Spring Annabelles - Coming On!

First of all, the hydrangea vine has come back! I love this vine, since it covers the front of our house. It is vigorous, though, and has to be trimmed back from the windows and front step every spring. Unlike English ivy, it is not invasive or destructive - thank goodness, now that it is tipping the gutters! Yesterday, My Middle Son commented that he wished it would grow to cover the whole house! I understand completely. The two blooms here are pretty spectacular, if you know about hydrangea vines. They take years to bloom!  I thought mine would never bloom, since they weren't blooming, and then I had to start trimming it back from windows. That's when I found out that the blooms come from the trimming!  Ahhh-Haaa...There's a lesson there - just meditate on that... This year the vine has more blooms than ever!

Here come the Annabelles!  They leaf out from bare old-looking wood - it's amazing! Some of the leaves are rolled up and plump. They have become cocoons for some sadly unremarkable moths. I tried squashing all these at first, but have given up. You hardly notice them once the bush is in its full flower, so I can share.

Annabelles from another angle, and you can see the hydrangea vine going up the wall of the house, too.

I started this blog in November, when the garden was already "put to bed", so there hasn't been much garden posting so far. Now that it's growing season, though, that's going to change. Hope garden chat won't bore any readers, but I get excited every year about the new life out there! So cool to see how the beds change every year after a season of cold and bleak weather.