March's end

This is what the end of March looks like in my garden.

The bluebonnets are blooming.

American Goldfinches in their summer dress are passing through and stopping to have a snack at the nyger seed feeders.

Over the weekend, I saw my first Giant Swallowtail butterfly of the year. 

And my first Tiger Swallowtail of 2015. Just beautiful!

But the stars of the show these days are the azaleas. For most of the year, their shrubs are inconspicuous, but in early spring they put on a show for us. Mine have never been so full of blooms as they are this spring. This is an old plant in the backyard garden. 

This is one of the everblooming azaleas that I added to my front garden last fall. They had a few blooms all through the autumn and winter, but now, in spring, they are absolutely full of these bright blossoms.

Spring in Southeast Texas is typically a very brief season. Some years, we go from winter to summer in the blink of an eye. This time, our winter hardly even qualified as a winter and we've been in spring mode practically since the middle of February. Soon enough, summer will be rearing its fiery head. But for now, we luxuriate in mild, glorious days, enjoying the early blossoms and the spring migrant birds as they pass through, the first swallowtail butterflies of the season, and, especially, loving the feel of dirt on our hands once again. 

Note: I'm linking to the "End of Month View" post at The Patient Gardener's Weblog.