Finally Spring.

I just thought I would share a MO spring with you. Our weather is a little unpredictable here this time of year as I am sure some of you already know. Above is a bouquet of lilac with a few blooms left from an Easter bouquet gifted to me by my beautiful daughter. Amazing that the Easter flowers are fresh and beautiful.
I have two Red Bud trees in my yard. I think I will research the origin of the name as they are actually kind of pink or perhaps purple.
One of the things I like best about my trees is that not only do they bloom on the usual branches, but also anywhere else they want. The above flowere are actually on the trunk. Cool, don't you think?
The lilacs are a little pale already but still beautiful. The few stems in my vase fill the house with their fragrance and remind me of my mother. My memories of her when I was a child always involve her garden. Lilacs, four-0-clocks, roses, holly hocks, marigolds and sweet peas. I remember when her father, Grandpa Bates would come to visit in the spring. Mom knew he was not going to be able to leave her garden untouched. He was a farmer in MO and Oklahoma when she was a girl. When they walked away from their farm during the Dust Bowl and traveled to southern CA he was a master irrigation specialist and quickly got work with the movie studios as a gardener. So, he always pruned her roses, hard! She was always convinced that he had killed them at last. But as always, they came back and were more beautiful that ever, covering the fences with red, yellow and pink flowers. I remember cars and pedestrians stopping to admire her garden. I have a feeling that mom always knew that he would never hurt her flowers. It was just a way to get him to stay longer.
This is the best flowering of the dwarf cherry tree since we moved to this house. Of course the birds and squirrels have never allowed us a single ripe cherry and this year will probably be no different.
This the second year for the azalea. Looks really good.
Anemone. Don't you just love a touch of blue in the garden? I know I do. I always try to place a little blue in every bed. I hope your garden blooms sweetly and unlike my garden is free from Japanese Beetles.