Spring is so close I can smell it!!

We are still getting freezing nights, but the days are frequently warming up to the 60s or 70s.  Not much is budding, but I can almost feel the anticipation in the air.  The only green things right now are those that are evergreen.  

Some plants look like they are barely hanging on: 
The Heartleaf Skullcap, Rubeckia and Engelmann Daisies still only have a few leaves, the Oak Leaf Hydrangea is holding one or two sad looking red leaves. The Creeping Germander is healthy, though covered with fallen Oak leaves and the Pittosporum are looking tired but green.  

Other plants hold their own through the winter, like the Jerusalem sage, the newly planted Pineapple Guava and, of course, the bluebonnets are a bright splash of green in the yard.  

And some you can almost feel them getting ready to leap: the foxglove penstemon still is small, but somehow it just feels like it is ready to leap and the irises are half brown, but you can feel them reaching upward.

But the gopher plant (Euphorbia rigida), planted just this fall, is showing just  a tip of yellow that seems to indicate that the first flower of spring is almost here.

And the tiny Crocus tips are starting to show as well!

The standing cypress that showed up for the first time last year is looking healthy and green, and another first year standing cypress has popped up a couple fee to the left of the original!

The transplanted agarita is looking happy and green, no sign of yellow flowers, though, as is the Blue Weeping Yucca.  This plant has really turned into a show stopper, in my opinion.  I did take some time to cut back the solar garden, cutting down the dead Obedient plant and pulling up those that were encroaching on other plants.  Cut back the Bee Balm and grasses as well.

Nicely trimmed up, just waiting to grow!

The two Western Rough Golden Rods I planted last year are looking withered,
but all around it, small green leaves have popped up that look like they might be new golden rods.  I guess they established enough last year to spread by rhizomes.  I am somewhat fearful seeing how quickly this plant has spread in just a few months, but everything I read says that they are wonderful for native insects... And fortunately they are all by themselves, mostly.

The Twist of Lime Abelia is looking really pretty, as one of the fresh green colors in the front garden. It has not grown much, but I wouldn't really expect it to in its first few months :)

Birds seen in the yard this week:  We saw our first ever Eastern Blue Birds.  The pair showed up while I was doing the Annual Backyard Bird count.  It hung around in the Chinaberry; the female ate sumac seeds, and the male came twice to take a sip from the fountain.  And then they flew off.  Hopefully they will remember our home as a place to return to :)