tulips, dogwoods, camellias ~ oh my!

before our yard turns into a sea of pink,

(the azaleas are just starting to pop)

i am enjoying the slightly more sedate spring

of tulips, dogwoods, and camellias.

the tulips

started appearing the second year

we lived in this house.

they were a complete surprise -

a red one here or there

showing up

just when i had stopped looking

for daffodils.

and, oddly, last year a yellow one

appeared far afield of the original red ones.

and
now, this year, four yellow tulips bloomed,

each slightly different from the next.

then, this morning, i discovered

two peach-colored tulips

amid the periwinkle!

honestly, any flower that can fend for itself

is welcome in this yard.

~ the more the merrier ~

tulip after a morning rain

tulip with a little green friend

classic tulip

we appropriately, given our street's name, have many dogwood trees around the house.  mostly white (which i prefer) but, also, a few younger pink ones.  several perfect white flowers were, inexplicably, lying on the moss path yesterday, along the west side of our house.  perhaps the wind blew them off the branches.

perfection, yes?

dogwood parasol

our state flower...& sky, of course

the house i grew up in was, prior to my family's tenure, the home of The Camellia Lady (which was one of many titles she held), so i was very pleased to gain a yard here in my current city that is filled with camellias (albeit almost all of mine are pink rather than the wide variety in my parents' garden).  my favorite camellia in our garden is a frilled rosy red that is so intricate it appears to be several blooms in one.  for some reason, it is in the very farthest corner of the yard and is a bit difficult to get to (which i need to remedy this summer).

 ~ two photos because i just couldn't pick one ~

 . . . blurred lines . . .

even as i am enjoying the spring wind and sunshine, the yard is starting to prepare for summer.  the goldenrod leaves are spreading near the house & i'm trying to decide how far to let them go.  the little wild daisies are staking their claim around an ancient dogwood that holds up half the clothesline, circling around two tiny transplanted dogwoods, and have just started appearing at the edge of the backyard near where water pools when it rains.

the lull before the pollen