I know other parts of Canada are still dealing with snow and cold, or even worse, flooding, but here spring is definitely underway.

Tulips have been blooming for a while. The small species tulips seem to do better here than the large varieties, but I do have a few remnants of various plantings that manage to bloom year after year, such as these two very different types

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first roses of the year have started to bloom — rugosas I grew from cuttings, except this one was an accidental seedling.

Not everything has come through the winter unscathed. The last of my Gaura lindheimeri looks seriously dead (but I have bought some seeds and intend to grow replacements). A small and elegant blue-flowered relative of bindweed, Convolvulus sabatius, has also failed to sprout so far; I suspect it succumbed to a cold spell last December when temperatures descended to -9 C (16 F).

Those losses aside, my little paradise looks lush and lovely right now, and smells wonderfully of lilacs. I really can’t think of anything to complain about.