've had quite a a few finches, mostly red and not yellow, but this was too good of a picture not to include. The camera said we had a wren stop by, but it looked like a sparrow to me. Perhaps it will return and I'll get a better look.

Spring flowers

A few warm days and the yard is full of spring flowers. Here are my hellebores ...

and hyacinth.

Grape hyacinth too.

Pretty sure I never planted these but Google Lens says they're striped squill.

And my daffodils. A few of these might end up on my Easter table.

First day of spring

Yesterday was the first day of spring and my crocuses were ready for it!

I filled the bird feeder before I went to work (so warm I walked outside barefoot) hoping my neighborhood cardinals would stop by. They did, along with lots of sparrows and a pesky squirrel. After work we met friends at Fitzgerld's - the outdoor patio was open! Yes, the patio was "open," but the band was playing inside and we were quite chilly.

Mid-May yard

These bushes are blooming and they smell fabulous! Some kind of likac, we think.

Lily of the Valley that we never planted but it pops up every year.

My clematis are getting ready to bloom. The wooden trellis on the right fell apart so I put up the metal, cut back the plant, and it's really growing!

Our only real bloom right now ...

but more on the way. I need to put the matching metal trellis on the left side but that might have to wait until next spring.

It's almost reaching the gutters on the garage. Can't wait to see it in bloom. I also planted some daisy and sunflower seeds, planted some canna lily bulbs I got at the museum, transplanted some hostas and moved our nearly dead wandering "Dudes" to the back yard. Fingers crossed something good happens.

Our irises are starting to bloom. We really need to divide them.

Busy bees on bridal wreath

Our bridal wreath started blooming late last week.

The bees are loving it.

This bumblebee was moving around so much it was hard to get a decent picture of him.

And some pretty flowers that popped up in our yard.

My money plants

These lunaria (money plants) are blooming all over the yard. They do spread and show up in surprising places. They're biennials so they bloom every other year. There are so many in my yard that I get blooms every year so some must have taken root in the "off" years.

Lonely tulip

This is the only tulip left in my yard. I blame the squirrels. At least it blooms consistently year after year. It's time to plant more bulbs, I think.

And the bush by our back stairs is blooming. It smells like spring.

Spring flowers

The yard is in bloom!