Red-flowering currant

Here is a photo of one of my flowering currant plants. This one produces larger flower clusters than my other currant plants.

Pruning Berberis thunbergii "Rose Glow" (Japanese Barberry) bushes

I pruned the barberry plants in the parking strip. This is not a fun task because of the thorns, but I managed without too many scratches by using long-handled loppers to cut and to pick up pruned branch and place directly into the yard waste bin. I pruned the oldest cane-like branches to about one inch from the ground (as low as I could get). Many of these were in the center of the bush, so it eliminated crowding. I also pruned some branches that were getting too close to the sidewalk. I didn't want dense shrubs, so I only pruned branches to the ground. (Cutting part way would cause branching.)

Other cane-like plants I prune in a similar manner are Nandinas (Heavenly Bamboo) and Hydrangeas. Cutting branches (canes) to the ground will encourage strong new canes to come up from the base of the plant.

Native plants

Whew! I planted 10 Noble Fir, 10 Grand Fir, 5 Black Hawthorn, 20 Red Flowering Currant, 5 Red Osier Dogwood, and 5 Bunchberry plants this weekend. They were small, procured through Pierce Conservation Society, but it still was a lot to plant over the weekend. Here are a few of the plants:

Also, here are photos of early spring bulbs - Tête-à-Tête Daffodil and Dwarf Iris. They are planted in a highly visible spot by the walkway to my front door.