What's Wrong With These Pictures???

I took a little stroll around the yard today, and I am quite concerned.  Why?  Well, because of this . . .

 . . . the vinca in the side yard is blooming, and . . .

 . . . and the old fashioned spearmint is coming up all over . . .

 . . . the wood poppies, and . . .

 . . . the foxgloves are already way up . . .

 . . . the little flowering quince that I started from little more than a twig . . .

 . . . the sweet rocket . . .

 . . . and the hydrangeas . . .

 . . . the red pixie lilacs . . .

 . . . and the 'old fashioned' lilacs . . .

 . . . the Chinese snowball . . .

 . . . the spirea, or what we always called 'bride's wreath' . . .

 . . . and the shasta daisies . . .

are all coming up and even beginning to bloom!  So, what IS wrong with these pictures???  The date!  It's only mid-March and we are still about 5 weeks away from Easter!  Here in northern Georgia, we can still have a hard, killing freeze until Easter or just beyond.  So, here come all these tender perennials popping up, putting out, and blooming.  Temps this weekend are going to be in the low 80's . . . IN MARCH!  So while I'm loving the warm temps, and everything being so pretty and green,  underneath the enjoyment lies a nice sized chunk of FEAR!  Fear that comes with knowing how things roll around here, and that while it's really nice right now, there are still about 5 weeks or so before we are really out of the woods temperature wise.  But what are you gonna do other than wait and hope and  have all the sheets and blankets and towels ready to take out and throw over the roses and the hydrangeas, etc. should a hard freeze be predicted.

That said, I want to share a couple of special jewels in my garden!  First up is this gorgeous thing . . .

 . . . it's a tulip magnolia, and it's about 6 years old, and this year it has really come into it's own!  It's about 10 feet tall and 7-8 feet across, and just FULL of gorgeous fuscia / purple blooms!  Here are some close-ups . . .

Isn't it beautiful?  And it smells so sweet!  I bought this from my Daddy when he was selling plants, and it was in a 3 gallon pot.  I think he is tending my garden these days, and that gives me a sweet comfort.  I know he is here, I just can't see or touch him.  Sorry, but all of a sudden I'm getting weepy, and I don't do that so often any more.  I still miss him, but I know he is so much better off now, not in pain any longer.  It was a year and a half last Saturday since he died, and I can't believe it's been that long.

Now for the next treasure, and it may not look like much to you, but to me, it is such a treasure!!!

This little thing is a flowering almond.  My parents planted it's parent at least 50 to 55 years ago in their yard.  I have many fond memories of the sweet, soft pink blooms on that small bush.  Over the years it had hung on, but wasn't doing much; a few blooms, but it wasn't healthy or flourishing.  About 3-4 years ago we passed down some furniture to my parents, and when hubby backed the truck up to the front door to unload it he ran over my precious flowering almond!  A piece broke off, with a bit of a root, and I brought it home and stuck it out in the big island.  For the last few years it has just hung on - not growing much and last year it had one tiny bloom.  But this year, although it is still only about 10 inches tall, it is leafing out, full of tiny pink buds, AND it has put out a baby off to the side!  I was so excited when I found it earlier today!  Oh, and the parent plant in my mother's yard?  It is doing better, too!  So maybe getting run over helped in some way, but I wouldn't advise trying it yourself!

You may think I am crazy for 'treasuring' plants, but I grew up in a family of gardeners.  My grandmother had a large yard and it was FULL of all kinds of flowers and shrubs.  Her hydrangeas were famous in the neighborhood, and she had some of the most beautiful lilacs!  She and my grandfather lived about 1/4 mile from us, and back then it was a dirt road.  I would walk down to their house and pick flowers and pretend I was a bride and make bouquets of beautiful flowers.  My dad could grow ANYTHING!  He had ten green fingers and ten green toes!  People would come from all over to ask his advice about how to plant and grow and prune things, and would even bring him cuttings of plants they wanted him to propagate for them.

So having heirloom plants . . . offspring of plants handed down from generations before, well, it is such a special way to remember times gone by!  Now tell me, do YOU have any heirloom plants that came from family members?  I'd love to hear about them!

Blessings friends, and Be Joyful Always!  Becky