I'm still getting some light frosts in the morning, but things are starting to pop. I think those April showers did indeed bring May flowers.

Darmera peltata (elephant toes)

That's a cool plant. Must Google that. We had a light frost last night. I thought it was getting cold last night when I was out with the dogs. I put a heater in my pop up greenhouse last night, never had to do that before. The sun is out today!!

Crab apples are just now opening, love the color.

All my fruit trees are in bloom as well - pear, cherry, plum - this is my 'Sam' cherry, delicious

Couple of groundcovers are blooming:

Viola odorata (pretty, but I can't smell anything)


And happy little Pink Panda strawberries

Beautiful blooms Deb and Spring.

Lovely Deb and Spring!!!

So much blooming in the yard now. I'll try and get more pics early tomorrow morning or in the evening hours.

For now, there is Wisteria! I took this pic standing at my front door, facing outward. This is the view from the rooms at the front of the house. I love it.

Viburnums in bloom around playhouse.

Got a few dwarf bearded iris last summer. Some new to me babiesbalistic
boo. Of course my old hand-me-downs are blooming too, but need some thinning out this year.

All are lovely!!

Very pretty.

Steph, I want that playhouse for my retreat

Ok, the hot dry weather is getting a little ridiculous for this time of year. I'm scrambling to get all of my watering systems up and going. 90 degrees today. Some things in my yard are blooming a full 2-3 weeks earlier than last year---columbine, lavender, tree peony to name a few.

Here's a pic I took yesterday: Camassia at a local park (Bush Pasture Park in Salem).

Pretty!! Stephanie, I know suddenly we're in mid summer! I'm house sitting here for a month and the owners said "don't worry about the yard or outdoor plants the rain will water them!" hmmm - don't think so!

Next rain in forecast here is just "showers" and isn't until May 12! The ground is already bone dry and hard, and I lost one plant in a container yesterday that I forgot to water. (A double tiered tree rose, a painful loss. It is fried. I was so busy watering everything else, I forgot about it.) I have 21 irrigation zones plus an additional 10 faucets with timers and drip systems. Adding a couple more this year. Every year, I have to make a lot of time consuming small repairs to get everything going again. Almost done. But probably another full day of work left for today to tweak everything.

I don't often appreciate how fortunate I am to not worry about irrigation zones -- I remember visiting with my sister in eastern Washington and she was drooling over some sort of water system doo-dah at the pipe store as I tugged at her to go look at the plant rack outside...

That said, I did lose some plants last fall when we had that dry spell in Aug-Sept and I never even thought to water until some newer plants just withered up and died. Oopsie.

Here in Oly we are 6 inches below average in rainfall. Humidity must also be lower than normal too, since pots and fish ponds keep needing water. Really enjoying the sunshine today though.

Stephanie, that is an impressive watering system. It is a wonderful time saver The camassia makes a beautiful meadow, and that wisteria is a show stopper.