Happy Spring everyone! I hope you are feeling spring wherever you are. Here, in central Massachusetts, Spring is not so obvious. Yes, the light has changed and the birds are singing, but a few days ago we received 4 inches of snow. And I am itching to see some spring flowers. So I took a trip over to one of my favorite local botanical gardens, Tower Hill in Boylston, MA. Tower Hill is a lovely spot, on 132 acres, with a variety of gardens and trails available. Here are some of my pictures from a few days ago.
- Tower Hill Orangerie with turtle fountain
Here we are in the Winter garden. A columnar Blue Spruce and purple heath (Winer heath ‘pink spangles’ ) The heath was alive with honey bees.

Blood-twig Dogwood ‘mid-winter fire’, Cornus sanguinea
- Dogwood hedge with Siberian Iris
- Yellow twig Dogwood and snowdrops
Lovely Siberian Iris.
White and purple crocuses, both with honey bees in them.
A beautiful Witch Hazel (Hamamelis vernalis). By the way, witch hazels provide modest amounts of nectar and pollen for bees.
Not expecting to find any daffodils in bloom, I was delighted to see some. This field is beautiful when all the daffodils are in bloom.

Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)
Winter aconite cheerfully offers good pollen and nectar for the bees.
And last, but not least, I was happy to find two beehives. The honey bees were busy. Such fun colors!

A Camellia

February Daphne