First Day of Spring and I start with the flowers

Mother loved roses and red was her favorite color.

Forsythia is finally blooming at my house. I heard some local girls say that they never liked "yellow bells" because when their mom disciplined them, she cut a long limb off the forsythia bush, stripped off the leaves and gave the children "a good switchin.'

It is certainly nice to get up to a clear day after all the rain. My forsythia is finally in full bloom. We are up about 2300 ft above sea level, and our flowers come out a little later than those down in town.My tulips are not blooming but soon will be. I get the fever this time of year. I want color. I want flowers. I spent a long grey winter waiting and now I can't wait any longer.
At Home Depot down in Georgia, I came upon some beautiful red geraniums in hanging baskets. Barry and I love red geraniums. They are the only flowers we have on our deck that last all summer, bloom and bloom until the first freeze. But best of all, they do well if I forget to water them for a few days. We say they were meant for us.

We require plants that take care of themselves. Knockout roses are hardy and need little care. We have two Knockout Rose beds, one in front and one in back.

My desire this spring is to have more native plants. I accidently discovered I have wild blueberry bushes on the edge of the woods in back. And in Rocky's yard, I learned that the neat bush with the unusual blooms is called Heart's a Bustin. I also find we have some kind of native holly plants on our property.

With woods on three sides of the house, I'd like to see more plantings for the birds. We have a bluebird box for the pair that come each spring and they often come back later to raise a second family.

Our hummingbirds loved the salvia I grew in a pot under the feeders last year. I will do more for them this year.