Photos are from Jean Huot, who says, "Here in
Connecticut many of us are anxiously waiting for Spring after the coldest
February ever recorded for our state. With that in mind, I decided to pull up
some old pictures to remind me why we New Englanders endure such winters. When
we had our home built back in 2000, our .75 acre lot was completely devoid of
shrubs and trees. All we had was a new lawn and some brambles in the
backyard. I had tried to plan my landscaping, but with young kids and a
limited budget for gardening, I did most of my shopping over the years at
end-of-season sales, causing frequent changes to my plans. Also, realizing that
I had only limited time for maintaining the yard, I have focused mainly on
planting trees and shrubs. Luckily with so many area garden shops, I still managed
to gather a nice variety of shrubs and trees that flower beautifully in Spring.
In the pictures I have included, some of my favorite plants are shown – French
hybrid lilacs, 'Prairie Fire' crabapple, 'Sugar Tyme' crabapple, 'Snow Goose'
and 'Okame' cherry trees, 'Olga Mezzitt' rhododendrons, and a small collection
of tree peonies (these were an indulgence even at “bargain” prices)."
