Spring actually is here!  I am basing this on the fact that not only do I have a garden full of blooming stuff, but I have wonderful, wonderful hayfever as well.

Here are some photos of my grape hyacinths with bees checking them out:

My tulips were a bit tardy this year, thanks to the cold winter – but they have managed to produce more buds and blooms than usual, thanks to the WET winter.

I also have some very pretty blooming weeds in my ‘lawn’ (*yes, it’s ALL weeds.  Please don’t tell anyone*).  There is a dandelion, an unidentified but lovely pink-flowering weed, and our hayfever-inducing favorite, mustard weed:

I usually only have one or two Aliums come up, but this year, I have a BUNCH, and most of them have buds:

My outdoor in-ground cacti seem to be doing very well.  They are plumping up now that it is warmer, and some of them have some nice buds!  Right now, all the buds I can see are on Echinocereus species (Hedgehog cactus, for you laypeople).  Below is one of my Echinocereus triglochidiatus (claret cup) clumps, with a photo of a bud, and a bug that is MUCH too close to the bud:

Here are two of my Echinocereus viridiflorus v. viridiflorus.  These two plants will be the first cacti of the spring to bloom.

…and finally, there is Echinocereus ‘Pinky’.  He’s a hybrid, and is doing very well in my front flowerbed.  He even put out a bud.  I can’t wait to see what his flowers look like!

Opuntia basilaris v. aurea made it through the winter, and is trying to grow a LOT of new ears:

The new-ish trees in our yard (4 yellow buckeyes and 2 horse chestnuts) are not doing as well as I had hoped.  This was a long, COLD winter, and they had only been in the ground for one year prior.  So far, only 2 yellow buckeyes have leaves, and neither of the horse chestnuts do.  Here is one of the yellow buckeyes.

Thanks for looking at my flowers!