Boise Spring Unfolding

Days have continued to grow longer and we have been blessed with some good, soaking rains.  The combination of the two is working wonders in my gardens.   Here is what I have right now:

I love these vibrant fuchsia azaleas.  I have two big shrubs, each nearly five feet tall.  They are just beginning to open up and will be the highlight of my back yard for the next week or two.

I'm already beginning to wonder if I was out of my mind to plant Bishop's Weed.  It truly is invasive.  However, it is doing exactly what I wanted - completely filling in an area where not much else was growing.  It has pretty leaves and grows so densely it chokes out everything else - even the weeds.   I just have to do some take-no-prisoners trimming back a couple times each summer to be sure it does not spread to the areas where I don't want it.  For now, I'm really enjoying it.  But I have quite a big patch from having just planted a few sprigs I got from a neighbor.  This is truly a Borg of a plant, trying to take over my yard.  They say it is great for public spaces or yards of people who want something that looks nice even though they can't get out to do any work in it.  I'm counting on this baby to be my serious ground cover when I get to old and infirm to keep up with the maintenance I do now.

My Bleeding Hearts are coming along nicely.   I had to move one because we are getting ready to take down two 50 foot pine trees and I didn't want to risk it getting smashed.  But it seems to be doing well in its new home.  All the ones I have right now are the pink variety.  I'd like to get a couple white ones to add to them this year - especially if I follow through on my ambition to plant a moon garden.

I've had my big yellow daffodils blooming for a while now, but this week I've started to see a few other varieties appearing.

My Pulmonaria is starting to put out its multi color blossoms.  I love this plant and look forward to it every spring.  I have a whole chain of them that circle one of the few pine trees we are keeping.  

I planted these white Scilla just last year and wasn't sure how many of them would survive the squirrels.  I've been very pleased to see groupings of them popping up in all sorts of places.  

This sweet forsythia has been moved three times as I keep renegotiating the layout of my gardens.  I think I've finally found a spot for it to stay.  I need to keep in mind that although it's only a couple feet tall right now, over the next few years this thing will grow taller than the fence if I let it.  I am trying to keep an eye to the future as I decide which plants to introduce and where to put them.

My hyacinth bulbs are pushing out fat buds and will soon be opening to full color.

Another shade lover is my Brunnera  I have a couple different varieties.  I like the variegated ones with the lovely white stripes on the leaves, but this Jack Frost is always lovely as well.

Week by week I enjoy watching different things emerge and learning about each plant.  I am reminded of walks I used to take with my grandmother on the ranch in Oak Creek (Arizona).  She could name every single thing that grew on their property - even the weeds.  I admit I am not as enthusiastic come summer when days turn hot and my gardens compete with other interests.  But in the spring time there is simply no other place I would rather be.