The winter roller coaster ride continues. Warmer, sunny days switch over to rain, then freezing temps, wind gusts and snow flurries, then bounce back to warmer and sunny. In spite of the roller coaster, the longer days are triggering the annual spring explosion.

1. The red cherry bush is beginning to open up.

2. A new bud on the Clematis, likely a Jackmanii, is climbing the streetlamp.

3. Two new blueberry plants. Two of the blueberries in the group in the front yard are tiny 1 foot tall plants, half the size of the others. The short ones looked odd next to the taller plants, which was a perfectly good excuse to buy more blueberries. I moved the munchkin plants over to the area around the newly planted redbud and planted the new ones in their place. I now have 13 blueberry plants and have yet to eat one. The birds always beat me to them.

Blueberry buds.

4. Buds on the Santa Rosa plum tree.

5. This may be one of the two new fat allium bulbs I planted last fall.

6. One morning the grass was churned up in patches in the front yard. I assumed the culprit was a hyperactive squirrel. I assumed wrong.

The dogs found the visitor before I did.

The tiny fuzz ball, caught out in the open, made a quick exit.

Going.

Going.

Gone.

Check out The Propagator, England’s premier gardener by Royal Appointment and host of Six on Saturday. Don’t miss a look at the amazing gardens from around the world in the comment section.