April is the Month of Flowers (Especially Irises)

Mid-April brings a lot of flowers around here.  Its my favorite time of year.  Every plant is putting on its best show to attract pollinators.  I'll start off with something small and end with the larger bushes.

Ajuga is a perennial groundcover that comes back every year.

Bearded irises and and a knockout rose bush are blooming now. 

A very large bumble bee visited the pink indian hawthorne. 


I'm guessing this bee was over 1 1/2" long.

The Pittisporum is blooming now.  It is also called Mock Orange because the blossoms smell like orange blossoms. It can get up to six feet tall and keeps its leaves through the winter.  This particular variety is variegated.  I intend to prune it soon so that it gives a flowing bonsai effect over the swimming pool.

Close up shot of the wonderfully fragrant blossoms.  Honeybees love it.  I tried to snap a good picture with a bee, but they were too fast for me today.

I love the red color on this bearded iris.

Another large knock out rose, pink hawthorne and the red bearded irises - all in bloom. The Althea (Rose of Sharon) has budded out behind them and will begin blooming in June.


I haven't noticed as many cedar waxwings around here as much as I did last spring, but I did see a group of them in my neighbor's tree this week.

My mammoth climbing antique roses on the other side of my backyard are blooming now.  These climbing roses are over 10 years old.  I would say they span a distance of at least 50-60 feet and are at least 9-12 feet tall.  I posted a picture of the blooming antique roses on the other side of my yard in last weeks blog post.

We are going to have a lot of peaches this year!

And finally, here is Ragnar, checking out the birds.