growing: the fabulous forsythia

I just got back from a four-day trip for research and a conference. Luckily my one weekend day back home has been a glorious one - sunshine, warm breezes, the sounds of my neighbor's wind chime. Welcome springtime!

My garden seems to be getting into a good mood as well. The biggest surprise when I got back was that the forsythia decided it was time to bloom. Now, before I left on Wednesday morning, I had done a quick garden survey (shot the picture of the hellebore then) and noticed there were buds on the forsythia. A branch had broken off, so I brought it inside and put it in a small vase of water, thinking at least it would be blooming when I got back. Well, in a strange turn of events the forcing forsythia is still in bud form, while its outside counterpart is starting to bloom. And has even sent out some runners too.

Forsythia has got to be one of my favorite plants (shrubs?) of all time. I think it is the bright shock of yellow and the promise of spring. Plus, it always seems to bloom right around my birthday (coming up this week), which adds to the pleasure of its arrival.

I found some other surprises throughout the garden today that promise blooms to come. But I'll leave those for a little later while I just bask in the golden glow...