Moving From Spring Into Summer

The apple blossoms lasted only five days but the Lilacs went for weeks. They began winding down about Memorial Day:

 They were both beautiful and fragrant, so I wanted a few more photos of them before they were gone for another year:

 I covered the Bush Cherry with bird netting. By the way, that's an Apricot tree just to the left of it, which has not yet produced a flower. The Bush Cherry and two plums, planted at the same time, are producing nicely:

 Here's a closeup of the tiny cherries getting started under the netting. I don't yet know if it will prevent the birds from eating them all, but I'm hopeful. What I can say for sure is that the netting is difficult to mow around:

The Prairie Rose flowering crab didn't bloom much this year and the other flowering crab barely bloomed at all:

 Only one side of the tree blossomed, but that side was nice:

 There were so many gaps in my new perennial garden that I bought more Iris and Asiatic Lilies to fill in the gaps. While planting them, I was shocked to discover that I had lots of roots and bulbs underground which were starting, but not up yet. I planted around them as best I could, and smoothed out the soil. I'll leave it alone now:

 Since I was on a planting binge this year, I went down to a local nursery and purchased a Variegated leaf Weigela. It had survived a rough winter, unprotected in that pot at the nursery, so I figured it would be hardy. It will have bright pink flowers soon (I hope):

 I liked the Weigela so much that I also bought a Magic Carpet Spirea. It has golden leaves with bright pink tips where the new leaves are forming. It too will have bright reddish pink flowers when it blooms - and it too is hardy:

 And speaking of Spirea, the old fashioned Bridal Veil Spirea began blooming just as the Lilacs began fading. This bush was just getting started when I snapped the photo:

 Here's a closeup. These bushes are very old and very hardy, blooming faithfully every spring. They are the old fashioned type, not the type with double flowers, but I can't see how there would be much room for improvement on these beauties:

 The yellow Dandelions faded and turned to magical seed heads. Spring is turning into summer at a rapid pace. I keep thinking that my farm, with its plants and animals, is a place which my mother would have loved if she were still alive. In fact, I think I am subconsciously aiming to please her. Maybe she's looking down and smiling her approval: