Magnolia trees are blooming along with a lot of other things

I'VE BEEN MUSING ABOUT ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE IN BLOOM NOW (It's no wonder every ones allergies are acting up).

 This week I noticed the Magnolia trees are starting to bloom.  I'm shocked that they are already blooming.  Normally they don't start to bloom until the middle of May.
     

Magnolia Tree bud

Magnolia tree that has not cut back, and growing to the ground

   The reason I am aware of this was because when my son was about 2 he saw a Magnolia tree about to bloom and got all excited because he thought Christmas was about to come since to him the tree he was looking at looked like a Christmas tree with its white buds on it and the way it is cone shaped. He thought the buds were christmas lights.  He was very disappointed that it was not coming.  To cheer him up I told him that the Magnolia Tree was blooming for his birthday which was about ten days later.  Every year since then I look forward to the trees blooming right before his birthday. 
 

1 st one I saw, sorry its not in focus.

Opened Magnolia blossom

Another bush that is blooming, that I usually think of as a late spring to early summer plant, is the Oleanders.

Oleander bush just starting to bloom

Oleander bush, closer

Oleander flowers

Pink Oleander one week later

This has been such a crazy spring.  Usually the crocuses are the first to bloom yet I'm seeing some still blooming now.

crocuses

 
At least the Tulips, Snapdragons and Iris's are blooming like I expected them to.  

Tulips

Tulips

Snapdragons

Snapdragons and other spring flowers

Iris

Iris

Iris

 Other plants bloom that I don't know what they are but seem normal for this time of year.

??

I don't know what this is but it is a pretty vine of some sort

 Its a bit early for the Lily's but not too early.

  Lily

Lily

But now the Amaryllis's are blooming also which is way too early.  I usually don't see these until the summer time.

Red Amaryllis

   

Amaryllis

   Also the Roses are very early this year.  The first bloom celebration at the Gardens of the American Rose Center is normally scheduled for the first weekend in May.  This is the ideal time to see roses in the area because normally the roses are just starting to come out and are spectacular.  But this year they are already in full bloom and have been for a week or so.  By May they will be past there peak viewing time.

Rose bush in full bloom

Roses already in bloom

Roses in bloom

And here's a favorite of mine the Shreveport Rose, which is orange in color.

The Shreveport Rose

  Did you know that Shreveport is the home for the American Rose Society? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gardens_of_the_American_Rose_Center ?





This has been a crazy spring.  I worry because we've gotten so little rain.  It's all going north of us.  Also its been an unusually windy spring.  In the past when we've gotten little rain it leads to a very hot summer.  I hope it's not going to be a very hot summer this year.

PS a lot of people like this post and if you like this you might also like this post on Japanese Magnolia blooming.