Blooming Beauties

Even though the weather has been pretty crappy for us gardeners, there are some plants that aren't complaining.  Last week I took some pictures of the happy little guys.  There are the crabapples that have been blooming for the last month starting with the variety Spring Snow, Sugar Tyme and finally the Bechtel beauties.

Bechtel Crabapple up close and very personal.

Bechtel Crabapple blooms again.  Don't the they look like little rose buds?

 The perennials this year are very late.  We have one lonely iris blooming in the horseshoe bed.  They aren't even ready for Memorial Day.  Very strange.  The columbine is one of the first to bloom in our gardens and we are excited to see it in all its glory.

The columbine is blooming in the water-wise flower bed.  Isn't that a cool color for a spring bloomer?

The Arboretum has some hidden blooming beauties as well.  Tucked under a huge clump of cottonwoods I saw the flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) sticking out it's cute pink blossoms.  With all this cool weather this little tree is lovin' life and putting on quite the show.  Jerry said that flowering dogwoods are perfect here in Utah as long as they are given some shade.  You should give them a try.

Flowering Dogwood in the Arboretum shaded under a huge cottonwood. 

Are these pink flowers the coolest thing you've ever seen?

Oh, yeah!

Sorry, I couldn't get enough of them.  I'm lovin' these dogwood beauties!

Aren't these the cutest cones you've ever seen?  Couldn't they be considered blooming beauties as well? They are from the  European Larch in the Arboretum.

Finally, here is the reason why they call this tree a Lace Bark Elm.  Awesome exfoliating bark.  Wouldn't you agree?