Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii)

Not everyone’s favorite plant, the Amur honeysuckle is a seriously invasive plant. It’s a pretty enough plant in its own right, but you should never have any qualms about pulling it up or cutting it down if it should appear in your yard. These one is growing in the woods next to my office building, where it is quite happy. In addition to the sweet smelling flowers, it will have pretty red berries (which are mildly poisonous) before too long. Still, cut it down.

Columbine (Aquilegia)

We brought some columbine plants with us when we moved here from Gaithersburg, growing them in pots for the year we were in the rental house. They have done pretty well and they are scattered around our yard now. We had some that were bright red with bits of yellow on them that we dug up in what we called “plant rescue.” Most of what’s left, though, is a dusky purple color. This one, a self-seeded plant next to our front walkway, is lighter than most and I took some pictures of it this evening as we were preparing to go out. This is only a bud, of course, but I think even the buds are pretty cool, with their curled spurs.

Forget-Me-Not

The forget-me-nots (Myosotis sp.)are in full bloom in our back and side yards and they are, as always, lovely. I went out to photograph them this afternoon and this picture turned out well, I think. They are very interesting little flowers with their little yellow circle at the center. I love the blue in the open flowers and the shades of violet in the buds. They are so delicate and fine.

Dandelion Flower, Minus Seeds

I took some pictures of flowers in the yard this evening, including more of the Exbury Azalea that I posted a picture of last week. The buds have opened and it’s quite beautiful (if a little smaller than it was because of the deer). I also happened to notice this dandelion flower in the back yard. It caught my eye because it was so stark and white and to me, it doesn’t look like a dandelion. It does, of course, because that’s what it is, but if asked we generally would describe a dandelion flower as yellow or, when gone to seed, as a fluff ball. Once the seeds are gone but before what’s left has a chance to dry up, this is what they look like.

Hosta ‘Tick Tock’

It was still wet today and I only went out a little to take pictures. This hosta is called ‘Tick Tock’ and it’s a miniature that is quite happy in a container outside our front door. We like hosta a lot but the deer enjoy it in a different way (“mmmmm, hasta”from us and that’s a problem in our neighborhood (because we have deer). But right outside our front door seems to be a safe place for them and we have three different mini-hostas in three different containers and they are all doing well. This time of year, in particular, they are very happy. And that makes us happy.

White Azalea In The Rain

I was home from work today but didn’t really feel up to much. It had been raining all day and wasn’t really a good day to go out to take pictures, especially they way I was feeling. In the late afternoon I went out the front door and took a few pictures of the white azalea blossoms on the bushes in front of the house (without even going out from under the front porch). White azaleas are a little hard to photograph well because they are so low in contrast, but the water on them makes them a little more interesting. They are actually quite a bit prettier than this picture shows.

Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)

The lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) is blooming in our yard. It’s such a happy plant this time of year and I love the delicate, little, white flowers. They have a very pretty fragrance which (of course) is especially noticeable when you are lying on the ground about a foot from them with more flowers all around. The bright green leaves are also quite pretty. They are quite tough once established but they take a while to get settled in. Once they do, I’ve seen them come up through asphalt.

Phlox

It was supposed to rain today but I didn’t see any where I was. We could actually use some, as it’s starting to get a bit dry. Nothing like it will be in August, of course, but it’s April, after all, it’s supposed to rain. I took some pictures of a wild azalea this afternoon. It’s growing on the side of the road on my commute and I pulled off the road and took the pictures through the open passenger side window. Then, when I got home I took some pictures in the back yard. This is a phlox that Cathy picked up somewhere and which has just started to bloom. I kind of like this angle, looking at the flowers from the side.

Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

Toward the end of my work day I went outside for a little while to take pictures. Lots of plants are growing and weeds, in particular, are coming up strongly. The woods beside my building is a good place for weeds, considering that’s most of what’s growing there. Garlic mustard, (Alliaria petiolata) is a biennial in the Mustard family, Brassicaceae. It is very common and invasive weed in our area, being native to Europe, Asia, and northwestern Africa. It’s a vigorous plant and quite successful here. The leaves and stems all exude an oniony or garlicy smell, which gives it the common name I know it by (there are others). Anyway, as annoying as it is as a weed, it’s still a pretty plant with pretty little white flowers.

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

The dogwood in our yard are starting to bloom. The flowers are still small and there are a lot more to come bit I got a few nice pictures of some this afternoon when I got home from work. This is the native and very common flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), of course. I’m hoping to have another of the dogwood species, the European cornel (Cornus mas), once I make room for it. I have a nearly dead Colorado blue spruce that I need to cut down and I’m hoping to get that done on Saturday. Then I’ll dig up a cornel tree that’s growing next to the driveway at my mom’s and plant it there. At least that’s the plan but we’ll have to see if it actually happens. It’s a busy time of year.