The Flowers of Spring

Trout Lily

Leopard's Bane

Bleeding Heart

And of course there is more on the way........................

The frogs are at it...........

The last two mornings the frogs have started croaking about 3am. One male and one female chatting it up. We all know what that means, they are going to start having sexy time. Should have eggs in the bowls in the next two weeks. I'm very excited, this will be the third year for the frog nursery in the back gardens. The picture above is the frog couple from last year.

Bloomin' in the Death Valley Shack

Mammillaria spinosissima

One of the more popular varieties of Mammillarias that are grown in cultivation. This species quickly forms an upright cylinder 12" tall x 4" wide, usually with reddish spines and decorated with several rings of vivid pinkish purple flowers. In habitat it hangs down from vertical cliffs in the Barranca de Pilcaya in Guerrero, Mexico.

This plant is in a 4" pot.

Shhh...I think she's sleeping

Not a lot to say about this photograph, it says it all.

It was taken about a week ago.

I like the way she has her head tuck under the leaf to block out the sun.
Will and I checked on her about a hour later and she was still there.
Too cute....................

Ribes sanguineum/ Flowering Current

I love this plant, it is a true sign to me that Spring is here. This shrub was planted in the front garden about 15 years ago. During the first 10 years I have never done much clipping on it, just to keep it in control. In the last five years I have been pruning it into a tall cylinder shape, never clipping the top. Want the height, it is a very dominant plant in the front garden.

Beautiful soft pink five petal flowers hanging like a small cluster of grapes. Hummingbirds love them as well as chickadees, finches, and sparrows flitting about through the shrub hopefully they are finding bugs to eat.

Ribes sanguineum is a native deciduous shrub here in the Pacific Northwest and it is found from British Columbia to California. It does best in well drained soil in a sunny location and less well in heavy soil and shade. Blooms range in colors of pale pink, pink, rose, magenta, fuchsia, red, and scarlet. Does bare fruit not very palatable for humans, but perfect for songbirds. Leaves are very maple like and turn a bronze color in the fall. A perfect plant for a drought tolerant garden in the Northwest.

USDA hardiness zone 5 to zone 8