Category: Flowering trees

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Spring Flowers on a March Morning

spring flowers peach blossoms

Spring flowers are everywhere around town this week. The temperatures have warmed considerably.

Neighborly Dog

First, however, my neighbors’ dogs, Sampson and Inoki, greeted me this morning, as they always do. Sampson decided this would be the day he would try posing.

dog
This is the first time Sampson has allowed me to get a full picture of him. His ears are like that, not back because he is unhappy. He and his brother Inoki are really sweet dogs.

Pansies

Now, to spring flowers…Around this time in March my pansies begin to wake up. Within about two weeks they will be overflowing their containers. For now I am happy with a few bright faces here and there.

spring flower pansy
Pansy

Pear Buds

Bradford pears are blooming all over town. I do not know what my pears trees are. They were here when I bought the house. But, they bloom much later than the Bradford pears. One produces pears that people enjoy. The other is the required pollinator. It produces small hard pears loved by birds but not people. Works out perfectly… My pears are only in bud today, but some will have fully open blooms by the weekend.

spring flowers pear buds
Not quite flowers yet, but some will be out by the end of the week.

Dwarf Peach ‘Bonanza’

The dwarf peach ‘Bonanza’ is at peak bloom today. It has been spectacular this year. If we don’t have a hard freeze later, I should get peaches this year. If I thin them, I will get good sized peaches. If I do not thin them, the branches will become weighted down with small peaches that make lovely spiced peaches (canned) for the holidays. But, for now, I’m enjoying the beauty!

spring flowers peach blossoms
Peach Blossoms

Finally, thanks for taking a stroll through my yard and looking at some spring flowers and a neighborly dog.

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Dwarf Peach ‘Bonanza’ Bloom

Dwarf Peach 'Bonanza' Bloom

Although we had winter weather last week, Spring is here this week! Trees all over town are beginning to leaf out, and the fruit trees are beginning to bloom. In my yard, the dwarf peach ‘Bonanza’ is always the first fruit tree to bloom. Some years we get a freeze and no peaches. But I always enjoy the blooms. The are such a fresh, vibrant way too usher in spring.

Dwarf Peach 'Bonanza' Bloom
Dwarf Peach ‘Bonanza’ Bloom
Dwarf Peach 'Bonanza' Bloom
Dwarf Peach ‘Bonanza’ Bloom 2

The roses are leafing out, reminding me I need to be pruning them. In May I’ll plant sunflower and cosmos seeds. In the summer, those flowers will attract bees and butterflies, and many birds will eat the seeds later in the season.

I’m really glad to welcome spring this year! 🙂

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Spring Has Sprung

spring pansies

Spring Has Sprung: Easter and April Fool’s Day in Albuquerque, 2018

Spring has sprung in Albuquerque! Although the sky was overcast most of the day, the temperature was pleasant and no wind was blowing.

The dwarf peach ‘Bonanza’ had begun to bloom when we got a hard freeze. I was afraid no peaches would form this year. And, for a variety of reasons, I had not photographed the tree at the height of its bloom. But, one bloom was left today. An extra bonus was that I could see one or two peaches were just beginning to develop!

spring peach bloom
Bloom of Dwarf Peach ‘Bonanza’
spring developing peach
Tiny Developing Peach

Although the flowering Bradford pear trees around town have bloomed out, the pear trees in my yard have just begun to bloom. Some of you may remember that I have a pollinator pear that produces fruit the birds love. The smaller tree produces pears that people love.

spring pear blooms
Pear Blossoms

Pansies and crocus (the crocus from a couple of weeks ago) round out today’s spring offerings.

spring crocus
Crocus
spring pansies
Pansies
spring pansies
Pansies

Finally, I hope you have had a wonderful day wherever you are!

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The Beautiful Redbud

Redbud trees – where I grew up, these trees are quite common in early spring. I have seen them in Albuquerque, but they are not so abundant here. The common variety in Oklahoma, native to the region, is Cercis canadensis var Texensis or “Texas redbud.” It is beautiful and hardy. The Albuquerque Biopark has examples of that variety, and they were blooming on Saturday. There is also the Eastern redbud, along with its many varieties.

The Biopark has another variety of redbud, Cercis canadensis var. texensis ‘Oklahoma.’ It is the State Tree of Oklahoma. To be honest, until last Saturday I was not aware of differences between the two, or even that those two varieties existed. In walking through the BioPark, however, I turned a corner and suddenly came upon one whose flowers were darker, with much more intense color, and really markedly abundant flowers. Fortunately, that one had a marker. The common redbud is a beautiful tree; the Cercis canadensis var. texensis ‘Oklahoma,’ is, in my eye, even more beautiful.

redbud 'Oklahoma
Redbud ‘Oklahoma’
redbud 'Oklahoma'
Redbud ‘Oklahoma’
flowering tree
Redbud
flowering tree
The beautiful redbud tree
redbud and willow
Redbud tree with weeping willow

These images are from Saturday, April 6. Yesterday and today (Monday and Tuesday, April 8 and 9) we have had strong winds. I doubt many spring blooms remain, not only at the Biopark but around town. The best of the spring bloom was short-lived, but glorious while it lasted. There are the summer-blooming flowers to which to look forward: roses, hibiscus, cosmos, sunflowers, and many others. Spring bloom 2013 has been glorious!

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