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, March 25, 2019

SPRING has SPRUNG in TENNESSEE (maybe)

Some of the different varieties of Daffodils growing in our yard this year (3/18/19);   The cold, freezing weather  sends the blooms to the ground --so George picks them and I put them in a vase and enjoy them inside....  Works WELL!!!
Hello Friends and Family!   Welcome to a little Spring here in Tennessee  (WELL--so far!!! ha).    As many of you know,  I LOVE weather statistics and following the weather.  This past Fall and Winter  were totally CRAZY here.   We had a very late Fall with warm weather staying until November.

When we finally did get some colder weather,  the leaves turned and we did have a few days of pretty Fall Color here in November (VERY FEW)..   That caused us to be outside raking and blowing leaves  through Thanksgiving and Christmas!!!!!   We finally got some professional help getting the bulk of our leaves up--but that was in January!!!   NUTTY!

After such a weird Fall,   we kept wondering what our Winter would look like.   Guess what?  It was equally as crazy as Fall had been.  We had   NO SNOW at all (other than one teeny morning snow in December which disappeared in an hour) --and having no snow was a 'first' and a huge disappointment to a snow-lover like me, since we moved here in 2003....   SAD!

What we did get were warm temperatures and an over-abundance of RAIN and Flooding (all over East TN) in  January and February.  Luckily,  we live 2000 feet UP in elevation here on the Cumberland Plateau, so no flooding here.  BUT--it was sad to watch so many areas in Tennessee having HORRIBLE flooding and so much damage.

The poor Spring Flowers had no idea what was going on  --so they started coming up EARLY,  especially the Daffodils.    When March got here,   we finally did get some COLD weather.   It was not horribly cold the first 3 weeks of March --but cold enough (below freezing) to kill many of our pretty Daffodils this year....  That was a first for us too since we moved here and planted Daffodils.   They are usually very hardy flowers --but  couldn't get through our COLD MARCH without damage.

I heard last night that MARCH has been a colder month than FEBRUARY.....   It's no wonder our poor flowers don't know what to do!!!!!   As the old saying goes:  "Welcome to Tennessee.  IF you don't like the weather one day,  just wait --and it will change quickly"!!!!!! ha ha

NOW---back to Spring!!!!!!   Throughout the past month --we have been watching our flowers grow --and taking pictures throughout the month!   SO---believe it or not,  I do have some pretty pictures to share today thanks to the perseverance of these early spring beauties... I hope you enjoy them!!!!


Pretty Little  CROCUSES  (2/27/19);  These are usually the first to bloom--but the Daffodils beat them this year.



The first groups of Spring Flowers to bloom  EARLY this year were some of the DAFFODILS.   They were so pretty until the March Freezing Weather zapped them...  (2/17/19)



HYACINTHS  (3/12/19);   The cold March weather hurt our Hyacinths a lot this year --but I managed to get this one picture of this little patch. 



I love this little batch of CROCUSES  (3/12/19) 



First Tulip bloomed on 3/17/19



The little Tulip Bed (3/20/19);   NOTE:  There WERE some new Daffodils on either side of the Tulips  --but the freezing temperatures killed them this year!   You can see some of the older Daffodils in the bed above --that are now on the ground due to damage from the recent freezes.



A picture of the entire bed (3/20/19);   In the Summer,  this is our Rose and Day Lily and Iris bed --but in the Spring,  it is our Daffodil and Tulip Bed!!!!



Beautiful Red Tulip  (3/20/19)



Three little Tulips ---all in a row!!!!!!  (3/23/19)



Little Daffodils  3/20/19;   We always call these little guys "Dad Adams"  Daffodils since George's Daddy gave them to us many years ago.



A close-up of one of the different varieties of Daffodils we have  (3/20/19)



Another variety of Daffodils in our yard  (3/20/19)



Periwinkle is one of our Ground Covers.   In Spring we enjoy their pretty little blue flowers.  (3/20/19)



Anyone want some pretty PINK Tulips?????  This little bed through the years has given us some pretty flowers  (pansies,  petunias, vinca,  etc.).. Picture taken 3/23/19;



One of our newest set of Tulips (3/23/19);  Love the colors!!!



Another view of this pretty Tulip  (3/23/19)



Here's one more view of the Tulip Bed  (3/23/19)
WELL--compared with most years,  on this date, March 25,  Early Spring has been very different. BUT---after the crazy Fall and Winter ---we're happy just to have any spring much at all so far....  IF we can now get some warmer weather in April,  maybe everything will start to 'green' up a bit and the big trees will get some leaves on them!!!!!!!

Hope you are having a good March---and hopefully there will be a better April for  all of us.

Hugs,



30 comments:

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

I think the weather has been pretty crazy in other parts o the world also. Love to see all you spring blooms.

Ann said...

Weather just seems to be crazy everywhere lately. We had the mildest winter I can ever remember. It was cold but hardly any snow, which was ok with me. All your spring flowers are so pretty. Hopefully we'll start seeing some around here soon

Wendy said...

Lovely to see all your spring flowers! We still have snow, but hopefully melting soon. Yes, weather is nuts this year. Ah well....

George said...

I'm surprised we have this many beautiful blossoms after the weird winter weather we've had. You got some wonderful pictures.

David said...

Betsy, lovely photos of lovely flowers as usual! As for the snow, if I'd known you wanted some snow we'd have diverted the 1.8" that we had down here in the valley! We love seeing snow...on TV and in scenic photos...but we don't miss it after a lifetime in the north! Happy Spring to you and George... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Arkansas Patti said...

Loved your arrangement. We had about the same Winter, no snow--bummer. We did get lots of rain and I never complain about that. Early Spring looks pretty good in your neighborhood.

Judy said...

Your bouquet is beautiful. My daffodils and tulips have broken ground but it will be awhile before we see blooms. You're right the weather is very unusual.

Lady Fi said...

Wow - your spring flowers are delightful!

linda m said...

They are all so lovely. I can't wait for the flowers to start coming up around here. Thanks for sharing your flowers with us.

BeachGypsy said...

Hello there Betsy, sure enjoyed seeing all your pretty spring flowers. Oh my!!!---look at those gorgeous crocuses, I LOVE THOSE!! The tulips and daffodills are long done here, I saw some pretty irises yesterday. The azaleas are in full rampant bloom all over, so pretty. Most of the camellias are fading or gone, sad to see them go...but it means the beautiful magnolias are soon to be here! Hope you are feeling okay and getting out to enjoy some pretty spring, Tennessee springs and summers are so beautiful. Do y'all have any fun trips planned anytime soon?

Ginny Hartzler said...

My favorite are the pink tulips, and the beautiful peach & white daffodil. Yes, the weather has been the same here. And I wonder how many flowers it has ruined. The weirdest spring in my memory. And the daffodils did come up even before the crocus!

eileeninmd said...

Hello Betsy, the weather has been crazy this past winter. We had more than enough rain and just a little bits of the freezing stuff and snow. Your flowers are all beautiful. I love the tulips. Enjoy your day! Have a happy new week! PS, thanks for your visit!

Betsy said...

Such gorgeous flowers Betsy. Our fall, winter and spring so far, weather has been completely strange too. Only a few small snowfalls until February, when we had record-breaking amounts of snow. We still have some in our yard but Dennis and I went for a walk on Saturday and I actually found a few crocus trying to peek up through a neighbors yard. There is hope! Thank you for sharing your beautiful blooms with us. Blessings, Betsy

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

Your spring is way ahead of ours! We have a tiny, tiny yellow flower bravely sticking its head out of the ground. It's probably a crocus. But that's the extent of the spring that we've seen in our yard. I do love your crocus pictures. They're such a pretty little flower and always such a welcome sight in the spring.

Big Dude said...

Beautiful as always. If I hadn't been there, I'd think you had five acres of gardens to get all that color.

Marcia said...

Lovely to see. I'm headed to AZ for 10 days on Monday. It will be a different spring there.
Question: how did you keep the deer from eating your tulips?

Lowcarb team member said...

Hello Betsy,
What a lovely post, so lovely to see your Spring flowers.
They are beautiful and such nice colours.

We have had some Spring-like days in my part of the UK … hoping it lasts a little longer.
Enjoy the week ahead.

All the best Jan

Ruth Hiebert said...

You dod get some lovely pictures of the flowers. I hope that the roses and dallies will make up for what you are not getting now.

The Furry Gnome said...

Well, you're FAR ahead of us! Pretty normal winter here.

LV said...

So glad to hear from you and that you are doing okay. I may not tell you often enough, but I do think of you and George a lot. Wish I had you two's touch for having so many lovely flowers. Enjoy them for me. Take care.

Linda said...

It's nice to see an overview of your flower beds. You have an astonishing variety of flowers.

Kay said...

Now that I’ve seen your flowers, Betsy, I know it’s definitely spring. Thank you so much for sharing your gorgeousness with us.

Fun60 said...

I like the unusual colour of your hyacinths. Despite the weather you still have lots of Spring colour in your garden.

Dee said...

Hi Betsy, as usual I so enjoyed looking at your pictures. Love, Love flowers, shrubs, trees - really anything outside. We had too much rain last spring, summer and fall and winter this year was full of snow. Really crazy. We are looking forward to spring and hope this year will not be so full of rain.

Chatty Crone said...

Betsy - I do love your springtime flowers - they are gorgeous - but they are every year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

Yes this weather has been something else! I am so happy to see Spring. Your flowers bring a smile to my face The crocus especially

Connie said...

Your spring blooms are beautiful, Betsy! I love the crocuses.

Shug said...

Beautiful, gorgeous flowers. We have had unusual weather patterns around here as well. I know that many areas of our Country have been hit hard with all of the rainfall and the flooding. Lots of rain here, but I dare not complain. We will be begging for rain in a few months. I know that your yard is the envy of the neighborhood.... Lots of hard work and tons of beauty.....

Betsy said...

I must try a bed like yours and maybe the tulips will fair better as far as moles getting them.
So pretty and I think that spring has finally hit us.
betsy

Linda G. said...

We are not as far into Spring as you. I don’t think the forsythia is even in bloom. We have a similar aying in Pennsylvania. “Welcome to Pennsylvania. If you don't like the weather, wait for a few minutes!.”