Springtime in Albuquerque, New Mexico

 It's been windy and we had some late freezes, but finally flowers are blooming and leaves are growing back.  The humming birds have returned and the birds are building nests and singing everywhere.

In my garden, strawberries are beginning to fruit. No plums, though, because the late freeze and the wind destroyed the flowers and tiny fruit.  My irises are really showing off as are the Hedgehog Cacti.

I've been re-doing much of my small backyard.  A dying Silk Tree was removed and I took out many sages that had over-run the yard and looked very scruffy and barren from the winter.

The irises are now taking front and center stage with their magical color and gorgeous flower heads.

Hedgehog Cactus in bloom

Claret Cup Cactus

I bought a Japanese Maple for my shaded front porch

Golden Columbine

Anna's Promise grandiflora rosebush produces fragrant large roses before the heat sets in

My Austrian Copper Roses

I replaced my dying Silk Tree with an Eastern Redbud.  The pink flowers emerge in early spring from the branches and trunk before the leaves. It will be a welcome harbinger of spring next year.

 

The backyard birdbath is a popular place for the birds to get a drink or bath.

In the front yard, I put out annual colors.

Pots of annual color

My Mugo Pine and Maple trees in the front yard with a view of the Sandia Mountains

 

My Dwarf White Spruce my sister gave me as a potted Christmas tree more than 10 years ago is looking very healthy.  

The Curved Bill Thrasher sings his heart out in the Pyracantha bush.  Play the video while you scroll through the rest of the pictures to get a feel for what my little Albuquerque garden is like this spring.

My Smoke Tree is in full bloom by late May.  The deer had stripped it's bark and branch tips in the winter so I was unsure if it would bloom but here it is better than ever.

Wild Hollyhocks sow into any nook or cranny

My piñon pine has grown about 12 inches since we moved here.  Got my first pine nuts last summer.

Cat Mint is a perennial herb with beautiful lavender flowers.  It's a great NM plant that grows well in any soil and with little water.

My girl friend gave me seeds for Blue Columbine and it will grow here but needs shade from the NM sun and a lot of water

Meadow Sage and Butterfly Weed attract pollinators 

My Meadow Sages spread everywhere giving a nice look of a meadow

Time to relax and enjoy the sights, sounds, and smell of spring in New Mexico

And at the end of the day, I can watch the beautiful sunsets from my backyard looking west toward the city of Albuquerque.

A few years ago, I shot this scene from my back yard of the sun setting over Albuquerque.