Almost Spring

The weather has been different this year. After a relatively mild winter with little snow, the spring has been rainy and cooler. Our sump pump worked overtime and prevented a flood in the basement. Heavy rains made the Pawtuxet River rise, flood low areas around it, and rushed over the boulders in the river bed. But signs of spring are showing in our yard and the neighborhood.

Click on the images to see them larger, uncropped, and read their titles.

Our Front and Back Yards This Spring

Last year, we had about 650 bulbs planted, tulips, daffodils, allium, and muscari. They put on a show when they first bloomed. This year, the show has been a little weaker. Daffodils and muscari put on a good show but fewer tulips came up. We are waiting to see what the allium will do in another month or so. The prolific Coreopsis is still very low, and the tall liatris is waiting for the weather to warm up a little more.

And the backyard is waking up too! The two tree peonies are budding, one with over a dozen and the other, with only one! The honeysuckle looks promising and the two clematis are already climbing their supports. Monarda has been spreading and now covers a larger part of the flower bed. This year, we will put a hummingbird feeder in the backyard and they will enjoy visiting the monarda too. The bearded and Siberian irises are coming up strong, but we have to wait for their flowers. In the far back, the yellow lilies have their mound of foliage but no flowers yet. Behind them, Solomon’s seal looks like it will have a strong show for us.

In the Neighborhood

There are many spring-blooming trees in the neighborhood. The blooming cherry a little further down from us is quite showy, and forsythia grabs attention all around. On the other side of our house, the flowering quince with its red flowers is quite attractive too. The wild protected area with many trees and ivies climbing them, is peppered with daffodils by the owners.

And, I will close with a few infrared photographs I took recently as I took a short walk. In addition to our house, you will also see ivy trying to climb on the trunk of a tree, several trees pretending to listen to a tree talker, and the false colors of the spring sky and a tree branch.

I will keep you informed about nature’s progress on Spring Green!