More Flowers.

4-8-21 SHORT HILLS: The weather has been lovely, if a little dry. Fortunately the sprinklers are running after a few repairs. I have finished the spring fertilizing, mostly treating shrubs and trees that I planted, not the volunteers. 

Viburnums, burning bush, spice bush, rose-of-Sharon grow all over the yard and are on their own unless one is in a special spot, I don’t treat them. Most of the shrubs get generic 10-10-10 fertilizer, and the acidophiles get Holly-tone. There are a lot of holly volunteers, but I only fertilize the smaller ones or ones that I transplanted. 

The spring flowers and bulbs get a taste if they’re up. There are very few perennials in this yard––no sun when all the trees are out. It’s sunny now, but in a month will be a shaded yard. 

I’ve continued pruning winterkill and deadfall as shrubs come into leaf, and I can see what’s dead or alive. 

The march of the flowers continues. I’ve seen bumble bees and a couple of butterflies across the yard. The birds seem to have paired off, except for the grackles, who continue to act like gangsters. They go to the feeders in a mob and intimidate and chase away anybody who might be there. 

New blooms: saucer magnolia, Yoshino cherry, violet, clatonia, pulmonaria, purple lamium.

Yoshino cherry tree. They come out a week of so earlier than the pink, Kwansan, cherries. These actually make cherries that the birds devour, which makes me wonder why there are no volunteers in the yard.

Saucer Magnolia is definitely one of the highlight of spring. Driving around town one sees them all over.

Clatonia is another spring ephemerial, popping up all over in white petals with red pinstrips, standing tall at two inches.

Violet is another early delight, this foliage lasts all season. They also come in white and yellow.

Pulmonaria, so called because the leaves reminded someone of lung tissue. They bloom a long time and the foliage lasts all season.

Purple Lamium is the first color of lamium to appear. The others are pink, white and yellow and all make a nice ground cover. Yellow is the original and most vigorious and the other are hybrids.