Scented Geranium Flowers and Redbud Too!

Mint Scented Geranium in Bloom!

Cercis canadensis, The Eastern Redbud, One of My Favorites!

Gosh, time is flying by and the heat has come again to the 'Burgh!  That means that gardening will begin in earnest soon.  Got out and weeded some and need to dig grass out of places it shouldn't be in!  You know the same old tasks!

The mint scented geranium that lives in a container and in our garage in the winter has started to bloom.  Beautiful pinkish white blooms and then the scent of the mint scented geranium hits you!  Just glorious.  Also if you have a shady garden, this is the one scented geranium that needs shade.  That is why we have it in a container.  Do you have an herb that has been inside that is a favorite?  We have had a bunch of casualties of the herbal variety this winter.

My favorite tree with edible flowers is blooming right now, the Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis).  Thought we might lose the blooms in the last (I hope!) cold spell the other day and they weren't quite open which helped them survive.  The flowers taste like lettuce in a salad.  The blooms are closely held on the branches unlike other blooms of trees.  This tree does come with its issues.  It is really native to limestone outcroppings of the Carolinas.  Soo it is probably at its upper reaches when it resides here.  It gets canker and when it gets below zero a ways (like 22 degrees below zero), it will not survive.  Other than that, it has heart shaped leaves that turn a bright yellow in the fall.  What's not to love?  We have lost several over the years and they keep seeding and coming back which is a good thing!  So do you have a favorite tree that is in bloom at the moment.

Our landscape is coming alive finally.  Only three weeks until May?  Yikes!  Just crazy how the time is flying by.  So I will try to be posting more as we get into the garden and work.  Let me know if you have any questions or concerns, herbally speaking in the new season.  Talk to you soon.