I’ve spent a great deal of time planting flowers and flowering shrubs in my yard, because I like flowers, and I like seeing them (there are a lot of flowers planted along my driveway, so I can see them every day, getting into and out of the car).

We had a flowering broom behind the house, but it died when we put in the parking space (it affected the drainage) we now have a Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida L.) which has survived in the spot.

The WV state flower: Rhododendron

Of course I have Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

This Japanese Andromeda (Pieris japonica Compacta) was Michael’s pick.

Tulips aren’t generally my favorite, but I love the color of this one:

This flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) isn’t in my yard, but all along the alley behind my house.

The trillium bloomed, but isn’t particularly photogenic after the cold snaps. My lavender didn’t survive the winter, nor did the heather, which I planted when we first moved here. The white bleeding heart didn’t come back, and although the pink bleeding heart came back, the late freezes killed the buds–so no flowers.

There are several other plants I’m watching, but I fear didn’t survive this winter.