Spring in slow motion...

 Blooms of spring continue to emerge in our yard...very...slowly... The heavy rains of this morning combined with forecast temperatures in the mid-80's for tomorrow should speed up the process.  The hyacinths are starting to bloom: 

It's been such a crazy spring that all of our flowers seem to be really stubby...  I don't know if that's typical during a cold spring?  Or it could just be ours...  I'm amazed when anything grows in our soil...

The tulips are very close to blooming...

 They're also really short.  They seem healthy and they're very close to opening, but they're only 4-6 inches tall! Hey...we'll take what we can get! Our magnolia on the other hand never disappoints. This picture was one of the first blooms... 

...but it's now in full glory.  It's still not fully mature--it's probably around 6 feet tall.  But it's covered in what must be hundreds of these beautiful white blooms.  I love how the blooms come right out of the bare twigs. The magnolia has always been my most treasured shrub.  A couple years ago, I didn't even know what a magnolia was...  But we came across them at Sargent's (our favorite local garden center) and we had to have one. A few days ago, we were Mother's day shopping there, and we saw that they had gotten in a new kind of Magnolia... It was called a "Butterflies Magnolia".  It gets larger than the one we have and the blossoms are yellow.  

 Hmm...  I liked it.  A lot. But...for some reason...Mike couldn't seem to get past the fact that we had spent $3000 last week on car repairs and orthodontist expenses.  Typical man.  ;-) I knew he was right...but it sure was beautiful. Then I remembered...  I had birthday money! Thank you Dave and Norma!!  

 I now have a butterflies magnolia waiting to be planted in the front yard where the cherry bushes got devoured last winter.  Mike has some ideas for landscaping the front corner of our yard, and the magnolia should fit into his plans perfectly! Here is a picture of the largest yellow bud: 

 I'm hoping it will still blossom well after it's transplanted... If it does, you'll see pictures later...