No spring flowers opened in time for St David’s Day yesterday. But these two are getting ready:
We do still have some winter flowers in bloom:
Spring
Clematis, by the front door
Note of May 4th: I took several shots of the clematis over several days, using the trial-and-error method of learning how to use my digital SLR camera. In the picture below, I manipulated some raw file settings in a photo editing program called Darktable, trying to improve one of those pictures.
Another shot taken about the same time (added 6/19/2012):
Mayapple
We have many mayapple plants now, but this is the only one we’ve seen with a flower so far. It’s on the path by our back fence, close to where I remember seeing a flower and subsequently a fruit photographed last year. Reference: Wikipedia
Our fringe tree is in bloom
This is Chionanthus virginicus, our only one, wild, in the woods, and at the back of Sandy’s woodland garden. I last commented on it back in 2008, and wasn’t able then to do any better showing the whole tree.
See the Wikipedia reference, where I’m delighted to see it’s also known as Old Man’s Beard. Ours blooms every spring, but we’ve never noticed the autumn fruit shown on Wikipedia.
From the top of the X
From the top of the X in the oats field after supper Friday night, 6:40pm, 13 April 2012. We could no longer identify the spire of Hills Church due to tree growth. But we did hear its bells ringing on Sunday. Hills Church is 0.9 miles almost due west of that spot, but we’d probably have to scramble up a tree to see it now.
Youghiogheny Reservoir
My favorite place to stop to eat a cheese sandwich on the way home from Dad’s: the old “National Road” through the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania. About 70 degrees at 12:30 today, but Spring is only just getting started.
Mayapple
The Mayapple plants suddenly popped up about a week ago, in patches, here and there in the woods. This is the patch near the woodpile. Will keep an eye open for any flowers.
Bluets?
Didn’t Wena call them bluets? We’ll have blankets of these soon, mostly in shady places on the lawn, but this is the first patch so far. Sometimes in the past I’ve been moved to mow around them. These are under the swing, where there’s not much grass left to mow anyway. Who knows what their real name is?
Magnolias finished
We still have one or two left . . .
. . . but after their glorious peak, it’s only a few days until most of the petals look like this:
Still, we shouldn’t shed a tear. With a little luck, there’ll be even more next year.
Camellias in bloom
Saturday afternoon, in the triangle garden.
Wikipedia Reference: Camellia