Count down to bloom time!

All that warmth and sunshine has been replaced once again by cold and rain (on Thursday it was FREEZING rain!). But once the gardens get going, they are almost unstoppable.

 All the roses are sprouting up nicely, thought Tournament of Roses (the oldest) is always far ahead of the others.

I'm particularly happy to see sprouts on the Butterfly Bush. She struggled a bit last year - but its looking like she'll do much better this year

Last year, I moved all my strawberries to pots. I wasn't sure how they'd manage over the winter.. but it looks like I didn't need to worry. All four pots are starting to show green.

This mystery plant is coming up in the old tomato pot. It was out under the bird feeder for a while, so I suspect its something from there. I'm going to let it grow and see what happens.

And a second winter sow jug is showing life - this one is the Indian Blanket sunflower!

The purple Liatris is greening up. I really love the Liatris because it's a native wildflower.

I belive this is the beginning of the white Liatris. It didn't bloom last year, but it should this year.

I'm pretty sure this is the Pincushion plant. I'm glad it's back. It's a prolific bloomer.

I'm not 100% on which Lilies are where... but I'm pretty sure this is the Orange Tiger Lily. I still have some surprises in store with the Lilies. I bought a mixed bag of five types last year. Only three bloomed (Orange Tiger, White Casablanca, and Pink Stargazer), so I have to wait and see what the other two are this year.

 Another plant that didn't bloom is the Pasque Flower. So, I'm eagerly awaiting it's growth.

Out front, I've got a nice patch of tulips coming. Fingers crossed for lots of blooms this year.

The Turkistan Tulips never disappoint and are getting nice an tall. They are usually among the first bloomers. This weekend is suppose to be sunny again, if not super warm. It should only be a couple more weeks for flowers... the countdown is on!