So much is happening in the garden, it is SO exciting! I took another trip to the nursery today. I was going to pick up my veggie plants to have ready to put in the ground next week, but i forgot my list...so I just picked up a purple bougainvilla. I have always wanted to try one of these up the front porch railing...but have never been willing to spend the money on something that won't come back, but I decided to go for it this year. It will go in next week. We are forecasted for another freeze on monday, so I still have to be patient! When I got home, I took a nice stroll around the garden to admire all the spring happenings and take some picks. Here is a sampling:
The Viburnum is blooming and looking so pretty:
Those Iris in front of it are starting to bud out, the mystery oxalis bulbs that came free with my order from direct gardening are coming up, the peonies are up and have buds on them, the small allium bulbs have formed their buds, the hellebores look amazing, the pineapple lily is coming up. And, the miscanthus that I have been experimenting with lately is looking good. I have some that I always wish didn't grow so tall, so I decided to keep cutting them back in spring to stunt their growth. So far, so good.
The coral bark maple is all leafed out:
The hostas are coming up very nicely. There are some that didn't seem to survive the drought though. I spent some time last night cutting back the ivy so that the hostas can breathe.
The Solomon's Seal clump that I dug up from mom's is looking great and I know I will just love having this in the garden. The cannas are also coming up, the crepe myrtles are leafing out, the euphorbia that i got for $1 b/c it was half dead looks great:
Also, the fig tree is leafing out and so is the wisteria (although I have yet to get blooms off this vine).
I think one of my favorite parts of the garden right now is all the autumn fern fronds that are emerging:
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The 60 tulips that I planted are up and the purple are blooming. Its funny how short they are, but the other ones aren't...
The honeysuckle on the side of the house that is supposed to like sun, but is in shade...looks good:
Another exciting thing is that the birdhouse we put in last year now has a nest in it. We weren't sure b/c we did not design it with housing birds in mind...it was more of an art piece. so, its cool that the birdies are liking it!
The trumpet trees are coming up and the Daturas as well. The daturas made TONS of babies:
I am wondering if some of those seedlings are poppies. I did scatter some seeds out there in the winter. Will have to wait and see, I guess.
Another exciting thing is the deciduous honey suckle start that mom gave me is coming back. I thought for sure it was dead! And last but not least, the Elephant ears are all coming up.
SUCH EXCITEMENT!
Her e are some broad shots of the garden as of today:
Had a wonderful weekend in the garden. All the work I did in the fall and winter is paying off....there is not too much to do now other than routine weeding and maintinence. The most fun, of course, is watching all of the plants doing their spring things! On Friday, mom and I stopped by the nursery and I picked up 2 more georgia blue bells. They went along the street side of the front bed along with the other one. The blue of their bloom is so nice in contrast with the hot pink of the creeping phlox. The redbud is really popping out and looks so wonderful right now!
The tulips are all coming up nicely (I was afraid a lot of them had been hijacked by the squirrels). Some of them have formed their flower buds! They will look so nice blooming around the bridhouse :)
The hostas are starting to show themselves as well as the peonies! I always wonder about these late arrivers, but they have yet to dissapoint...you would think I'd learn! I also spotted a fun surprise while perusing the garden...One of the autumn ferns that I dug up from mom's yard had a little piece of Japanese painted fern in it... Once it gets bigger, I will dig it out and find him a home of his own.
On Saturday I mowed the backyard and weedeated by the creek, just in time for a fabulous rain storm that lasted well into the evening. So nice to sit on the porch and watch the plants in the drizzle!
For my birthday this year I asked my hubby to build me a birdhouse as a focal point in the new berm. I showed him 2 pictures of birdhouses that I liked and asked him to use inspiration from those and come up with something....well, here it is! I am SO EXCITED!!!!!!!
We didn't do this for any type of specific bird, but in case some birdy likes it, my hubby made the bottom detachable so that I can take it apart and clean it out if I need to: