March's end

This is what the end of March looks like in my garden.


The bluebonnets are blooming.

American Goldfinches in their summer dress are passing through and stopping to have a snack at the nyger seed feeders.

Over the weekend, I saw my first Giant Swallowtail butterfly of the year. 

And my first Tiger Swallowtail of 2015. Just beautiful!

But the stars of the show these days are the azaleas. For most of the year, their shrubs are inconspicuous, but in early spring they put on a show for us. Mine have never been so full of blooms as they are this spring. This is an old plant in the backyard garden. 

This is one of the everblooming azaleas that I added to my front garden last fall. They had a few blooms all through the autumn and winter, but now, in spring, they are absolutely full of these bright blossoms.
Spring in Southeast Texas is typically a very brief season. Some years, we go from winter to summer in the blink of an eye. This time, our winter hardly even qualified as a winter and we've been in spring mode practically since the middle of February. Soon enough, summer will be rearing its fiery head. But for now, we luxuriate in mild, glorious days, enjoying the early blossoms and the spring migrant birds as they pass through, the first swallowtail butterflies of the season, and, especially, loving the feel of dirt on our hands once again. 

Note: I'm linking to the "End of Month View" post at The Patient Gardener's Weblog.

Comments

  1. Your azaleas are gorgeous! And send that Tiger Swallowtail over to my yard ~ love it!

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    Replies
    1. Isn't he a beauty? When we start seeing the swallowtail butterflies, we know that spring has truly arrived.

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  2. I thought Texas would be too hot for azaleas? I guess not...

    I am enjoying photos of spring as it has been raining and/or grey and gloomy here for almost two weeks now. A few plants are flowering, but we hardly notice them...sigh...

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    Replies
    1. There are certainly parts of Texas where it is too hot and dry for azaleas, but we are near the Gulf Coast, our climate is hot and humid (accent on the humid), and azaleas love it!

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  3. Great pics, Dorothy! The azaleas and the butterfly, oh my. We had ice on the car this morning because it rained overnight and the temp was low. On Sunday it snowed the whole day, though we hardly had any accumulation. Spring is taking forever to arrive in the Northeast this year, particularly after that beast of a winter we've had.

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    Replies
    1. The Northeast has certainly had a terrible winter and it seems that it continues. But surely spring is moving your way, even if it is at a snail's pace. Let us hope that April will finally see its arrival.

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  4. I always enjoy Texan blogs especially at this time of year as it looks so vibrant but I hadn't realised you could have such a short spring

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    Replies
    1. The particular part of Texas where I live typically has pretty short springs but not always the non-winter that we had this year. Of course, Texas encompasses a lot of territory and there are parts of it that have very harsh winters and, often, long springs - just not here on the Gulf Coast.

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  5. We are having quite the year of bluebonnets, aren't we? Your swallowtails are gorgeous. I haven't seen any of these varieties in my garden, but have an abundance of Eastern Black Swallowtails and always seem to have caterpillars on my fennel and dill.

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    Replies
    1. I saw a Black Swallowtail flitting around the garden just today. I seem to get all of the different swallowtail species in my yard at various times of the year. Most abundant are the Giant Swallowtail and the Pipevine Swallowtail. They are all beautiful.

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  6. Clearly very happynazaleas! Loads of great colour.

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    Replies
    1. All of the azaleas around here have been especially full of blooms and colorful this year. Something to do with our mild winter, I'm sure.

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