Back of the House

The dwarf burning bushes have fully committed to Spring weather

Had a good number of daffodils, just not too long-lasting

The forsythia peaked early last week...

they still need another few years to fill-in

Front of the House

Not too bad for late March.

The daffodils haven't been lasting long with the extremely dry weather. Difficult to imagine, but there are less than two weeks of bloom time remaining for them. After months of work, and they're fading so fast. It's disheartening, but it only means that next year can only be better -with more daffodils and longer-lasting blooms. On the positive side, it will be less than two weeks before the first iris bloom!

The liriope grass was trimmed-up over the weekend (maybe a few weeks late). It has come a long way in becoming a nice, solid border. One of the key features of the border is that it's maintenance-free (no edging required). A 5"x5" concrete-filled trench allows a lawnmower to run right alongside the liriope, and it keeps the bermuda grass out of the planting bed.

The nandina bushes are performing well. Maybe another couple of years before they grow into the desired single, naturalized mass. Still, they have a big impact during winter with their bright red leaves.

The azalea bushes...so frustratingly slow-growing...

All of the bearded and Louisiana iris have taken a strong foothold in the river birch area of the front bed. The bearded iris will need to be extensively thinned-out in August (any purple-blooming iris will be 'dispatched' at first sight).

pairing

imperfection

clarity

simplicity

necessitation

CG is not a fan of growing tulips.

The main reason being, they are the exact opposite of daffodils.

Tulips are fragile, finicky, and unforgiving. 

CG Jr, however, loves tulips.

A few weeks ago, 

CG bought some greenhouse-grown, ready-to-stick-in-the-ground-and-bloom 

red tulips.

the natural structure of stature

warm sunshine

the sun-orange center of this bloom has a nice, warming quality

-even on a cloudy day

the signal

that frigid-cold mornings will soon be a thing of the past

With the early-blooming yellow daffodils, it's possible (and likely) to have additional snowfall.

Now, with the beginning of the progression, all of the different types of daffodils signal warmer times to come.

It almost seems like the warmer the weather, the more color & complexity is coaxed from the ground.