Spring Cautiously Pokes Her Head Out

Looking through to the end of winter?

Now that the ground is drying up a bit, I've decided to reshape the front bed before the herbaceous perennials start growing. It used to be a large triangle of rampant plants, framed by a lot of beach rocks and a rickety arbour. By this time next week it's going to look like a gentle wave ebbing across the grass with a sturdy new arbour. Therein lies a good garden lesson: permanency can be over-rated. What seemed a brilliant idea 5 years ago now seems high-maintenance. I suppose part of that is my habit of not keeping my perennials in check. 

Here are a few plants awaiting the Lord High Remover's pleasure.

 I often wonder if the spring garden is so charming and so delightful because it comes on the heels of a long cold wet and gray season.



Like this primula elatior: "Gold Lace"

 Or this red and yellow cowslip: "Sunset Shades"

Double English Primrose: "Quaker's Bonnet"

 Oh please Garden Fairy, don't let my new pear tree get rust this year.













 See what I mean? It's all so glorious and bright.
Hellebores, pulmonaria, primroses, brunnera, and cowslips edging the shade garden.

 The two lemon trees survived winter, but they have a curious habit I didn't know they had, or perhaps they developed this curious habit as a result of being grown here in the PNW (as opposed to the arid south).

See the flowers, small fertilized lemons, and large, ripe lemons all jostling for space together?

 And the nectarines and peaches are in bloom, just in time for the Mason bees.