Timing

A delayed spring, followed by intense heat, seems to have played with the timing of lots of plants.  Everything is blooming at once!  How do I tell nature to slow down?

Across the alley, I always enjoy my neighbor's forsythia, which I can see from my kitchen window.  It's the perfect place for a forsythia, in my view.  I get to enjoy its bright flowers, but it doesn't take up valuable space in my yard with its uninteresting form the other 11 months of the year.

I think it bloomed later this year, since spring insisted on hibernating extra long.  But, eventually, the forsythia put on its stunning show.

And then it got hot.  Thanks to the sudden warm up, the neighboring lilac (another shrub whose blooms I love, but not enough to have in my yard all year) is right on time.

So now we have forsythia and lilac, blooming at once.

(yes, if these were mine, I might prune them a bit)

Nice combo, but I'd really rather have them spread out more, so my scenery lasts longer. 

Maybe next year.