Pruning Buddleias...

Today some of my Buddleia's received my attention. I had already pruned a few of my bushes, but I finished the rest of them today. They are starting to put out lots of new growth, so it is time to get them pruned so they can put their effort into producing leaves and branches that won't get cut off. And so they can make lots of flowers for everyone to enjoy. Last year, I purposely underplanted this bush with bulbs and sedum, so when it got pruned it wouldn't look so pathetic underneath it. I think my plan worked.

{Buddleja davidii var. nanhoensis 'Nanho Blue'}

Tiger likes to sleep in the dappled shade that the Buddleias make, so, of course, he was under one of the bushes I started to prune. As I worked on that bush, he moved under a different bush. But, poor little guy, I had to prune that one, too. I saved some of the large branches and "made" a bush for him to take his naps under until the real bushes fill out again. (Please don't tell me you haven't, at some point, done something a little inane for your pets.)




I actually had another motive in saving Buddleia branches: they are filled with Praying Mantis egg cases. So, not only am I doing Tiger a favor (and he probably won't even go sleep under my fake bush now), I am helping to perpetuate the Praying Mantis population of my garden. I did put other branches with egg cases in several different places because the Praying Mantises will eat each other, as well as all kinds of other insects.


Have a beautiful day!

An exciting discovery...

There are so many new things in my garden. New leaves. New buds. New flowers. It is wonderful that so much is happening once again. And, of course, I am finding more and more things that need to be done. Pruning, feeding, mulching, transplanting. I am even contemplating almost completely redoing one of my flower beds. And I haven't even started on the vegetable garden yet.




I found that my camellia has bloomed at last. She is so pretty. She reminds me of picking camellias for flower arrangements when I was growing up. But my most exciting discovery of the day is hidden amongst the leaves of my grape hyacinth bulbs. Look what I found:


Have a beautiful day!

Playing in the garden...

So today I actually got to play outside in my garden. Do you know how long it has been since I have done that? My daughter had the audacity to ask me if I staged the photo of the Johnnies in the wheelbarrow. No, I told her, I really, truly did use the wheelbarrow to move the Johnnies from their location huddled against the foundation out to where I wanted to plant them beside the path and along the top of the stone wall.




I love flowers. Did I ever tell you that? These poor, strong, brave Johnnies have been sitting in their six-packs since Fall. After getting some of them in the ground today, I wish I had planted them months earlier so I could have been enjoying them along the path all this time. That would have made a whole lot more sense. Johnnies are much more cheerful than bare dirt. (Duh!)




Working outside today made me wonder why I do anything else except garden. I mean, after all, what could be more important than building a garden? What else ranks up there with the sheer bliss of having your hands in the dirt, messing around with plants? Of helping things grow and listening to frogs sing? Of knowing that the rain is coming to water in the plants and that more flowers are on the way.


Have a beautiful day!

The first frog...

Last night I heard the first froggy of the year in my garden. I had forgotten how loud - pleasantly loud - they get. Today I tracked him down, although I didn't actually see him. Only the movement of the water as he hid from me. He is in a smallish (about 20 gallon) black rubber stock tank that has some reeds growing in it. Good place for a frog, right? This picture is not of him. I don't even think he is this type of frog. But I love this picture from a couple of years ago. It was so cute to discover this particular frog in the 6-pack cell.


Have a beautiful day!

Chickie update

More flowers...

Beautiful things are starting to happen in my garden. Would it be o.k. to add the word “finally” here? I wouldn’t sound too impatient or exasperated, would I? I guess Winter is a good thing, right? To make sure we fully appreciate Spring?




Not only are some of my yellow crocus blooming, but now K’s purple ones are blooming, too. These flowers were open yesterday and hadn’t yet reopened for today when I took the picture. I thought the purple rolls of petals were so pretty.




My Hyperion daylilies are starting to come up. I love the new plants emerging from the soil. Each time another one of my plants starts to show growth, I heave a sigh of relief, knowing that it has made it through the Winter.




These Tête-à-tête daffodils are the first of my daffodils to bloom. Their yellow is too bright for my poor little camera, but they sure are charming in the garden bed.


Have a beautiful day!

Iris unguicularis...

These photos are from my trip to Plant Delights Nursery Open House on March 5th. When I went through the greenhouses - where the plants were for sale - I didn't even look at the irises. I literally turned my back on them as I went by because I knew there was no way I could just buy one and I already had my list of plants. And it was growing longer by the minute.

{Iris unguicularis 'Logan Calhoun'}

These irises were growing in the Botanical Gardens. Of course they caught my eye. For one thing, they were blooming. In winter. Second, they were irises, which are SO beautiful. I have to admit, I have a thing for irises.

{Iris unguicularis 'Logan Calhoun'}

And... do you see hints of blue in them? There you have it. Do you think I would NOT see something that had blue in it? I think next time I go to Plant Delights, I will just have to bring home at least one of these stunning irises. What do you think?

{Iris unguicularis 'Francis Wormsley'}

Have a beautiful day!

Chickie update

Crocus and False Crocus...

It's official! My crocus has bloomed! Yipee!!! They mark the very first, outside, on-their-own, flowers of the new gardening year. I think I should throw a party or something!




And there are more buds on the way for more sunny crocus flowers.



On Friday, I went to the Plant Delights Nursery Open House and found another treasure. Well, actually several more. Do you know how hard it is to not bring all the plants home? I had already blown the plant budget for the day, o.k., for the week, make that month, when bright yellow flowers in one of the greenhouses caught my eye as I was walking past. I might have been able to resist had they not been fragrant. I am a sucker for fragrance. There was another plant that I really wanted, also, (I guess there were actually dozens of plants I wanted), but the false crocus won out because it was perfuming the air.

{Nothoscordum sellowianum}

The false crocus has beautiful black lines down the outside.




And it is smaller than the true crocus. But it is fragrant.

Have a beautiful day!