Progress on my garden despite late freezes

This spring in Grand Junction has been one of the coldest in history.  Certainly the coldest spring since we moved to town in 1998.  Along with those cold temperatures came much needed precipitation in the form of snow and rain.

5" of snow on April 17th in my backyard

During this week, the temperatures dropped to the low and mid 20's.  Devastating to the local fruit growers and not especially kind to the early flowering trees and shrubs.   The cover picture on my facebook page shows my mature Eastern Redbud tree in it normal mid April glory.  A sight to behold for sure.  Here is what that same tree looks like today.

Eastern Redbud tree with little to no blossoms

Hardly any blossoms and large numbers of seedheads still present.  Not sure why I have so many more seedheads but the lack of blossoms is disappointing.  Its no consolation that every other redbud tree in town looks the same.  I think the late freezes are to blame.

Other areas of the garden are looking good and greening up nicely.

Ft. McNair red horsechestnut starting to leaf out.

Zauschneria greening up under Miss Kim lilac.

Hostas coming alive under the deck.

I'm looking forward to warmer temperatures sticking around for awhile.  It would be nice to have a good long Spring before the sizzling Summer comes to town!

Landscape ROI

I have always said that adding and maintaining an appealing landscape will add value to your home and can help sell your home faster.  Today, the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) posted this information in their weekly tips:

Landscape Return on Investment - 

With drought, water restrictions and conservation on everyone's mind this season, it's tempting to ask "Why should I bother?  Is the landscape really worth it?"

Here are a few things to think about that might help answer those questions:

Landscapes give curb appeal you can cash in.
Did you know that landscaping can add as much as 15% to the resale value of a building and speed up the sale as much as 6 weeks?  On the other side of the equation, homes with poor landscapes sell 8-10% below equivalent homes with good landscape curb appeal.

With spring officially here and the home selling and buying season gearing up, now is a good time to evaluate your landscape and curb appeal.  Please read my previous blog from March 31, 2012 to see all of the ways you can increase your curb appeal and increase the value of your home.  

Happy Spring!