A few more spring flowers in my garden - some native - some not

Over the last few weeks several trees have begun flowering. In addition to the pretty, but diseased, purple leaf plum there are two other woody plants blooming.

One is this lovely quince. I never really liked quince with its thorns and thick, overgrown messy shape. But having several growing in the hedgerow between my yard and the street behind me has given me a new appreciation for them. These bushes were some of the first to leaf out this spring. The ones I have are approximately 9 feet tall and at least as wide. They form a nearly solid screen when leafed out. And now that I can get close to a quince it's easy to appreciate their beautiful blossoms. Their color and shape reminds me of Asian paintings. For some reason I didn't cut any to enjoy indoors. I'll have to remember to do that next year.

Another tree that's flowering is a cherry tree. It's bark alone is beautiful; dark and shiny with horizontal streaks. I remember last September that the leaves were small and sparse. I did some reading and think this is a sweet cherry. I base that on Mark (Bob and Judy's son) telling me that there used to be another one near this one that died. Since then he says there hasn't been any fruit. Sour cherries are self-pollinating. Sweet cherries are not. I also browsed photos of cherry blossoms and this one looks more like the wild cherry, Prunus avium. Not only is it airy and pretty, but it fills the garden with a light, clean, vanilla fragrance.

Here's a close-up of the blooms.

And last but certainly not least is the dogwood tree. Always beautiful, but until now, never in my own garden. I've seen the blooms on this tree for several years now from the other side of the hedgerow. It's even more beautiful up close. Every window you pass on the north side of the house has a view of the tree. I catch myself stopping and standing to soak in the sight. Then, of course, I totally forget what I was doing. But still it makes me happy. 

This photo only shows a small part of the tree. It's really just a huge cloud of blinding white tiers of flowers. The tree is probably 18-20 feet tall. 

Just for fun, here's a picture of my husband, Jerry, and my step-dad, Pete. They're working to install the second large rain barrel/tank. This one will be hidden beneath a huge forsythia on the northwest corner of the house.

Beneath their feet and tucked in every corner around the edges of the garden and amongst the faded daffodils and tulips are tons of white and purple violets. These little lawn weeds are bringing cheerful color to the leaf litter that remains in the wild spaces in my garden.

I learn more about the genius of the gardener who lived here before me every week it seems. It's humbling and exciting - and I've only been here since September!