Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Monday, May 2, 2016

March was a Pretty Month in our Yard- 2016

Hello Friends,   YES---I know!!!!  It's MAY (can you believe it?)---but I am just now publishing my "March Flowers"  blog post.... ha ha ..... Where have I been?  WELL---we took two trips in April plus all of the Spring yardwork and all of the exercise/walking we do.  SO---that's my excuse and I'm stickin' with it!!!!!!

Anyhow---Spring is a wonderful time around our yard,  beginning with these March flowers...  Our biggest March joy this year was all of the many, many Daffodils we had.  They bloomed from mid-March to mid-April...  Amazing!  Hope you saw the Daffodil blog post I did this past month.

Next came the big flowering trees/bushes (Forsythia and Red Bud--shown today,  and Pink Dogwood in April)... Then came all of our Tulips (post coming soon).   and now we have tons of gorgeous Irises blooming.  The Roses are beginning to bloom --and next will come the Lilies and Daylilies.  SO--you can see how exciting life is here in Tennessee.

I went through all of my March pictures and pulled out 12 to share with you today.  Since I already showed the Daffodils (individually and up-close),  I skipped most of those photos.  I'm also skipping the Tulip photos since I will blog about them separately....

Now that it is MAY---it looks kinda funny to see our yard with no leaves on the trees in these pictures.  There's a HUGE difference now,  but that will have to be another future post.... ha..  Sit back and pretend it's still MARCH --and enjoy seeing our yard then!


The picture at the top and this one are of our little CROCUSES in our yard.  Crocuses are always the first little flowers to bloom in Spring and ours were so pretty.  This picture was taken on 3/7/16 and the one at the top of the post was taken on 3/16/16.



Next (after the Crocuses) came the HYACINTHS. We had 3-4 different colored ones this year and they were so pretty...  They have a strong aroma also.   This picture was taken on 3/13/16.



A pretty Hot Pink HYACINTH (taken 3/13/16)



A few years ago,  we purchased a small FORSYTHIA Bush.  This year was the first year that it bloomed  A LOT... SO pretty in spring!!!!  I thought you'd like to see a close-up of the blooms.  Photo taken on 3/16/16;



This picture of part of our front yard was taken on 3/25/16.  You can see Daffodils, Tulips, Hyacinths in this bed (which is one of our Rose Beds). You can also see Daffodils blooming in the two round beds.  At that time,  we were EXCITED about the GREEN grass... The trees had no leaves at that time....



Our Ground Cover (Periwinkle ---or Vinca Minor) is so gorgeous in March and April when it blooms and blooms.  We love the little blueish (almost purple) flowers.  (Picture taken on 3/25/16)



Here's a close-up of some of the Daffodils and Hyacinths in the bed in front of our Rose Bed.  (Picture taken on 3/25/16)



We have two gorgeous RED BUD Trees in our yard.  This is the largest one.   We love seeing the Red Buds bloom in Spring.  (Picture taken on 3/28/16)



Here's a close-up of some of the RED BUD blooms.  Pretty against that blue sky,  aren't they?    (Photo taken on 3/28/16)



Here's one more picture of this bed filled with Daffodils, Tulips, Hyacinths.  (In May/June,  this bed will be filled with blooming Roses.)  Photo taken on 3/31/16;



Our Home in March (taken 3/31/16);  We loved it then with the green grass and all of the flowers blooming....  BUT??????  (See next picture)



Can you tell a huge difference in ONE month?  This obviously is NOT a March picture of our home --but was taken on 4/30/16, from across the street....  AMAZING the difference,  isn't it?  Nature is just so awesome.  Oh how I love living here --where we have four very different seasons.
I just had to show you this last picture to compare with one a month ago. George and I get up about 5 a.m. almost every single morning and take a 2 mile walk on the golf course cart path next to our home.  We have been watching the leaves on the trees gradually come out this past month.  But seeing pictures like these last two really show the drastic changes.

Well---that was our March!!!  Next,  I'll show you April in our yard..  In addition,  I'll share a Tulip post.  AND---we took a short trip to the North Carolina mountains (Cashiers) this past month --so that's another post....   AND--when will I have time to do all of this since we also have a trip planned in May??????? ha ha ha

BUT---all you need to know is that LIFE for George and me is GOOD...  We both got one of the best medical reports (after our yearly physicals) that we have gotten.  SO--I guess for a couple of OLD people,  we are still plugging along.

If you missed seeing two more gorgeous ROSES on my Photo Blog yesterday,  click HERE to see them...

Much LOVE to all of you,