May 9, 2017
The Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) on the edge of the lawn bravely continues to survive and bloom. While this past winter wasn’t too bad, it was a previous, deeply cold one and heavy snowstorm that threatened its survival. It limps along.
Violets and dandelions dot the lawn and my little neighbor and I had our first Violet Tea party last week. We may even have the chance to get in another as it looks to be a good year for violets. The grass had to be mowed, three weeks earlier than ever before, due to a warm April. May has been rainy and cool so far, good for working outside and prolonging the Narcissus blooms.
May 9, 2017
The perennials continue to grow. The giant alliums are budded, and a few parrot tulips that the voles missed are showing weakly. I’m contemplating wire cages for future tulip plantings. Lamb’s ears, daylilies, iris, veronica and astilbe are making progress. The blue globe has made its spring debut.
Previous views:
Thanks to Cathy at Words and Herbs for hosting The Tuesday View, a meme showing the view of one or more of our gardens over the course of a growing season.
The Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica) hedge is in full bloom this week, drawing in bumblebees, a flashy male Baltimore oriole and our summer resident ruby-throated hummingbird. 
It is not a plant I love– its exuberant growth must be trimmed frequently, its rhizome suckers and thorns are annoying, but it is forgiven every spring when it blooms.
Narcissus ‘Salome’s peachy trumpets seemed a good complement to the coral quince and its reddish-bronze new leaves. For foliage, I added bright green Patrinia gibbosa and a few Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) fiddleheads.
Does anyone recognize 
The pitcher belonged to my grandmother and is J & G Meakin English ‘Waldorf’ ironstone from Hanley.
via 
A neighbor has a field full of narcissi and sells them at 1950’s prices – impossible to pass up. I brought home this armload and made three arrangements. Not only beautiful to look at, they are deliciously fragrant as well.
‘Ice Follies’ narcissus and clumps of past-bloom bloodroot are in the woods beyond. For comparison, my last view was posted March 21. What a difference a month can make!
Flowers are bursting forth, birds are nesting… Spring is all about sex and reproduction – a spring fling!
My narcissi are from collections bought long ago, so no ID. The lovely lemon-yellow Butterfly narcissus just opened and the miniature golden trumpet daffodils are always among the first to bloom and last for weeks.
I was glad to add a few delicate flowers of barrenwort (Epimedium pinnatum), which have jumped into bloom next to the house, while their counterparts further out in gardens have barely emerged from the ground. The bright blue glory-of-the-snow (Chionoxdoxa luciliae) provide a nice contrast.
I was charmed by the tiny, red floral fireworks of the red maples (Acer rubrum) and couldn’t resist adding a few branches. A few sprigs of green honeysuckle leaves (Lonicera tartarica) and some felted, fragrant Geranium macrorhizum leaves are the greens.
