Stellar weekend

Magnolia stellata (Star magnolia) blooming from top down

Hey, what’s that thing up there that’s all bright and making me feel kind of warmish? Could it be…? No… I don’t believe it. Yes – it’s true – the sun’s out! Yesterday’s gale dried off the daffodils and blew away the rain clouds and left us today with a bright blazing blue, a whole bunch of bliss, a new round of blooms and a heap of must-dos.

First on my list is get outside and stay there.  Indoor chores can wait because there are sights to be seen – like the daffodils hanging on to peak here and all of the spring ephemerals that are opening now and may blow out after a dose of nearly summer-like warmth. Next on my list are the garden tasks that don’t feel at all like chores to me when the weather is so dreamy.  We spent today moving perennials around, planting more roses, deadheading the earliest tulips, and hooping some of the peonies that have already set buds. I can hardly wait to get home and do all of that in my own garden…  But first, one more circuit of the property to entice a visit:

Hover over for captions and click on for larger view

Tulips and reverie in the North GardenCercidiphyllum japonicum 'Pendulum' (Weeping katsura)Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium' (Full moon cut leaf Japanese maple)Fritillaria meleagris (Checkered lily) and Muscari 'Valerie Finnis' (Grape hyacinth)Myosotis sylvatica (Forget-me-not) and its doppelganger Brunnera macrophylla (Siberian bugloss) on the rightCorylopsis glabrescens 'Longwood Chimes' (Winter hazel)Water Garden cherry coming into bloom (Prunus x yedoensis 'Akebono')Bosquet fern. I need to learn my ferns - anyone know its name?Fraxinus excelsior (European ash)Agave 'Spot' blooming in shades of green! (started on 4-23)

Is it forecast to be nearly summer-like where you live too? What are your plants – I mean plans – for such a stellar weekend?

Daff cam 4-24-09