It was lovely outside today after the rain went away and before a huge wind blew in. I didn't get much done out there but the bumblebees and other bees were happy.
To my chagrin, it appears that the white lilac has overpowered the blue lilac. We're about to get substantial bloom for the first time ever--but all white. I didn't buy this lilac; a neighbor gave it to me. It had both blue and white at first but has never bloomed well before. I guess the white was too busy conquering the blue.
The early daffodils are all gone but the mid-late ones are opening and looking great, along with anemone blanda, multiple versions of grape hyacinths, Jan Bos hyacinths, and money plant. Creeping phlox is just opening. I'm seeing pips of lily-of-the-valley (a deer favorite) and baptisia.
My paltry collection of tulips is blooming, mostly Princess Irene, the Kaufman, two Angelique, and two Queen of the Night. It's a paltry collection because voles eat the bulbs in winter.
Our woods has about half a dozen native dogwoods and one very nice native redbud that blew in one day and took years to bloom. The deer liked to eat the lower leaves but now can't reach any. They're still eating the native mountain laurel, unfortunately, which historically was not on their list; I'm told drought drove them to it.
