Spring and her bag of tricks

March, like a typical spring around here, has been a mix of mild weather and cold weather, flowers and frozen buds.  Here are some pics.
This is the star flower that is blooming by the sidewalk.  I had a little clump in the mixed border, but it was too far from normal foot traffic to be noticed, so I transferred a little plug of it to the bed by the porch.  That was a good choice because it blooms when not too much else is blooming in that bed.

 

Here are the jonquils.

 



Here is the grape hyacinth (which is more purplish than it shows up on my camera) that I got from a neighbor,

and the jessamine (which always reminds me roaming the woods in childhood).

 

We got a light and brief snow.

 

March brought a frigid cold snap, with temperatures down to about 23°.  After having a warmer than normal February, the cold snap hurt quite a few buds.  Here you can see the tan color on the larger blueberry buds, indicating that they were frozen.  The ones that had not opened up as much show a pink color and appear to have survived.  I guess we'll know for sure later on.

 

The pot of pansies by the steps withstood all the tricks thrown at it, and came through with flying colors.  I did move it to the south end of the house on the very coldest nights.

 

Last, but not least, here is the eggshell of a bluebird.  The adult bluebirds will sometimes eat the remaining shells or remove them to a distance away from the nest.  This one was on the ground away from the nest.  I don't know enough about how a hatched egg would look to know if this was a successful hatch or if it was an egg stolen by a predator, but there has been enough time since nest building for eggs to have hatched.  My bird box opens from the front, and I'm a little leery about trying to look in.  (A bluebird egg is less than an inch in length.  There are a few flecks of debris on the shell, but the color is a solid blue.)

March--in like a lion, out like a lamb.