Buds and Blossoms of Blue

Click on any of the above images to see larger

I was thrilled beyond words this week to discover that the plum tree in the back garden is in full bloom! Now, at first blush some readers may think that my excitement stems from the sign of spring that the blossoms represent. Yes, I must admit that this did play a small part in my excitement. However, the main reason why I am so excited is because this tree hasn't had a full bloom in about 3 years. It has gone past the blossoming stage straight into leafing out with only a few blossoms that I witnessed being eaten by a sparrow (thanks!). Last year, only 2 plums developed on the tree. I LOVE plums and this was very disheartening to say the least. I've been praying and hoping that this year would be different. The plethora of blossoms is a good sign that it will be.

Click on any of the above images to see larger

Another reason why I'm so happy is that the garden is full of blue blossoms right now. I LOVE blue flowers! And it seems that right now, everywhere I turn is a little splash of blue perfect for my taste. The rosemary (above left) is a favorite of the honeybees that, despite the heavy rains of last week, come out in force as soon as the sun peeks out from behind the clouds. The grape hyacinth (above center) form a small and delicate ring of blue around the base of a potted dogwood. The standard blue hyacinth (above right) have such a heady fragrance right now that every time I step out onto the front porch, I am enveloped in their scent.

It was so hard to leave everything and go on our little getaway to Southern California this weekend because I was certain that it would all be gone after we got back. Silly me. Of course it wasn't; they were all still here to usher in the first day of March when we arrived home.