Spring Scenery

I love spring...especially in a new place.  I love anticipating what plants are going to look like and what kind of surprises will pop up from beneath the ground.  The greens are dark and rich.  And the variety of colors are vibrant and visually stimulating.  Here's a peak at some of the plants and colors we've discovered around our new home this spring.  

The lilac is in the perfect spot.  As you walk out of the 3-seasons room, the wind catches the fragrance and this is the first thing you smell as you step outside.  It is such a refreshing aroma.  

Anyone know what kind of tree this is?  A close up of the flowers are next...

It's a beautiful green leaf with a hint of red.  The pink/red flowers cover the entire tree.  It has quickly become my favorite tree in the yard.  Now I just need to learn how to prune a tree.  Karen took a stab at it and did a pretty good job.

Anya has found a new favorite reading place - right in the middle of the backyard with the sun on her back.

This is a unique plant.  The pink flowers are beautiful against the dark mulch.  And I love the wispy look - the leaves and flowers only form at the ends of the branches.

We had a couple of guests search around our yard this past weekend.  We think they found a place to nest behind some bushes next to our house.  We've never had ducklings before.  Anya says the ducks have adopted us. :)  More and more of them have been wandering around our yard lately.  

Rabbits are a little more common.  Fortunately, we don't have a garden this year so we leave the rabbits alone.  They don't seem to be bothered by the kids either.  I had the horrible experience of killing a few bunnies with the lawnmower several years ago.  I'm much more observant of potential bunny nests in the ground now.

This is a beautiful flowering vine.  Not sure what it is.  But it adds a little pop at the edge of the patio.

It seems that each week when we explore our yard, we find a new flowering bush or plant.  We need a horticulturalist to visit and let us know what all of these plants are.  They are beautiful and we love the variety.

I've tried my hand a few times at landscaping our previous yards.  We've torn out the blah boxwoods and replaced them with flowering plants.  But I always end of going overboard.  I've never found the right balance between the greenery the boxwoods provide and the color I want to enjoy during the spring, summer, and fall.  So it has been nice to move into a home where the landscaping has already been professionally done.  And they left a few spots for me to plant annuals.  So I can satisfy that green thumb of mine without messing anything up!