View allAll Photos Tagged spring2017
The Butterfly Weed is in full bloom and so there are butterflies! We have moved into hot, muggy weather already.
The only place I can safely grow lilies is up on our higher deck in a pot. So far no deer have ventured up there and these lilies have been in this pot for at least 5 years- maybe more happily blooming away!
I was surprised and excited to find a pair of Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies visiting the Viburnum today. This handsome male allowed me a shot while his female companion moved around too quickly.
Nice viewed large.
The Viburnum is loaded with buds and new leaves and has weathered the snow and freezing rain quite well. This has the most wonderful fragrance when in bloom- I can smell it all over the back yard. I can't wait!!
Viburnum burkwoodii 'Chenaultii'
My Japanese Snowbell-Styrax japonicus- is in glorious bloom and loaded with wonderfully fragrant blossoms! I make sure to walk out and stand near it several times a day!
Why I have a challenge with what I can plant in my garden! Despite planting things that are "deer resistant, they manage to make a meal of a lot of stuff. We spray with stinky repellent but still they show up! There were 9 of the blighters in my side yard last evening. As I headed across the yard, they took off into the woods!
The house with the Bluebird nest is in this shot on the right.
Daffodils in the bed at the corner of our yard by the street. The Nandina 'Firepower' on the left is stunning now. There are two huge clumps of the Daffodils one on each side of the bed, both flanked by the Nandina and they all look very happy.
We continue to have very bizarre weather. Yesterday we had a record breaking 80F and a powerful wind and rain storm. Today it's only about 50F! Snow is forecast for tomorrow- though it will be in the low 40s so it won't stick.
The Hellebores are some of the most hardy plants around. They are the earliest bloomers and will stand up to ice and snow if it comes. We had a light dusting of snow today but it's in the 40sF so it didn't last. Two days ago it was 80F! Very strange weather all around.
We were gone 5 days and the baby Bluebirds are huge! Just about ready to fledge as well. I won't be peeking in anymore now. Good luck little ones!
Monday:
A chance of snow after 5pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 40. Southeast wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Monday Night:
Snow before 2am, then snow and sleet. Low around 31. Blustery, with a northeast wind 14 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow and sleet accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
Tuesday:
Snow and sleet, becoming all snow after 8am. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 35. Breezy, with a north wind 16 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow and sleet accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
Tuesday Night:
Snow showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Winter decided to show up AFTER we have had a very warm weather since December! The Hellebores, Daffodils and Primroses (like these) will be fine but I do worry about the Redbud tree, which already has buds, and the other delicate new growth that has been appearing.
The snow blower is ready to go....
The Bluebirds have hatched. From the look of them about 2 days ago or so. It's been raining here so I hadn't gone out to check the box since Saturday when there were still just eggs. They look so vulnerable at this stage but within 3 weeks they will be fledging and out on their own!
A partial view of the main house at Winterthur. It is tucked into the landscape in such a way as to make it hard to get a full view- I'm sure that was intentional.
Almost 60 years ago, collector and horticulturist Henry Francis du Pont (1880–1969) opened his childhood home, Winterthur, to the public. Today, Winterthur (pronounced “winter-tour”) is the premier museum of American decorative arts, with an unparalleled collection of nearly 90,000 objects made or used in America between about 1640 and 1860. The collection is displayed in the magnificent 175-room house, much as it was when the du Pont family lived here, as well as in permanent and changing exhibition galleries.
On the house tour we got to see about 20 of those rooms. The house is nine stories tall! An amazing place.
A quick peek yesterday and they are growing quite fast. I can already see flight feathers coming in on their wings. Not a great shot but with poppa dive bombing my head, I didn't want to hang around too long!
We came upon this gazebo on the wooded paths at Winterthur. The statue on the right looks like George Washington to me, but I could not find any confirmation other than the DuPonts admiring him and having other statues and portraits of him in their collections.
What a lovely spot!
A peek in the nest yesterday showed five eggs. I'll look in again this evening for likely the last time for 12 days or so. It's always exciting waiting for them to hatch!!
This rose-breasted grosbeak spent a lot of time today imitating a hummingbird. I'm not sure who was most surprised to see him, me or the hummers!
I have several large clumps of this variety. The first was a garden trade with a friend. This one tends to bloom facing the ground so not easy to get a great shot unless you get down low!