Serenity Sunday: Periwinkle Pals

The weather gods seem determined to scoff at my misgivings regarding the trustworthiness of the beautiful spring weather we’ve been having.  The temperature has been approaching 80°F and is forecast to continue unseasonably warm.  Though I am still skeptical and will not be in the least surprised if we have another snowfall or two, I am certainly enjoying the array of flowers that have chosen to blossom.  Here are two more that have joined the daffodils in brightening up our days.

The periwinkles (Vinca major) have been flourishing in recent years and are spreading out slowly but steadily in the shade below the big basswood.

Another favorite of mine, the Siberian Bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla ‘Langtrees’) is also back again next to the low stone wall below the crabapple, which, in turn, looks like it’s going to blossom a whole month earlier than it did last year.  By the way, a little more about the Bugloss:  The not-very-attractive name has actually nothing to do with bugs or loss (or gloss, for that matter), but rather (according to the Missouri Botanical Garden website) “comes from Greek meaning ox tongue in probable reference to the roughness and shape of the leaves”…and the “cultivar name comes from Langtrees ornamental garden, Croyde, North Devon, where the plant was discovered.”

The flowers are about the same size as Forget-Me-Nots, which they rather closely resemble and, although the unfurled petals lack the violet hue that would render them a closer match to the true periwinkle color, I thought it close enough to stretch the point in order to call it a pal for the purposes of my title.