April 1 Garden Bounty - No Fooling!

It was May 10 of 2011 when I asked the question "Where's the Smell-o-Vision?" in celebration of the lilac bloom.

Such a different season this year!  Fully six weeks earlier, we have lush lilacs.  What will remain in May?!

This is just one of six lilacs around here that are currently covered.

In other blooming news,

I've always loved bleeding hearts.

I didn't get the clematis pruned back before it began growing -- already reaching above the mower shed.

The new apple trees are covered with buds, promising flowers and then I'll need to pinch almost all of them off -- they're too young to carry a bounty of fruit.

The potted Japanese maple is out of the barn and leafing out, enjoying its annual rebirth.

And the maple trees are covered with their lovely multi-hued seedpods, already well past their bloom.

Finally, under Oskar's memorial dogwood, Lenten roses are blooming exuberantly despite having been transplanted, in bloom, just a couple of weeks ago!

I love their down-facing flowers in such delicate cream and pink.  You must lie down in the grass to best appreciate them.

Next year when April 1 comes along and there is still snow on the ground, or the yard is flooded from rains, I'll look back at this post in continued astonishment at what a marvelous spring 2012 has brought.

Better indulge in it now -- who knows what comes next?!