I'm really hoping I'm home for the bloom this year. Last year, I was home while it was in bud, and the next time I saw it, the flower was half-gone.
That was my bad -- we'd had a hot spell, and I'd not gone outside in several days, so I missed the best photo op (or I was out of town, which sounds MUCH better).
It was just a little 3ft stick when I planted it, I swear... and I worried about it through the entire first winter, afraid the deer would find it irresistible. It was probably a 3gal pot that I bought from them for $38. There's an ornamental crabapple planted nearby, and a summer wonder crab apple planted a little farther back, closer to the back yard. If I wanted to, I can see Ben out of my bedroom windows, I think.
