Now for some lilacs.....

(Sorry if anyone was looking and pictures weren't there yet....this takes a few minutes)

Bleeding hearts....

Japanese maples just got their brand-new leaves.....

Mama nuthatch feeding her babies.....both the male & female feed their young. I'm going to miss watching them when they fly away.

My mossy-haired lady in the shade garden....

I took this shot last night when the snow started up.

Beautiful pictures. We feed nuthatches in the winter but I don't see them in the summer months.

What beautiful pictures, especially of the wonderful flowers and shrubs I can't grow here. Adore lupines and lilacs! Sigh. The Japanese Maples I have and love, and the nuthatch pic is adorable.

Thanks for sharing, Celeste.
kay

Winter is really fighting to hang on this year, isn't it? The lumpines and the lilacs are gorgeous, and the nuthatch is a little charmer!

Debra

Weather! Hrrrph! We had snow on friday. Fortunately it did not stick. We had frost and freeze warnings all around us last night, but not for our county. The same holds true for tonight. We've had some strange swings in temps this spring. One week it'll be 80 and beautiful, the next week rainy and in the 40's.

Anyway, your pictures are lovely. Lupines are on the short list for plants I want to plant, but maybe I missed the boat for this year. Lilacs and bleeding hearts are some of my favorites. Love the little nuthatch too.

I was in Home Depot yesterday & the guy who was helping me told me when he came in in the morning, a puddle in the outdoor garden center had ice on it. This is next to Princeton, NJ.

Im more impressed that you already have lupines! Its been so cold here, everything has stalled to noting, no frosts really, but day after day of barely out of 50 lately. Im a couple of weeks to lupines here!

Oh Celeste, maybe not daylilies and the gorgeous roses, but what you do have is beautiful.EXCLUDING the snow,I hate snow.Them lupines are so pretty. wish they would grow here, but would probably just be some thing else to feed the deer around here.They stay up in town so they wont be shot at..I love them Lupines and the lilacs. your mossy lady is pretty too, :)) Oh, and I love the little bird.Have never seen any like that.. very pretty little thing.

jean

Snow! Too late for snow but it has been very cold here for this time of year these past two days. I have my tomato plants out already since April 29th!

Love the nuthach and the lilacs. But the Lupines are my very favorite by far. Lovely, lovely. I miss mine but got tired of replanting them each year.

Too far south here for lupines, but I have always wanted to grow them. The maples look good nestled within their rock ledges.

Egads on the snow. That last photo sent shivers down my spine.......I have to tell you that I love, love, love Lupines but our climate is totally unsuitable for them. Yours are so pretty. Even when not in bloom, the foliage on Lupines always looked so good in the English garden books. And speaking of foliage, your Japanese Maple looks superb. You may not have daylilies or roses yet (our roses have just finished their first flush), but you have lots of other plants to be happy about.......Maryl

Spectacular photos Celeste. It sure has been a weird winter for most of the country, I would sure like some cooler weather here in FL it's been so hot. My favorites are the lupines and lilacs they have gorgeous colors.
Linda

THANK YOU everybody for looking, commenting and making my day!
The snow all melted but last night it was once again in the 30's, just a degree above freezing at 33. Like a lot of folks, I had already planted out annuals but they escaped unharmed.
I am glad everyone enjoyed the lupines. They love my climate. The State of New Hampshire sows them alongside the highways so they are everywhere around here.
I think this past winter was the worst for plants in my garden. I lost at least 6 rosebushes, 4 daylilies and 4 hardy hibiscus. It wasn't a particularly harsh winter but I think it was the freeze/thaw cycle that did them in. I expect to have rose photos by the third week in June and hope the garden still looks it's spectacular self minus several rosebushes. I am still in mourning over them....LOL.

Celeste

The Lupines are gorgeous. Everything is except the snow..LOL!! My lupine don't live long here..more like an annual for me but I do love them. Your Japanese Maple looks really good. I have been thinking of pruning mine a bit. It wants to hang over in the yard. It's huge and I suppose I didn't allow enough room for it!! Ellie

Nice variety of lupine colors. I only have the one color and I call them the wild lupines LOL.

Too bad about the snow but it will be gone and the plants love the water so take heart, all this will pass.

Julia