A caress and a consolation

"What delights us in the spring is more a sensation than an appearance, more a hope than any visible reality. There is something in the softness of the air, in the lengthening of the days, in the very sounds and odors of the sweet time, that caresses us and consoles us after the rigorous weeks of winter."

- Philip Gilbert Hamerton

I'd like to think that this is the reason I'm so dissatisfied with all of my photos, 

why something seems to be missing from them - 

it is impossible, after all, to capture the essence of Spring in a photograph.

But I try just the same.

Bearded ladies and early arrivals

I have some beautiful bearded ladies blooming in my garden, in multiple places.  This is one of the first blooms to open and shares company with the columbine and the fragrant white iris in the back garden.

The one below, just beginning to open,  is in the front border surrounded by many others.

I planned this bed so that the Spring blooms would be primarily pinks and whites 

with some nice foliage mixed in.

Husker Red Beard Tongue

Azalea

Pittosporum

Igloo Doublefile Viburnum

White Indian Hawthorn

But our warm winter and early spring encouraged the summer residents to make an early appearance.  The summer blooms are all hot colors  - like this.

Arizona Sun Gaillardia

The coreopsis is beginning to bloom, too, but it isn't as much of a misfit.  

In fact, it brings out the yellow in the irises. 

I'm enjoying these early arrivals, even if they aren't color-coordinated. 

I don't think I'll ever complain about blooms - and I don't think the bees and butterflies will, either! 

For the origin of the irises see this post from last April.

"The year's at the spring"

Spring has been unfurling in dramatic fashion over the last week so that tomorrow, on the official first day of the season, my garden is going to be ready!  I spent Saturday cleaning up and pulling weeds, trying to get it ready for the fast pace of unfurling ahead.

The fiddleheads of the ferns are one of the most welcoming sights, unfurling one after another.  This act of unfurling  practically shouts "Spring" (type "spring unfurls" in a google search, and you'll find link after link to photos and blogposts.) 

While the ferns unfurl in the corners of the shade garden, the Sassafras buds open and reach for the sky.

Native to the Eastern U.S., Sassafras is a favorite of birds, flowers in spring and provides beautiful fall color. It loves the conditions in my garden and grows and multiples rapidly - we are often pulling up seedlings that spring up where they aren't wanted.

 

 The azalea buds swelled and began to open in just a matter of days this past week, as did the blooms on one of our dogwoods.

 

 And  the Chestnut Oak is waving its tassels, ready to fling them onto my deck.

When I look up at the budding trees, it's like a pastel version of fall - so much soft color.  But this color is the beginning of a season, not the end, and promises so much beauty to come.

"The year's at the spring
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hillside's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His heaven -
All's right with the world!"
-  Robert Browning

Coming at you at breakneck speed!

The growth in the garden over the last week seems to have been at the rate of "mile-a-minute" kudzu.  The buds of the azaleas swelled and began to burst open almost overnight.

The daffodils have been blooming for several weeks, but new blooms are still opening.

A rosebud begins to form in the morning light.

The coreopsis bloom unfurls.

Reliable dianthus, my grandson's favorite, will soon provide blooms for numerous little nosegays.

Hosta leaves appear - their shoots rolled tight at first but opening in different shades of green and white.

The shamrock was up in time for St. Patrick's day, but the blooms will come later.

The Chestnut Oak sports its long yellow-green tassels, already dispensing yellow dust over everything.

The changes in the garden that Spring brings will continue at this breakneck speed for a while yet.  I just wish I could check off my garden chores list in half as speedy a fashion!

The royalty of the garden

According to the Azalea Society of America azaleas are "the royalty of the garden".  Evergreen azaleas, natives of Japan, are abundant in this part of the country in the spring,  and I never tire of seeing them in bloom.  When we bought our house we were pleased to see that there were many large azaleas in place in our back yard.  Several of these azaleas were suffering last year.  Near the end of the summer we took a branch to our local agricultural center and asked for a diagnosis.  We were told that the problem was in the root system and there wasn't much that could be done.  So this Spring we were prepared for few or no blooms.  But to our delighted surprise, this is what happened!

No, they aren't as full as in years past, but with some pruning after the blooms fade and some TLC,  who knows!
Across the yard, we have this display of white and pink -

I do love the way they look in the late afternoon light!