And Spring Has Come to Central Illinois!

Last Thursday, while taking my Dad to the VA clinic for a check up, we saw trees like this one in bloom all over the campus. To my surprise, I knew it was a Star Magnolia! Thanks of course to the garden bloggers. The thing I don't know is are there different colors of them? Most of the ones I have seen on posts look very white and this one definitely has a pink cast to it. I stopped the car and went to take closer pictures to post and find out if I was correct about the kind, and ...

to show the pink! I'm pretty sure my Dad thought I was a little nuts for taking the up close pictures.

Spring has come in a rush the last week. I am constantly amazed, as I walk in the gardens each day, to see how quickly everything is growing. The hostas look so pretty at this time of the year. This green one just says spring. I think it is time to divide some of them, but do I do it now? These were pass along plants and it seems I did transplant them early in the spring.

I finally have a blooming tulip! It is just the one, but several more will be opening in the next few days. Carol posted about not really caring for the red ones in her back yard, but I only have a few of these and they are early ones. But the time the pink and mauve ones bloom the red are gone.

Oh, by the way, most of the close up pictures today are courtesy of one of the granddaughters. She turns 15 this week, and she ask for and got a new camera. She and I had fun learning how to use it. It not only has macro mode- it has super macro mode! I want one, too!!

The dwarf flowering cherry on the south side of our patio is just coming into bloom. Friday, I tried to get a close up of the buds...not worth showing, but today, look! Blooms.

Isn't this a glorious picture!? She is really getting the 'eye'. I may frame this one.

And speaking of trees, the maple is starting to leaf out. This is the one we have a small sitting area under. It has a long branch that almost touches the ground, thereby affording us privacy right by the street. A few years back, someone gave us some of those round stepping stones and Hubby designed a small triangular patio under it with them. In the summer we sit there and cool off as it is very shady. This shade is where I have most of my hostas. I am working on finding other pants that do well in that deep shade and will tolerate the poor soil condition.

And one last picture, I promise, of the daffs!

The lilacs are budding and getting fatter each day. Maybe this year we will have some of their delightful blooms. Last year, at just about this stage of development, we got a killing frost. Of 2 bushes, I had maybe 3 bloom and they were small and had little scent. The forecast looks great for several days... so here's hoping.

This was the weekend with the granddaughters, so little in the way of actual gardening was done. This week, I hope to get lilies, perennial sweet peas and some summer bulbs planted. I received one of my on-line orders last week and need to get them in the ground. I wasn't expecting it quite yet as most of it should be planted after chance of frost. But the condition of the plants warrants an earlier planting. They are sprouting and look very pale. So frost or not, they must be planted.
Here's wishing all of you a glorious time in your gardens this week.