Spring sprang sprung

Spring arrived quickly this weekend. Trees that were barely more than dead sticks at this time last week - hell, last Friday even - are now covered in blooms or the light green that only comes with newborn leaves. The magnolia trees opened in two days - I'm honestly not sure where the hell they came from. And the forsythia are absolutely amazing this year after days of rain to give them some added oomph.

It was an absolutely beautiful weekend here in New England. Mid 60's to low 70's, cloudless skies, light breezes. Erich and I opened up every window that has working pulley strings to let the house air out. We've slept with the windows open, and save a couple of nights, will continue to do so now until oh, late September or so. :)

We'll be going back over to Lowes to buy new grass seed - I imagine that everything Erich spread last Saturday is long gone, thanks to the Nor'Easter last week. He's convinced it all washed into the garage. I'm also itching to buy plants for my outdoor pots, but I know that I need to wait maybe two more weeks. Come May, the risk of overnight freeze will finally be over. Especially with how weird this year was. And honestly, the selection of pansies, pansies, and more pansies don't appeal to me all that much.

A landscaper came out Sunday to give us a second estimate on our yardwork that needs to be done. His evaluation of the yard was much more thorough, and involved pulling down 14 of the 16 maple trees along our side yard. Erich and I have talked about having them removed for the better part of a year anyway - we keep losing major branches from them (suggesting that they're diseased). They're not the pretty maples that turn red - they're scraggly, honestly. The landscaper pointed out to Erich that they had insect infestations - woodpeckers all over them and such. We'd be able to keep a couple of them, plus the linden tree at the corner. It makes me a bit sad to pull them, but in reality - they don't look good, and if they're diseased trees, we really should remove them to prevent the damage from spreading further.

And it's not like we won't plant new trees, of course. I'd love to add a magnolia or other flowering tree to the yard. And we're already planning on planting at least a couple Japanese maples because they're just so pretty and delicate. A few trees to add some texture to the yard will go a long way to make it prettier.

Ultimately, I just want to create a yard that looks pretty, doesn't look too organized or landscaped, and fits the house. The Japanese maples are probably the only real trendy tree that I'd add. I'd love to include a lot of older, more traditional plants in that fit the house, too - one or two additional hydrangeas, bleeding hearts, spring bulbs (tulips, crocus, daffodils), etc. Preferably things that do need some care, but not constant maintenance to keep them going strong.

Any ideas of other things to include?