New colors.
While I was putting in my final weekend shifts at the store, my dear wife Karen took a trip to the garden department of our Syracuse city version and picked up her spring collection of flowers for our front-yard hourglass garden.
In the ground she planted them to pretty up the Little Bitty in our neighborhood of Eastwood.
Here comes the red.
Add to that the bright red of our Robinson flowering crabapple, which looks to me so very close to full blossom.
Nature’s contrasts.
This hardy tree, bought a handful of springs ago at that very same store and then put into our ground in a spousal team effort, is more than twice as tall and wide as then.
Big and nearly bursting.
The corner edge peony has taken on its hulking shape, too, and appears to be, oh, one 80º F day from delivering it’s lovely fuchsia flowers.
Which brings me to Cherry Cherry, the small flowering cherry tree we planted last spring, inspired by our trip to Washington, D.C., for our first Cherry Blossom Festival.
Green. Full. Flowerless.
She had already dropped her blossoms when we bought her at a local nursery and lovingly placed her into our ground almost exactly one year ago.
Which, combined with the colorful elements of nature above, makes me worried that our pretty little tree will be skipping its blossoming cycle this year.
We did see one little blossom way out on one branch more than a week ago. I thought it was an early stray and failed to take a photo. Maybe it was an only.
Do you think Cherry Cherry can still blossom this year, and why? What have you planted lately? Which is your favorite photo, and why?
Mark Bialczak 
I was wondering how Cherry was doing! It’s no fun having to wait until NEXT year for blossoms but…such is nature. My peonies are still buds but with this 90 degree weather I am hoping they bloom soon! This weekend Mr. Brickhouse and I will be getting our flowers and plantings together – long weekends are good for that. 🙂
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I bet your garden will be awesome, Mrs. B. 🙂 No waiting.
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Lovely yard you have, Mark! I like the photo that has the caption “nature’s contrasts” because I think the blue sky looks amazing as a backdrop 🙂
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Thanks, Christy. I like that photo a lot, too, tree vs. Sky. 😉
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it’s looking pretty – as for little cherry, it’s not uncommon for a flowering plant/tree to skip a year, after the trauma of replanting. i think. for some reason. perhaps this isn’t very scientific….
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I think anecdotely will have to make do for us, Beth. ❤
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I know the problem here Mark – you didn’t go for the name I liked!! Only kidding – it’s probably the weather. I nearly always blame the weather if things in the garden don’t do as I would expect 🙂
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I don’t know whether it’s the weather, put I like the way you think, Rachel. 😉
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yay, spring! Little Bitty sure is pretty 🙂 I know very little about plants and such, so don’t know if you’ll get what you need from CC. But I’m looking forward to planting herbs and tomatoes and salad greens. As much as I love the idea of gardening, I’m a better shopper than farmer so will hit the farmers’ market for most of my seasonal goodies this year.
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Growing veggies and herbs is very industrious, Liz. We buy ours as fast as we can eat them. Pretty darn fast. 😉
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Your yard is lovely as always, my friend. About cherry cherry, I wouldn’t worry worry. It’s been such a strange year with the weather, she just may surprise you yet. (Did you hear that it snowed in Arizona a couple of days ago?) ❤
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We’ll see see, Rachel, Rachel. You are as clever clever as always always. ❤ ❤
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LOL! LOL!
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About those blossoms…It happened to us with flowering pear trees. Planted in fall, did not blossom in the first Spring after…but it did this year. It will be worth the wait, Mark. We have a 20 year old weeping cherry that is glorious every year. I think the lack of sunshine hurt us all a bit this year.
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I think you are right, Van. The transplant is a shock to their system. 😦 I will wait patiently, however long, for the glorious burst.
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Yes. I have no data to back up my thoughts, Mark.
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I hope your feeling is right, Ann.
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Your garden is coming along nicely Mark. Very pretty and green. I don’t know anything about cherry trees, so I can’t be of any help – sorry.
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Siri needs your guidance, Paul. 🙂
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You mean Saki? Ha! I’m rootin’ for her!
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Yes. Saki. Siri is a phone voice. My mind is lost like the blossoms, Paul!
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