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While I was doing other things, spring arrived in my yard!

Short tree or tall shrub?
My serviceberry blooms again.
Beauty will yield fruit!

Smiling at the sun
Imitating its brightness.
Hide when the rain comes!

Naughty jaywalkers
know no sidewalk boundaries.
Just watch where you step!

While you weren't looking
We were taking a shower.
Free water today!

You thought we were gone?
Roses don't quit easily.
It's us that dig you.

Mysterious plant
longing for the wilderness.
Living by a house.


In the process of officially welcoming spring by starting up the lawnmower on the first try, I had to stop to notice all the new plant life in my yard.  Some of it will soon disappear, so I had to catch it while I could. 

The serviceberry blooms for just a few days, but it always yields enough berries for a couple of small jars of jam.  That shrub/tree was a little stick I planted with my daughter about 30 years ago (in addition to berries for me and the birds, it also yielded a poem a couple years back).

I have no idea where the tarda tulips came from--I don't remember ever planting them. I thought they were lilies! Perhaps they've been there for years, and I never noticed.  They are rare tulip survivors, considering the deer decimation my property has undergone.  These are in the fenced backyard. What a nice surprise!

Ever-spreading pink creeping phlox seems to be a durable resident. Even an occasional car tire or sidewalk salt doesn't faze them. They will bloom again later in the summer.

Daffodils and paperwhites always thrive, but they won't be here for long.  

The roses now rearing their heads near the foundation appear to be remnants of a rosebush I thought I had completely removed last year because of its extreme age, lack of blooms and overwhelming unhealthiness, but I guess a few roots remained.  Maybe with a little extra food they'll flourish? They now look happy!

The mystery plant is a Virginia bluebell.  How it got here, living next to my chimney, I'm not exactly sure. It might be happier in a ditch or a forest, I'm thinking. 

I also have many hyacinths out in the front of my house, but they aren't out yet.  The neighborhood deer yanked them out of the ground last fall, spreading the bulbs near and far, but yielding more plants than ever.  Pictures yet to come!

Thanks for reading and for touring the yard with me.  I really do need to get out more!