My earliest-blooming plant is the Pasqueflower, which usually shows its beautiful purple flowers in mid-April, regardless of temperature or snowfall. The bloom has closed up in this image; another image of the same plant appears below. That one was taken 2nd week of May, last year.
The Golden Currant is about to bloom, and the allium bulbs are getting closer too.
I bought a few more xeric semi-native shrubs to fill out the xeric garden. What I've decided to do this year is take out of the xeric garden any plants that require more th
an a little water, and replace them with reliable ones like fernbush, apache plume, sage, rabbitbrush (various varieties), Ratibida columnifera, Prince's Plume, sticky geranium, and similar ones. I've given up on Mahonia repens (Oregon Grape) because I sometimes forget to keep it watered over the winter, and this past winter I think I lost all three of my Oregon Grape Plants. The plants I've removed from the xeric garden (fall-blooming asters, some yarrow) are being transplanted in other gardens, and given away.
I got to see the teenage fox pups this AM, yippee! Caddy and I went for a walk and, while strolling through the Vet's Center, what did we see but THREE of them! Two of them are in photo, one's a little hard to see. Mom was nowhere in sight - maybe she was taking a break this Mother's Day!
