around the yard

Took a walk around to see the early spring growth, pull a few weeds, make plans in my head. There's a lot more plants coming up than I expected. My forsythia is still just showing yellow on the edges of buds, although others in the area have bloomed. Lilac, which always looks so sickly at the end of summer, has new flush of green leaves. Hydrangea has fat new buds, summersweet doesn't but I tested under the bark with a fingernail scraping and it's green, alive.

I really thought the aster was dead, but deep in the crown I see two little green shoots!

There is more and more arum plant coming up.

And next to it, a fat rhubarb stem arising. So that one survived the untimely transplant.

Black-eyed susans (rudbeckia) I planted last year from a neighbor's giveaway are coming up ahead of the echinacea.

Columbines look beautiful. I really need to put more of these around the yard, it's the nicest thing so early in the year.

Salvia is coming up! Oldest clump has the most advanced leaves.

The ones on the sideyard are a bit behind

and the ones I transplanted last year as cuttings to surround a front-yard tree are barely showing, but there. Can't wait to see them fill in.

Monardas (bee balm) came up as a huge flush of new leaves around the old, dry stems.

Wonder if it's an easy plant to divide and spread. Will have to look it up and see.

Closeup of a leaf.

Also very happy with how established the sedum is around the stump in the front.

I'm already planning to divide and spread this elsewhere in the yard, too.

Vinca is flowering!

It's such a low-growing, modest flower although the vines spread vigorously. I'm wondering if I want to plant it in other areas, but it would take some regular maintenance to keep it out of the lawn...

Here's that pair of little wild rose (?) vines I had potted up last year. I replanted them against a short fence that's between our lower deck and the sideyard hill. If it gets enough sun there.

Shouldn't be surprised to see my clematis regrowing, but it did poorly at the end of summer last year so I'm happy it's alive.

 I never did move the rosebush yet.

It looks so beautifully healthy right now, since the bugs have not hit yet.

This is my cat, Irwin. On the slope of our sideyard, which I hate right now. It's mostly shaded, and full of tree roots and a real pain to mow in the summer. Long-term plan is to fill it up with shrubs and plants with a path going through, so I don't have to drag a lawnmower over the roots anymore... I've started with hotsa, joe-pye weed, salvia and turtlehead around the trees and nandina on the edge of the property- you can just see one to the left behind the cat.