beautiful shrubs

My husband was out pushing daughter on the swing and they both admired the yard- told me it actually looks like plants are in places on purpose and someone cares for it. That's me! Before I lived here, it was pretty much just grass, trees, and a muddy slope the bottom half. So I'm secretly tickled pink to have my hard work beautifying the yard noticed, and felt like taking tons of pictures...

Here's the brightest new thing- sunny sideyard, my mountain laurel in bloom. The color is much more vivid than I expected.

The flowers have just started to open, like pleated cups:

My northern bayberry is actually doing fine-

new foliage a nice fresh bright green

Behind it the summersweet is looking lovely too, but I didn't get a photo of that. My rhodies are blooming!

Lots of buds but the plants started opening flowers on just one side.

The third rhodie (next to the forsythia, which I just pruned) doesn't seem to have any flower buds. Lots of new tender leaves, though, which are slightly tacky.

I can't wait to see the new rose-of-sharons bloom later this year- they've grown amazingly.

I swear twice as big as when I planted them in fall. And look how lush: