What we came home to...

During the three days we were away on our camping trip, Spring burst into life on our street. Three days of warm sunshine and one good drenching rain made everything pop.

All three photos were taken in my yard. I love this time of year!

May Day blooming

On my way to work this morning I saw masses of honeysuckle flowers blooming for the first time this year. It made me smile to remember how, as a kid, I used to pick apart the flowers to taste the tiny drop of nectar inside. (I wonder if children still do that?) After I got home, I saw that a local friend of mine had posted lovely pictures of "the first honeysuckle of the year" on her Facebook page. Apparently they bloomed overnight all over town, and it makes me happy to know that I'm not the only person who noticed and appreciated it!

Honeysuckle seems so appropriate for May Day; those pretty little yellow and white flowers are an early summer staple in Southern gardens and roadsides. The sweet fragrance is equally attractive to bees, hummingbirds, and people.

Happy May Day, everyone!



L. japonica
Japanese Honeysuckle

Blueberry blossoms

It's beginning!

The blueberry bushes in our back yard are bursting into bloom, promising buckets full of beautiful berries in June.

We lucked out when we moved in to this house; these bushes were already here. They're quite large, and produce great quantities of berries. We always give lots away with more than enough left for us (and the birds and squirrels, too). Aside from the delicious fruit, blueberries plants would be worth growing just for the spring flowers and the red autumn foliage. They add a lot of visual interest to a backyard garden, and will attract plenty of wildlife to boot. All that, and they seem to require almost no care at all. They're wonderful plants!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Early Flowers