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...

Thursday, April 28, 2011

April Blooms in our Yard

I have talked about our Crocuses,  Hyacinths,  Daffodils and Tulips... Now --we have lots of Irises and Azaleas blooming.. They are beautiful and I'll share some pictures of them soon.  BUT--today,  I want to share some of the other colors in our yard.. Above is a picture of our PINK DOGWOOD tree with the gorgeous BLUE sky in the background....

Speaking of blue skies,  we need some here.  We had TERRIBLE storms yesterday with tons of wind/rain/lightning/thunder and storm, tornado and flood warnings off and on all day..  This is the first time since we moved to Fairfield Glade that the tornado warning sirens blared TWICE.   But--we were okay,  which is better than many people in the path of these storms.  God be with EVERYONE who was affected by these horrible storms yesterday.





I've talked about our Pansies being so gorgeous this year.  WELL---the HOSTAS are beautiful also.  I have several different varieties ---so here is a pretty one which I'm sharing today.  This one begins almost white --and then turns green, as it grows and ages.





We have been trying to find good ground cover for our big rock bed  (on the lower side of our home) for several years.  Here's a picture showing color in this bed now  (Phlox,  Candy Tuft and Dianthus).




This is a close up of some of our pretty PHLOX. I love the different pink colors.




It has taken some time but the CANDY TUFT is finally beginning to spread.  This is a pretty ground cover,  if you are looking for something with some color.  Question:  How much are you supposed to cut back the Candy Tuft after they bloom????  Mine are getting too 'leggy'.... Thanks!




George got a great macro of one of the CANDY TUFT blossoms.  Isn't this a neat little flower?  It's amazing to see some of our beautiful flowers close up!  Sometimes, we just don't notice how much detail there is.




A friend of mine gave me a cutting of  DIANTHUS several years ago.  She called them "Pinks" ---so I didn't know their 'real' name until recently.  This is another ground cover which spreads nicely.




Finally,  here is another macro picture which George took for me.  This is a close up of the DIANTHUS...  Isn't it pretty?

Well---there's good and bad about having TONS of rain.. The good is that the yard and all of the flowers LOVE it... But--that includes all of the weeds also!!!! ha ha

The bad is that,  with the high winds and heavy rains,  our Irises and Azaleas look as if they have been beaten with a stick....  Glad I got some pictures BEFORE the storms hit.... (We got 3 inches of rain yesterday!)

Hope you are SAFE wherever you live.  As I've said several times,  Mother Nature needs to take a 'happy pill'!!!!

Hugs,