Signs of Spring!

We've had some warmer days this week, and in the evenings, James and I have spent some time clearing out our garden to get it ready for spring. We saw several encouraging signs that spring weather is on the way, even though there's still a good chance that we'll get another snow before things warm up for good. Here are some pictures of what we saw!

Irises that we planted last spring are coming up again beside the raised bed...















The hollyhocks that we planted from seed last year seem to have survived the winter, and we have high hopes that they'll grow! This was such a nice surprise, since they didn't seem to do well last year, and then they were eaten by rabbits, so I'd given up on them.















Our phlox is putting out some new foliage, and we love the way it rambles over the bricks along the path...















Like the hollyhocks, our roses got eaten by rabbits (badly) last summer, so they look like sticks at the moment. James just trimmed them back.














When James was trimming the roses, we noticed something exciting - every inch or so along all of the branches, you could see new sprouts forming! Perhaps we'll have nice roses this summer, after all!















Another picture of the rose sprouts, turned sideways...















I can't remember what this is called, but we planted it last year, and it is coming back strong.















Our heather bushes are such early bloomers that they've already got pink flowers all over them. They have a sweet, delicate smell that I love.















If you look REALLY closely, you'll see one of our tulip buds coming up in this pot!














One of my absolute favorite spring flowers....DAFFODILS! (Or, as the British call them, Narcissus...) I can hardly wait until those buds open, because they're so cheerful, and they smell so good! These are planted between our rose bushes.















Another close-up of the daffodils...