Early Spring Foliage

Before the weather got cool again this past weekend, I took pictures of the flowers that had bloomed aroun d our yard with the early warm weather. I fully admit that I have anything but a green thumb, and I have no part in helping these plants along. Oh, and the only reason I know the names of some of these is because my mother-in-law told me!

Forsythia bush in the backyard Camelia bush beside the porch

Blossoms on the Bradford pear tree (you know, the ones that smell really bad, look all white when the flowers bloom, and make it look like it's snowing when the petals fall off).

I don't know what this one's called. It's a bush with kind of scraggly branches, but really pretty white flowers.

These are the hyacinths that grow around our mailbox. Thank goodness for bulbs--are they perenial (sp?) or annual??

This is the bird's nest that the birds built in our wreath, outside our front door. They've built nests in our wreath probably since we've lived here, every year; at least I think it's the same birds. I just googled it, and I think they are house finches. This year, I've noticed, they sit in the tree in our front yard and tweet like crazy, making sure noone is messing with their nest. There's no eggs in it as yet, but I keep checking.