Rhubarb’s Ready

A sweet journey from plant to cake…

Flowering Trees & Shrubs

Our flowering crabs are in various stages of blossom. The front tree is almost done, blossoms faded, leaving a pink blanket on the bed below. The white Snow Queen is peaking and is pretty much living up to its name, and the darker red is just beginning to show its colors. The lilac bushes are mirroring the crabs, with the white ones leading the way, and the more colorful blooms just beginning.

Hummingbird!

The first hummingbird siting of the season is always exciting.  This year even more so, because it’s been so slow coming.  What a cutie.

Front Yard

Just a couple of sunny days make a huge difference in the lush look of the rhododendron. The bleeding hearts are beginning to flower, and, across the street, Margaret has a couple of tulips that survived whatever was feasting on them. And there’s one with a bud that may very well be a flower when she returns from Eastern Europe.

Backyard

I love living in an area that has old trees, but it means we have less full sun, especially in the back. The back beds are always slow getting going.

The large variegated wiegelia is beginning to leaf at last. For a while I thought it didn’t survive but it’s looking healthy enough now. The dwarf wiegelia began to get leaves about a week ago. In the far back, what we affectionately call “the warning track”, the white flowering crab is almost fully leafed, the birch about halfway, and the red crab just starting.

The tulips in the upper beds are at my favorite stage: just past buds. Immediately to their left are the dwarf wiegelia, and in the lower right the sedum is beginning to fill in.

More color

Yes, there are rhododendrons and azaleas hearty enough for zone 4.  This one has been moved around and is still a little scraggly from the trauma, but looks better every year.  I think it’s finally strong enough to get pruned after it blooms this year.

Tulips

 After a warm day, I have tulips in the front yard. The back tulips are either providing dinner for the deer or are not ready yet, depending on their location. They’re much smaller than usual; I’m guessing it’s because of the cold spring, and they’ve been snowed upon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sadly, Margaret’s tulips are not faring well. They’re being eaten. She has at least one nice bud, so there’s still hope.

Heat Advisory

Yup.  Two days ago frozen bird bath, today there’s a heat advisory.  I for one am looking forward to the warmth and the floral activity that it’s bound to inspire.

Gotta build my nest!

 

This little lady has been busy raiding my coco baskets for her nest. It’s been entertaining to watch her, once I gave up on any hope of re-using those liners. Sometimes her mouth is so full of fibers I wonder how she can run up a tree with it, but she moves so fast it’s been difficult to catch her with the camera, so apparently it doesn’t slow her down much. In the background you can see the crabapple trees leafing beautifully.

Slow Progress

After several cool days and freezing nights, there’s not been a lot of action, save for the destruction the deer have wrought.

• Upper Left:  a lone daffodil has erupted.
• Upper Right:  the rhubarb looks like a real plant, but the stems are only a few inches long.  I’m usually picking it by this time.  This is one thing I remember from past years because Brian’s birthday was last week, and he used to love strawberry-rhubarb coffeecake for his birthday.
• Lower Right:  my front tulips were loaded with fat buds waiting for some warm temps, but several of them were decapitated by the deer.
• Lower Left:  the back tulips are now 6-8″ tall, but no buds yet.  I’m sure the deer are waiting anxiously.

Overnight Freeze

We have a heated bird bath on our deck so our feathered friends can get a drink all winter long. Because it sits on a bench, it’s accessible by small furry creatures and has become the watering hole for many a squirrel and the neighbors’ cat as well. It keeps the water just above freezing and uses very little energy, but once freeze danger is over, of course we unplug it. Steve, ever the optimist, has tried unplugging it 3 times this spring, only to find it frozen on a chilly morning, as it was today. Not just a thin layer of ice, but pretty solid. It’s bad enough to see the ice, but it’s really sad to see a little bird standing on the edge trying to find the water. I’m afraid it’s another fireplace morning.