Spring is in the Air!

With the coming of spring, I am calm again.  

Gustav Mahler

This weekend, I made a cup of my favorite coffee and enjoyed a stroll around the property.  You can definitely feel a difference in the air~~spring has sprung!

Our pool has become a love pond for a female and two male ducks.  Last week she had 3 suitors, but now the final two seem to be competing for her attention.  Lots of quacking and flapping of wings from the males as the female seems rather bored!

It’s also the time of year where the air is heady with the fragrance of orange blossoms (and grapefruit, lemon and all citrus) from our orchard.  What an intoxicating smell!

The Lady Banks roses which we planted years ago to hide an original chain link fence, has since turned into a thick, lush wall of green.  The pale yellow roses are just starting to bloom and soon will be a long blanket of yellow.

The scented geranium has lovely delicate purple flowers that stands out amid the fragrant leaves.

The grapevine is just beginning to show some foliage.  I will need to keep an eye out for those creepy bugs that destroyed all the leaves last year (see my post here about the Western Grape Skeletonizer).

Lavender does very well in our Phoenix climate.

We have a few succulents in our planting beds and the Cape Aloe, which is native to South Africa,  produces the most gorgeous orange-red spikes in the spring which attract hummingbirds.

The fruit trees are blooming-especially the apricots!

The peaches have already bloomed and are producing fruit!

We’ve had a strange hollyhock year.  Typically this is what you see growing in our yard in early spring, the seedlings sprouting from the earth.

But last year, my chiropractor, Dr. Diane, gave me some hollyhock seeds and I scattered them in various locations around the yard.  These plants have taken off and grown throughout the winter months.  They are huge and I feel a bit like Jack in the Beanstalk as these are over 8 feet tall.  Here is one plant that has taken over the well tower window.

They have such beautiful brilliant clusters of showy flowers.

The property is full of new spring colors.  The nasturtium adds a bit of bright yellow and various shades of green to the garden.

My father’s memorial garden (Pop Pop’s favorite spot) is showing fullness and growth with all the rain we received this winter.

And of course, here’s my trusty companion, Cooper, who follows me wherever I go!

For those of you who are hunkering down in the big snow storm, I hope you enjoyed a bit of spring at Bella Terra!