First flowers of Spring

I love Spring! The brown turns to green and then colours start popping out everywhere. It's funny, I always forget what blooms when, so it's a joyful surprise when colour begins in the garden and where it will bloom next, I never know. (excuse my lack of knowledge on the names of the plants...)

On our hillside, these purple beauties are one of the first

and as soon as they come out, so do the fuzzy bumble bees.

These white flowers are spreading on our hill as well.

A couple of weeks ago, we planted another plum tree. It was barely a twig when we planted it but now it's sprouting leaves left and right (above is one of the first branches to form). It never fails to amaze me how something so lifeless looking can come alive so quickly.

My favourites of Spring:

The first of my columbine to flower. Most surprising to me was that since this was a transplant from another area, I didn't think it would flower this year. The hardiness of plants is amazing.

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And lastly, this special little guy.

It may look like an Iceland poppy to the average eye, but it's a special addition to our garden. L picked it out ever so carefully (he told me that it needed him - how could I say no to that?), brought it home and planted it where he felt it would have lots of company. It was closed, so he had no idea what the colour would be. About a week later, he woke up and looked out the window. Cheering and big hugs celebrated that his special flower opened, and that it was yellow (although any colour would have been greeted with the same happiness).

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So much joy and happiness from the presence of such small flowers... and this is just the beginning!