Flower Power

This time of year we have an explosion of flowers around here. It seems like everything has been brown and drab for ages and ages, then all of sudden it's all green, green, green! And there are flowers popping up all over the place!

The Mayapples have started blooming. Here's a picture of the first one I saw, which came from the big bud shown in a previous post, "Spring Is In The Air."

Mayapple Bloom

At the same time I discovered we have some Jack In The Pulpits blooming in our woods.

Jack In The Pulpit

The ferns have carpeted the forest floor and are growing quickly.

Around in the yard, the bearded iris have started blooming. There's a big yellow one by the back gate.

And some purple ones in a flower bed around a huge oak tree in our front yard.

I have a tea viburnum bush planted beside one of the fences.

Tea Viburnum (Virburnum setigerum) Blossoms

This shrub is native to China and grows 8 to 12 feet tall and about 6 to 8 feet wide. Mine isn't very old, so is only about 4 feet tall. It had some lovely red berries on it last fall and is rather interesting looking.

There are several clematis vines blooming here and there. I have some white ones on a fence, and a couple of vines hanging down at the end of a retaining wall.

Clematis Enest Markham (magneta) and Marie Boisselot (white)

Another one is growing up into our fig tree.

Speaking of growing UP! Here's a picture of a rambling rose growing up into a huge oak tree at the end of our driveway.

Paul's Himalayan Musk Rambler

It hasn't bloomed yet, but since it greened up before the oak tree put on leaves, it was easier to see how high up it's gotten. When I planted it in 1998 it was maybe a foot tall. Here it is, going on 11 years, and it's way up there! It's full of buds which will all open around the same time. The blooms don't last a long time, but when it's in blossom, a rambling rose sure is impressive!

But I do have roses blooming! Here's a picture of one of them: