although we welcomed spring last week, i haven’t really had the time to stop and think about what that means until today. as we all know, spring, of course, means flowers! it also means planting and growing vegetables, and the beginning of the hard-work-every-day-on-the-homestead phase of the year. this time of the year is fantastic, filled with excitement about the upcoming growing seasons, the fresh air (and the desire to be outside in the sun), and the anticipation of eating, eating, and eating-some-more our homegrown crops.

today i finally took the time to notice and photograph the flowers that have just recently started to show their true colors!

daffodils

daffodils are my very favorite flowers, ever. i love the different varieties, i love the way they smell, i love having them growing all around! i love them! i had originally wanted to get married during daffodil season to be sure to have some around, but spring turned out to be not-the-best time for us to have a big celebration here at home.

the daffodils came up a few weeks ago, around early/mid-march and have been going strong ever since. when we got some freezing and icy weather shortly after they came up, i was worried about the blooms, but the already existing blooms recovered well and new blooms just keep on coming!

daylillies

yum! not only are daylillies wonderful to look at, they are also delicious! the flowers can be eaten, but my favorite parts are the “greens” (the fresh shoots that have just come up). they are wonderful when sauteed in olive oil and soy sauce, not to mention nutritious.

these guys just popped out a few weeks ago, and since i never transplanted them out of a bucket from last year, i was glad to see them (since i was worried that being in a metal bucket above ground during the 7 degree nights had killed them).

irises

our irises are planted in a bed next to the house, and we don’t have any blooms yet, but we do have some fresh, green growth. i am looking forward to seeing their large purple blooms in the next few weeks. these flowers ventured above ground about the same time that the daylillies did.

forsythia 

i’ve finally learned what the name of these bushes are (because jason keeps telling me every time i simply say “that yellow bush by the road”). their lovely yellow flowers just appeared mid-march and if last year is any indication, there should be shocking, 4-foot tall, bright yellow poof balls in our yard soon.

bradford pear blooms

we moved into our house almost exactly a year ago, and i remember that our bradford pear went into bloom right after we moved in. i will always associate the bright white blooms with the happiness of our housewarming month, and i’m glad that i finally got a picture of it this year! because the flowers are fleeting, that makes them even more special; the tree started to bud about 2 or 3 weeks ago and finally bloomed a few days ago. we should only have another week or so of seeing the flowers before the petals start to blow away in the wind, blanketing our backyard with the best confetti ever–a perfect celebration of spring!

happy spring to all!

.:.