Sign of Spring in Boise, and a "Get to Work" Sign

A forsythia shrub, a wild-looking one that hasn't been trimmed to within an inch of its life. When they're aggressively trimmed, they don't bloom as profusely. Forsythia used be a very common foundation and landscape shrub in this area, although like the juniper, I see it less often these days. Our home used to have forsythia shrubs at the foundation in the front and I couldn't wait to dig them out - they were infested with earwigs, little earwig breeding centers. I do like to see them in other people's yards, though! There's a saying around here that when the forsythia blooms, it's time to "get to work" and trim the roses. I know all roses are different, so it's a general rule. But under the "general rule" I have a lot of rose trimming to do in the coming weeks. Also, I've heard some people refer to the forsythia as the "state flower of Idaho." The state flower is another shrub - the syringa, which has fewer flowers, white flowers, and darker glossier leaves.