Our beautiful Redbuds are in bloom.  I love these trees.  We planted two of them 15 years ago, and about 10 years ago one of them died.  So we just had this one big one.  Well, one year there was a profusion of seeds, and one flew across the driveway and planted itself in the most perfect spot.  So now we have two again, both beautiful and healthy.  I love that kind of self-seeding:  strategic!!!

 

Cercis canadensis, or Eastern Redbud is native to eastern North America.  The medium-sized trees (25-35 feet) grow along the edge of the woods, often reaching out for the sunlight.  This time of year, you can see them all along the highways, showing their gorgeous fuchsia-colored flowers.  In the next couple weeks they will start to leaf out with heart shaped leaves, and kinda lose their showiness.  So look for them now.  

 

Redbud is also available for purchase at all the garden centers, and not that expensive.  Get one and plant it in your yard.  Then you can enjoy it every spring.

 

Earlier this week, we made butternut squash soup, and sprinkled some redbud flowers on top.  It was beautiful.  The flowers are edible, and have a slightly lemon taste.  Not big taste, but you can eat them.  We add them to soups and all kinds of salads for the two weeks they are in bloom.  After that we just have to wait til next year.  

 

I hope you see some Redbuds in your travels.  Remember the rules of foraging if you decide to collect some flowers to eat:

 

#1. POSITIVELY identify what you are picking before you touch it, and especially before you eat it.

#2. Don't trespass on private property.  No plant or flower is worth litigation.

#3. Avoid plants that are growing near busy highways or farmland, they probably contain pollutants that you don't want to ingest.  

#4. If there is only a small amount, leave it.  If there is a lot, take only what you will use.

 

#5. If you really want to try a little bit of redbud flowers for your salad, just come over to our house, I'm always happy to share.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

LOOK!!!  Our Peach trees are blooming.  We have two.  The past few years we've gotten lots of peaches.  Some years we get NONE.  It all depends on the weather.  They bloom the end of March, and if we have a frost while they are in bloom, they drop the flowers.  But if they get pollinated while in bloom, they usually set fruit.  

 

So these next few days are crucial.  We'll  just have to wait and see what happens.  I'll let you know.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

You know those holding ponds down by the creek?  All winter they have been full of water, and several weeks ago frogs or toads laid their eggs in them.  Well, the eggs have hatched into tadpoles, and now the water is receding.  That seems like a sad thing, but look how many tadpoles there are!!!  YIKES!!!

 

 

No kidding!!!  We don't need that many frogs or toads.  But we are happy for the recent rains, so some of them can survive.  I love the sounds they make. 

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

 

 

The Bloodroot is blooming at Meeks Park!!!  We love seeing it in bloom.  We make special trips there just to see this.

 

Sanguinaria canadensis, or Bloodroot is in the Poppy Family, and starts blooming in March.  The flowers open in full sunlight and close at night.  My Wildflower book says:  the red sap from the underground stem was used by Native Americans as a dye for baskets, clothing, and war paint, as well as for insect repellent. 

 

When you are walking in the Park, be sure to look for the Bloodroot.  They grow in colonies, and are all over the ground near the river.  The bright white flowers will catch your eye, and now you know what to call them.  

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

Walking in the park the other day, we saw a little patch of Periwinkles.  Had to get their picture.

 

This is Vinca minor, a low growing, perennial vine.  It grows in partial to full shade, and blooms in early spring.  Be on the lookout, you may see some.  Nancy has some in her garden, and there is also some near the Union County line, near daffodil hill, and this patch in Meeks Park.  Or get a few pots from the garden center, and grow your own.  Periwinkle is easy to grow and pretty, AND it's fun to say.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Look how inviting our entrance is right now.  

 

If you're here, you get to see it whenever you drive in or out, but for those of you who aren't here, this one's for you.  

 

WELCOME TO FIVE FORKS!!!

 

Look who we saw blooming last week at Meeks Park right inside the entrance, near the little pavilion.  

 

They are Weeping Cherry Trees, the first of the cherry trees to bloom.  By now, Mark and Karen's Yoshina Cherry is in full bloom, and next will be the Kwansan Cherries.  They are ALL beautiful.  

 

You can see them all around in your travels.  I always gasp for breath when I see them.  

 

SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

 

My beautiful Forsythia!!!  We can see it through the kitchen window.  This one is so close to the house that the deer leave it alone.  They browse all the others.  Oh well...

 

Forsythia is so easy to grow.  I just stick stems into a pot and some into the ground, and they grow!!!  A few years ago I wanted to transplant a big one, so we dug it out of the ground and chopped (using an axe) the root ball into four parts, and replanted all four bushes.  Now we have an arched string of Forsythia around our driveway.  Those are the ones the deer "prune" for us.  

 

I don't care, I just love them this time of year.  Sunshine everywhere.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

The Bluebirds are building a nest in another box.  You can go there and watch them building the nest.  

 

https://wbu-yorktown.click2stream.com/   You can thank my sister, Linda for sharing this fascinating experience with us.   ;D

 

HAPPY BIRDING!!!

 

 

The Vernal Equinox occurred this morning at 5:37 EDT.  I didn't see it myself, but I read it in the Farmers Almanac.

 

The Farmers Almanac also predicts a chilly and wet spring here in the southeast.  Sounds like good gardening ahead.  I'm ready to get out there!!!

 

It is officially SPRING!!!  YAY!!!

 

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!