Spring 2009 at my house

I promised to post something about spring at my house.  Spring has been going on for quite some time, now (since late February), so there is a lot to see.  I'm not a gardener, so my yard isn't a showplace like most yards and gardens here in the Southern US.  But, nevertheless, nature puts on quite a show, if you know where to look.

Early Spring

Daffodils still in bud.

The mint beginning to sprout.

Bush Honeysuckle.  It blooms very early, in February.

I don't know what this shrub is called, but it grows near by backdoor and blooms in February.  The scent of the flowers is divine and lets you know Spring is here!

The flowers are still in bud here.

Here they are a few days later, after the flowers opened.

Periwinkle, which grows abundantly in the shady parts of the front yard.

As nice as early Spring is here in North Carolina (and it is quite nice), April is SHOW TIME!

This is a Flowering Dogwood and is a tree that grows wild in the Southern US.  It has beautiful, large-petaled flowers.  It is an understory tree and doesn't grow too tall, but flourishes in the shade of the larger hardwoods in the forest.  It is also a very beloved ornamental tree of gardeners.

In the two elevated planters on either side of my front porch, I have these colorful violas.

These purple flowers belong to a ground cover called Ajuga(sp?).  For a few brief weeks every spring, it has these marvelous flowers.  No matter now tall the grass gets, I won't cut it until these flowers fade.  (My neighbors hate my hard because it is not dedicated to TURF.)

This is wild Columbine.  I never planted it, it just grows where it wants to.  It is a bonafide wild flower.

Even my mighty Rosemary bush is blooming a tiny bit this Spring.  It must be all the rain and cool weather.

But, of course, the real star of Spring in the Southeastern United States are the azeleas.  They are more magnificent than usual this year.  See for yourself.

Here they are in RED.

Here they are in PINK.

And here they are in WHITE.

The flowers also attract bumblebees.

That's about it, at least for now.  Spring is hardly over, the peonies have buds and will open in a few weeks.  Stay tuned.