Garden Photo of the Day

The Essence of Spring

By Kim Charles

Red Cardinals stay in my yard all year. He is perching on a Magnolia tree. The blooms will be dropping soon.

Cathy Thacker of Yorktown, Virginia catches a few key photos that capture the true essence of spring. So happy we will all be seeing these beautiful sites soon.

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Comments

  1. Maggieat11 03/31/2017

    Wonderful photo with the cardinal! Best Wishes to all for a lovely Spring!

  2. user-7007498 03/31/2017

    The magnolia is such a great backdrop for the cardinal. Great picture. Rainy, cold day here in Harrisburg. Better than snow. Come on spring.

    1. User avater
      meander_michaele 03/31/2017

      I feel almost guilty that my daffodils are almost over, my tulips and creeping phlox are in full color and a tree peony just opened the other day. Spring is on "the march" so to speak and heading fast into April.

      1. Chris_N 03/31/2017

        Don't feel guilty. When the kids were in grade school we used to take advantage of spring break to go camping in the Smokies. It was wonderful to escape the end of winter and go find spring with the trilliums and bloodroot and all the other spring ephemeral in full swing. One year we decided to go down to the State of Mississippi to camp and see the historic sights. This is due south for us. By the time we got to southern Illinois, the redbuds and flowering dogwood were in bloom everywhere. When we got down to Mississippi it looked like full summer. What a great escape!

        1. User avater
          LindaonWhidbey 03/31/2017

          Hi Chris, our family did that same trip in the spring. It was always fun to see where you'd start seeing the first flowers.

          1. schatzi 03/31/2017

            When we used to ski, I always enjoyed watching spring march up the mountains. It's fun watching for the first tiny green leaves. Latitude, altitude, and exposure make a huge difference.

        2. User avater
          meander_michaele 03/31/2017

          We used to have a reason the took us further south into Georgia in the late winter/ early spring and I would notice when the wild redbuds along the interstate appeared in bloom. Then it was my turn to be jealous of Georgia.

      2. user-7007498 03/31/2017

        Yes, Michaele. You should feel guilty. We are still expecting cool damp weather over the next 2 weeks. I am so jealous.

      3. user-7007498 03/31/2017

        Just kidding of course. Enjoy the flowers.

    2. Chris_N 03/31/2017

      Cold and rainy in Wisconsin as well. Many of the early bulbs up but without sunshine the crocuses won't open. At least we've had a few sunny days, I hope you've had some, too.

  3. User avater
    meander_michaele 03/31/2017

    Lovely photos, Cathy and, oh, my, doesn't Mr. Cardinal look grand in front of that glorious backing of white blooms?!

  4. user-4691082 03/31/2017

    Thanks Cathy. It's hard to believe you're that far ahead of us. I can't wait for my magnolia Virginiana to bloom. The scent is heavenly! That is a great photo of the cardinal! Thanks for sharing!

  5. 2bakeornot2bake 03/31/2017

    Wonderful blooms on that magnolia (and photo of the cardinal). Lucky your bloooms weren't hurt by the late frost this year.

  6. Chris_N 03/31/2017

    After the tease we had in February, March turned cold and spring has been slow in arriving. Thank you for the lovely photos and the reminder spring is really on it's way.

  7. VikkiVA 03/31/2017

    Great pictures Cathy and love how you got such a beautiful pose by our Virginia state bird. the Cardinal. We've got a little rain and cooler temps across the bay in Chesapeake today. Have a wonderful weekend. Vikki in VA

  8. Sunshine111 03/31/2017

    Gorgeous Cathy! I posted the picture of the cardinal on my Facebook page and have credited you. Thanks for sharing these gorgeous photos!

  9. OregonGardenGal 03/31/2017

    That photo of the cardinal is wonderful! We don't have them on the west coast so it's a treat to see the brilliant red against the white blossoms.

  10. KarlaRoady 03/31/2017

    I am so envious - here in Southern Oregon we don't have red cardinals - I've never seen one. Oh, and I do love the magnolia too...

  11. User avater
    Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 03/31/2017

    I'm certainly enjoying the arrival (and hopefully remaining) of spring. Love that cardinal shot.

  12. sheila_schultz 03/31/2017

    I do miss cardinals in CO, that's a perfect shot, Cathy! Enjoy spring everyone, we're due for some much needed moisture in the form of snow over the next few days. Oh well, we'll take it anyway we can get it... at least my Korean Spice Viburnum had a chance to bloom for 2 weeks and the scent has been downright dreamy! Have an excellent weekend my GPOD friends!

  13. User avater
    LindaonWhidbey 03/31/2017

    Good morning, Cathy. Thanks for that beautiful Cardinal photo which is so striking against the Magnolia. I sure miss seeing those birds since they are not on the west coast. We are having a slow spring here, as well, but at least the daffodils are flowering. Here's a photo from the Skagit Valley. Tulips are a bit behind this year.

    1. user-7007940 03/31/2017

      Yep. The Tulips in my yard (Newcastle, WA) are a bit slow.

  14. schatzi 03/31/2017

    Gorgeous cardinal and flowers. I'm with the rest of the west coast-ers in missing cardinals. Beautiful bird. I have hellebores, crocus, daffodils and Korean white forsythia blooming. The latter smells so sweet on the rare occasions when the sun shines.

  15. user-7007140 03/31/2017

    Beautiful shot of the cardinal and magnolia. They are prolific here but don't even visit England. The first time I saw one I was sure it had escaped! Wanted to call the Audubon Society!
    Happy to report that Central Ohio has Spring. At last.

  16. user-7008421 04/01/2017

    Mid 70s, sunny and breezy...can't beat Arizona in the spring.

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