Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the crossvine, of course.
Two days after I posted a photo of this crossvine in bud, it’s gloriously in full bloom. The coral-orange trumpets blaze at me whenever I glance out my kitchen window into the back garden.

The flowers are the exact color of my neighbor’s house just behind the fence. No, it’s not weird; it actually works on their Craftsman-style remodel. Anyway, I just bet they’re loving this vine too, as we share its beauty on either side of the fence that divides our yards.

More orangey coral shows up in the ‘Blue Elf’ aloe.

A closeup

I’m still feasting my eyes on ill-named spiderwort’s purple flowers. This clump by the container pond has just gotten bigger and bigger, though it hasn’t spread aggressively, as it’s prone to do.

In the rain garden under the cedar elm, however, the spiderwort has taken over. I let it because I just can’t get enough of its tender, woodland-like leaves and stalks and those delicate violet-and-yellow flowers.

Recently I undertook a spring cleaning of the pond, which means I potted several clumps of anacharis (underwater, algae-cleaning plants), added a couple of new goldfish to help clean up algae and eat mosquito larvae, and divided and fertilized my ‘Helvola’ water lily. All done. Now the water lily is sending up new, silver-dollar-sized leaves, the pond is clear, and all is right with the world. (Well, except for all those weeds in my granite paths. I must get on that this weekend.)

A parting look at the crossvine.
Happy spring to you!