The scent of Spring is in the air.....

Rhododendron occidentale - Western Azalea

Mmmmmmm.....it's one of my favorite times of the year.  The Western Azaleas in my yard are blooming and their delicate sweet scent is wafting through the air.  Proof for sure that Spring is here to stay and Summer will be just around the corner.   These lovelies grow in the shade at the forest edge and practically glow with their gentle splashes of yellow and pink.  It makes me want to drop the house work and take off on a leisurely hike through the woods.

A Determined 'Debutante'

Camellia japonica 'Debutante'

Spring is truly coming!  Look what I spied on my way out the door for work this morning...a single bloom on my very determined Camellia japonica 'Debutante' bush!   This poor shrub has had a rough go of it this winter.  In January an ice storm  broke every limb off of her main trunk.  Then the top of a big conifer tree  broke off in a windstorm a few weeks later and landed right in her lap leaving her even worse for wear.  After that I had no alternative except to trim her way back to the ground.  I manged to leave a few leaves near the ground, tentatively hoping she might produce a few buds later in the spring.  Needless to say I was not prepared to see this beautiful face smiling up at me.....from just inches above the dusting of snow on the ground this morning.   Nature's persistence never ceases to amaze me!