After a week of unseasonably warm weather spring has arrived in the northeast corner of Washington State. It is such a joy to see the flowers beginning to bloom so on my daily walk I took a few photos.
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| Pend Oreille County Cherry tree in bloom 4-15-2016 |
The most obvious blooms are the cherry trees which are eagerly being visited by numerous pollinating insects including some gigantic bumblebees. Unfortunately I wasn't able to capture a good photo of one.
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| Rhododendron PJM |
The PJM rhododendrons I moved from my old home in Western Washington have survived the trauma of being transplanted to a more extreme climate and are starting to bloom. Looking past what I have planted, I start looking for native plants in the wilder areas,
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| Mahonia repens |
I detected a mild, lovely fragrance and followed my nose to find one of my favorite natives, Oregon Grape (Mahonia repens) is starting to bloom.
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| Dandelion |
Although dandelions are often disdained, I enjoy their cheery yellow blooms which are also appreciated by the bees.
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| Violet (Viola adunca) Pend Oreille County, WA |
While kneeling to photograph the dandelion, I noticed a tiny speck of blue a few feet away and a closer look reveals the first wild violet I've seen blooming this year.
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| Wild strawberry Pend Oreille County, WA |
Looking closely, there are also numerous tiny wild strawberry blossoms. After my brief survey of my garden area, I returned to my sun room inside the house to find the first of this year's blossoms of my Meyer lemon has opened.
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| Meyer Lemon Blossom |
What is blooming in your garden today? Be sure to visit May Dreams Gardens to see the other gardens this month.
So beautiful... your world. Lovely photos.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Since your photos are so fabulous, I appreciate the kind words.
DeleteMy garden consists mostly of indoor orchids and a huge ficus tree, along with whatever wan herbs I may be tending at any given moment. Getting a tour of your spring shoots and blooms gives me a bit of respite from the city soot, dust and badly-pruned street trees. Thank you! Do you get lemons from your Meyer lemon?
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed the spring flowers. Yes, I do get lemons from my Meyer lemon! I've had the tree for about 5 years and every year the amount of fruit increases. Last year I got about 6 lemons and this year I have 17 blossoms. Although usually not all blooms successfully grow into lemons, a good percentage do. So I hope to have at least 10 lemons this year. Thanks for visiting!
Deletejust gorgeous! Still waiting for things to bloom here in Michigan catchatwithcarenandcody
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting! Even though winter really isn't all that long, I am always impatient for spring.
DeleteMy irises are taking center stage today. Love your photos.
ReplyDeleteI love irises - they are so lovely!
DeleteI'm actually enjoying the few dandelions that popped up in my borders, too -- for now. I'll probably yank them out before they go to seed, but they're a welcome dash of yellow for the time being! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree! I'm so happy to see anything blooming in the early spring that I don't even mind the dandelions! They also keep my pollinators happy!
DeleteI love your photos, especially the Rhododendron! I'd love to be able to grow that here!
ReplyDeleteThank you! PJM is a pretty tough rhododendron so you might even be able to grow it where you are. It can take temps well below zero and also tolerates heat as long as it gets plenty of water.
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