Spring is here!

Sunday afternoon was nice will a bit of sun and very little wind. After a bike ride I spent some time in the garden, turning the soil and removing pesky clumps of grass from the flowerbeds. I discovered that the oregano survived the winter... maybe being buried under several feet of snow was just enough insulation. The snow in that area of the yard didn't melt until the nighttime temperatures moderated into the 30s.

Here is one of my rose bushes. All of the roses were damaged from the drifts, so I trimmed them way back. That action gave me the opportunity to get rid of lots of dead canes. I think the roses are glad for the cleansing. If you look carefully, you can see green leaves and red shoots beginning to appear!

Here is the ONE flower in my yard as of today. It is the only bud in this clump of daffodil greens. There are more buds in some other clumps so I am hoping for more color in a week or so, depending on the weather.

The greens in the background are lilies, commonly known as Magic Lilies, Surprise Lilies, and Naked Ladies. The leaves are the first to come up in the spring. They are full, large clumps. However, no flowers are to be seen. The leaves die back by early summer and are gone by August when suddenly single stalks shoot up out of the seemingly barren earth. Then, lovely pale pink lilies blossom for a week or two.