The recent frost did more damage than I originally thought. Although the plum blossoms made it through that first night, they soon turned brown and dropped off the branches. It’s what I expected, but still, it’s a bit disappointing. The lily tree forest was also more damaged than it first seemed — more brown than was first apparent — but I still think there should be plenty of lily flowers come July.
I took a few photos when I was out watering this morning. These irises aren’t mine; they are growing in my next-door neighbor’s yard, though they might as well be mine since there’s no one else to see them. It amuses me to think that I spend so much time outside watering and grooming my yard, and his totally unkempt (well, not totally — he does mow the weeds a couple of times during the summer) and completely unwatered yard yields these majestic flowers.
Then there is this photo of a columbine that planted itself. On my phone, the picture was perfect, the color the lovely purple of the plant itself, but when I uploaded it to my computer, it turned blue. Must be the difference when the P3 wide gamut space on my phone was converted to the standard sRGP for web display. I have no idea what that means, but that’s the answer I got when I Googled, “Why is the color different when uploading a picture from my phone. So that’s why, instead of the original purple, you see a blue columbine. Or maybe you see a different color? Purple maybe? Or orchid?
Another photo I took doesn’t do justice to what I wanted to memorialize. I’d just finished watering the lilac bushes when I noticed water drops clinging to the denuded flower stems. In the morning sun, those long-past-their-prime lilacs glittered like crystal. It was an awesome sight!
This last photo was a surprise. I must have pushed the button as I was walking away from those lilacs toward my gazebo, because this photo showed up on my phone. I loved the colors, especially the blue of the sky, so I kept it. (In the interest of honesty, I have to admit I skewed the photo from the original slanted image to get this version, but otherwise, the phone did it all on its own.)
A lot of plants are showing their first shy blossom, such as the larkspur and the cottage pinks, so perhaps I’ll have different garden photos to show in a few days.
Until then, I have these photos to please my eyes, and perhaps yours, too.
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Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One.
Bertram's Blog 
April 25, 2026 at 8:35 am
Oh, the frost did a number on my plants last month. I could’ve posted photos of brown. Now I can post photos of plain old dirt. I’m gonna fix it soon. I don’t work as fast as I used to.
April 25, 2026 at 9:24 am
I sure understand that — about not working as fast. Best of luck with your garden.
April 25, 2026 at 3:38 pm
Iris are very hardy. My great uncle used to raise all different colors and they were so lovely. I always peferred them to orchids until I lived in Hawaii for 11 years. Now it is a toss up but Iris are easy to grow and multiply quickly. Seasons wise. Likewise I still have 13 trees and sand. I’ll keep looking for the lilacs to plant. I’d love some colors like blue, purple, pink white etc.
April 25, 2026 at 3:53 pm
I just checked online. Tractor Supply has some and so does Home Depot. And I’m sure any nursery supply store near you would have some, too. Out here, we have to depend on a couple of independent outfits.
April 25, 2026 at 3:57 pm
Ima gonna look and see thanks.
April 25, 2026 at 10:51 pm
Your Columbine is so pretty — looks blue to me. And I do love Lilacs. We had a couple very fragrant pinks bushes at our previous home, but there are none here. Yours glittering with water droplets must have looked magical.
Last spring we planted a weeping form of a Japanese Maple at one end of the front planter. (It was before we knew anything about the care of Japanese Maples. Since then I’ve joined a FB group devoted to them and learned there are a lot of situations they don’t like, including spring frosts!) It was beginning to leaf out last week when we had a late frost and I’ve been watching it, somewhat fearfully, wondering if it’s been damaged, but so far it seems to be okay. Whew!
I’m still impatiently holding off until Mother’s Day weekend to shop for and plant annuals (just in case of a late frost), but I did plant my Echinacea (Coneflowers) yesterday. Couldn’t find the rich purpley-pink colour I had planned on, but settled on a multi-coloured selection called ‘Cheyenne Spirit’. Being perennials, they shouldn’t mind a few cooler nights. Fingers crossed! I’m more worried now that the dog might trample them before they can get established. I put stakes around them, but he’s rambunctious.
April 26, 2026 at 6:22 am
I planted a couple of purple magnus echinacea a few years ago, and now I have dozens of plants and handfuls of seeds. They readily seed themselves, and when they do, I transplant them to other areas of the yard. I love it when so much comes from one. I have tried a few other colors, but they aren’t as vibrant. I looked up Cheyenne Spirit, and wow — so cool! I might have to get some! Did you get seeds or plants? I’m going shopping with a friend today, and I know I’m going to end up buying a few bedding plants even though we are at least ten days from planting season. Happy planting!