We were blessed with a very mild winter but now the plants and trees seem to be confused as am I!   Are we done with the freezing weather?  Will it be an early Spring?  Who knows but the plants are feeling the warmth from the sun and starting to bud out, form leaves and blossom with color.  What is blooming at the Ranch right now?  Join me in a tour.  Driving up the driveway, the first thing I notice is the large Bradford Pear Tree in full bloom covered with fluffy white flowers.  (Sorry for the dreary picture but it has been raining for days!)   Ornamental Plum Trees are just starting to show pink blossoms and will be in full bloom within a week or two.   I also notice the Redbud Tree forming red buds getting ready for its’ Spring show.

 

Daffodils are gracefully swaying in the breeze with their bright yellow perky flower head on top of tall stems.  Fragrant Hyacinths blooming and they are one of my favorites, I love their pink and purple blooms.  I must remember to cut some and bring inside to enjoy their wonderful aroma.  I also notice the tulips are up and forming flower heads.  Love to see all the beautiful colorful tulips!

 

 

 

 

 

As I walk around the gardens, I always notice a weed here and there that I have to stop and pull (of course!).  Then a brilliant orange color catches my eye and I notice the Orange Flowering Quince is blooming and is it ever beautiful.  This bush forms beautiful blooms on the branches before the leaves are fully formed.  This particular Quince also bloomed again in the fall, what a treat.  This is a flowering bush everyone should have in their garden.  Quince likes full sun (tolerates part shade) and well drained soil and other than that, you have a low maintenance plant that will bring you bright colorful blooms every year just when you are really needing for winter to be over.  OK, sorry I got off track, let’s keep on walking around the Ranch grounds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have several types of Peony plants in the gardens, and I notice the earlier blooming types are starting to pop up with burgundy color stems.  Need to make sure I put my round supports up for the stems to grow through to support the heavy flowers.   The lime color of Creeping Jenny adds a nice contrast to the burgundy stems of the Peony.

Another ground cover seen with the Daffodils above is the variegated Lamium (also known by the unfitting name of Dead Nettle).  Some of the other plants starting to show leaves are Clematis and Hydrangeas.   Flowering Almond bushes are forming buds as are the Lilac bushes.  Forsythia  are blooming with their bright yellow bloosoms and even though I don’t have one planted in my gardens, they are available in our sales area.

I love to see the evolving stages of Spring and look forward to it each year as one of my favorite times.   We will probably open earlier this year if the weather holds.  I will post our opening on the website and on facebook:  Becky’s Flower Farm.  Be sure to come by and see our awesome plants.  Thank you for joining me on a Spring stroll through the garden.