Updates

The sweet bay magnolia (M. virginiana) is blooming again. The tree looked pretty ratty after a fairly mild winter so I thought it wouldn't bloom but it has about 15 or more buds which is great. I love the smell which reminds me of freesias and the very best perfume you can buy imho. Someone said that if you could plant only one magnolia it should be the sweet bay which is a native and I heartly agree because of it's perfume and the shape of the tree. I'm partial to magnolias but this is by far my favorite.

Our only remaining fruit tree the Oplalescent apple has bloomed for the first time after three years in the ground and there are a few tiny fruit so we may be able to sample some this fall. Actually we do have another fruit tree a peach but we only keep it for it's flowers. And I guess you can say that the service berry (Amelanchier) is a fruit tree but more of a large shrub to my mind.

The wild flower phacelia that I scattered about willy nilly has sprouted in great numbers. Luckily the leaves are tinged purple with scalloped edges and are quite distinctive so they can't be mistaken for weeds.

The half of the ramps (wild leeks) we didn't eat and instead planted have sent up flower stalks which is a good sign that they've survived the transplant. Hopefully they'll form seed and I'll be able to plant those later. The ramp seeds I purchased still haven't sprouted despite being in the garden for several weeks now.

The 5 spice bush (Lindera benzoin) that I purchased bare root seem reluctant to sprout and remain in a suspended state. 4 are not dead because the branches still have a green brown color but one appears to have died as it is completely brown. Two seem to have tiny green buds but this is the slowest growing plant I've ever seen - they've been in ground for more than a month. The sparkleberry hollies purchased bareroot several weeks later have already sprouted and are covered with leaves.

All the dozens of 1 year old grafted japanese maples have survived and are thriving. Some which were only 6"- 1 feet tall are now 2-3 feet tall and growing and they are looking pretty spectacular even if they are tiny. Even my wife who was extremely sceptical about my buying all those jms is now won over because of their grace.

More later.