“An Early Spring”, a copyrighted post, was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana
A full time job, two sets of out-of-town guests, and great gardening weather equals no time for blogging. I can’t believe it has been so long since I last posted. The warm, spring weather has really sent the garden into warp speed. Everything seems to be blooming all at once. This is so different from last year.
The Kwansan Cherry tree bloomed better than ever this spring.
The azaleas were gorgeous this year, but now they are just about finished. Here are some photos of them at their peak.
The white Lady Banks rose also had its best year. It is finally big enough to make a nice showing. Also, this was the first year since I planted it that I could smell its fragrance. I guess before this year there were simply not enough flowers to have an aroma waft around.
The pink snapdragons that I planted last fall are also enjoying the warm weather and rewarding me with big, bunches of blooms. This color has worked out nicely with the azaleas blooming nearby and the Blushing Knockout roses behind them.
Flowers aren’t the only thing showing a great deal of growth. All of the hostas are up and seemed to show up overnight. This Blue Cadet hosta is a perfect example of tiny growth to big plant in hardly any time at all.
The Japanese maple also seemed to leaf out overnight.
We had a rather cold winter here for the Gulf South, but in the middle of February, winter went away for good, and it has been wonderful for the garden. Easter may be late this year, but an early spring was definitely welcomed.
Always Growing 
Kate @ Gardening and Gardens said,
April 3, 2011 at 6:02 pm
Oh how lucky you are to have so many things in bloom! Everything looks so lovely. Kwansan Cherry holds a special place in my heart as it blooms right around my birthday here in May. My kids call it my “birthday tree” LOL
Jane said,
April 4, 2011 at 4:33 am
Lovely, lovely. It still seems like winter here. I can’t wait for my garden to “spring” back.
garden mary said,
April 4, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Love the pink snapdragons. I can’t believe your hostas are already that big.
Janet said,
April 4, 2011 at 8:34 pm
I was surprised how few azaleas there are in this area of SC. In VA we were near Norfolk that has the Azalea Festival…soooo, yes, lots of azaleas.
I am hoping to buy some native azaleas this weekend.
That Cherry is gorgeous.
Jan said,
April 5, 2011 at 4:41 am
Few azaleas in SC surprises me, too. Maybe you need to start a trend.
Ryan said,
April 5, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Very nice Japanese Maple. Wonderful color.