A few coreopsis have popped up in the meadow. At first I didn't they did too well but they seem to have established a good seed base now.
I'm really excited about the scrub mint. I plugged two of these between the muhly grasses and they soon disappeared. Now that the muhlys have been cut back this one is very noticeable. And this is the first time one has flowered!
There have been some small blanket flowers popping up all over the place, but only recently have any started to flower.
It looks like we should have a healthy black-eyed susan crop this year. This one got a little burnt from the late frost.
This blanketflower has several blooms already.
Moving into the backyard now. Like most of the plants, this was myrtle shows signs of new growth.
I cut most of the oakleaf hydrangea back this year, but I did leave a few branches as they were. This one is showing nice growth right next to last season's leaves. These give me the only hint of fall foliage in the yard.
Another specimen showing similar growth.
This sweet viburnum is not native, but it was one of the first things I planted when we moved in. Two of these just sat there for 5 years and didn't grow at all. Now this one has decided it's going to grow like crazy.
A few of the marlberries (marble berries) are ripening.
I planted two red bays several years ago. One has barely stayed alive ever since I planted it, but this one has always done great. It has lots of new buds on it now.
This also the first time the royal ferns have flowered. The three I planted struggled for awhile, and one even died. But now the two that remain have been doing very well. These flowers are a good sign that they're healthy.
The royal ferns share the bog area with lots of blue flag iris. Next month these should be putting up their signature flowers.
Another view of the bog area. The bromeliads aren't native, but our neighbor put some in a bucket and gave them to us. They sat in the bucket for over a year and they wouldn't die, so I figured they deserved a spot in the yard. There's also a few swamp lillies and soft-leaved coffees in there. The soil probably doesn't drain well enough for the coffees, but they didn't seem to be getting enough water where they were originally planted.
I cut the beautyberries back every year and they love me for it. Here is some new growth that should be a nice thick shrub by May.
