Plants I'm Growing--First Blooms: Daffodils, Pink Flowering Plum 2019

The yellow daffodils in front of the house and the pink flowering plum behind the house generally bloom at about the same time each year. This year, the first daffodils opened on February 6. The first flowers on the plum (Prunus blireiana) opened on February 9. Early to mid-February is normal for both plants. They have bloomed between February 2 and about February 20 in a typical year in the past. A storm is on the way that is supposed to drop as much as 10 inches of rain in the coming seven days. I hope these blossoms aren't all lost before we've had a chance to enjoy them.

Plants I'm Growing--First Blooms: Daffodils, Pink Flowering Plum (February 3, 2015)

A stretch of dry, unseasonably warm weather has coaxed out flowers in the garden. On February 3, the first yellow daffodil blossoms opened. The pink flowering plum tree in the side garden (Prunus blireiana) starting blooming the same day. This year the sparrows and finches left the buds alone (probably because I've not been feeding the birds), so it looks like we will have a full tree of flowers for the first time in a while. February 3 is on the early end of the normal range for both plants here. They have bloomed between February 2 and about February 20 in a typical year in the past. A storm is on the way, though. I hope these blossoms don't all get lost before we've had a chance to enjoy them.

Plants I'm Growing: Cactus Flowers (May 8, 2012)

Not technically in my own garden, but across the street in the rock park we live by, the first week of May usually brings a spectacular show of cactus blossoms. This year has been no exception. Yesterday, there must have been several hundred flowers open at once. The honeybees love these flowers for their copious pollen. People love them simply because they are so extravagantly big and eye-catching.