After a crazy winter with the largest snow storm for this area in over 30 years spring has finally arrived. I just love seeing all the splashes of color show up again after the long dreary winter. Here is a quick tour of the flowers on my homestead and a bit about each of them.
Red Flowering Currant
The top picture on this post is a red flowering currant that is just starting to open up. These plants are native here in western WA and humming birds just love them! I have already seen hummingbirds visit these flowers--the one in the picture is next to my bird feeder and is just outside my front window making it easy to watch the hummingbirds visiting it.
I have planted tons of these shrubs all over my homestead to help attract hummingbirds. In another week the shrubs should just be covered in red/pink flowers.
The currants are also a good food source for birds and the shrubs also provide cover making these great for attracting birds and a beautiful addition to any wild homestead.
Nectarine
Nectarines are just beautiful and I hope this tree does well this year. Given how wet the climate is here during the spring nectarines and peaches can get peach leaf curl which can kill the first leaves, some of the branches and potentially the tree.
The last 2 years this tree has been hit by it but each time it rebounded and I have improved the area around the tree and I'm hoping it does better this year.
Daffodils
While I always thought daffodils were a pretty flower I really started appreciating them when I spent a year in England. There they just seem to grow wild all over--at least in the town I lived in. This made me want to grow them when I had my own place.
So each year since buying my homestead I have been planting more and more daffodils. I just love looking out and seeing all the bright yellow flowers. But the yellow with orange in the middle are my favorite type.
Daffodils are also supposed to deter critters like moles which if it works would be a nice added benefit.
Osoberry (Indian Plum)
Osoberries are another native plant to this area that I just love. They get small "plums" that do taste great but the birds get most of them. Osoberries also produce a ton of small white flowers that are really nice in early spring alongside the red flowering currants.
But my favorite part of osoberries is they are one of the first if not the first native plant in this area to leaf out each spring. The new leaves are a very bright green and I just love looking out and spotting all these bright green shrubs scattered in the forest and around my homestead.
All of my hedgerows have osoberries planted in them.
Primrose
I have a small patch of primroses that my son "helped" plant when he was 1 (he is 2 now). They are right by our front porch and my son just loves looking at them.
Just a nice splash of color to see as we come and go each day.
Willows
I have planted a number of native willows on my homestead. Hummingbirds and bees love their flowers and as the willows grow they should provide cover for birds and other wildlife.
But willows also have another benefit--you can take cuttings from a willow and soak them in water to create "willow water". Willows produce a strong rooting hormone and this hormone is transferred to the water. If you soak cuttings from other plants in the willow water you can trigger them to root.
Willows can also be easily livestaked. Just take a branch and stick it in the ground so that at least a couple nodes (or buds) are below ground. I like to put at least half of the branch in the ground to be safe. All my willows were planted this way.
Which Spring Flower is Your Favorite?
Hope you have enjoyed this quick tour of the early spring flowers on my homestead. What is your favorite early spring flower? Please leave a comment with your answer.
Thanks for reading!
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