Alien Pods and Abutilon

I was feeling mopey about not being able to attend Spring Fling, so I went out and bought myself a consolation prize. I purchased an Abutilon 'Little Red Bells'. I put it in a pot in the shade of my entryway. I love Maple trees, but obviously those are out of the question down here, and Abutilon have leaves that look pretty similiar to maple leaves - even though Abutilon are really in the Mallow family.

Abutilon:



Then I was out browsing at the local nursery, and just as I was walking out with nothing (yes, nothing, I was browsing remember?) I spotted a Texas Scarlet Flowering Quince, and I HAD to have it. I am so weak. Here it is (isn't it pretty?):



And more new things are blooming in my garden today. My new Texas Persimmon tree has some nifty blooms on it. They are really tiny and I swear that they look just like little alien pods:



This one has apparently already birthed its contents. I expect to see some really tiny martians running about my garden this summer:



The Granny Smith apple tree also just started blooming today:



And the Bicolor Iris also has its first bloom:



Too bad these Iris flowers only last a single day - they would be really pretty in flower arrangements.