Little surprises.

Every day, there's something new in the garden. If you were here, I'd spend an hour talking about the plants in the perennial bed. Another hour could be spent touring the backyard. The sweet tea would be cold and dark, just like Nell's. Mine probably has a little more sugar than hers.

The first tomatoes. These are Roma. Wintersown in early March.



A red blooming Four O'clock. I remember, years ago, when a power/light pole stood in the backyard just about where Mr. Lincoln lives now. I sowed these seeds and two tiny plants grew and struggled to bloom in the hard compacted clay beneath the pole. When the pole came out, the four o'clocks remained.



These yellow dayliles were offered in exchange for something I rooted or divided last summer. She didn't know for sure what they would be, but she was willing to part with them.



The same lady gave me this one.



Hilda brought me a clump of upright pointing elephant ears last year. They have curvy edges and can grow into huge clumps. At the Bojangle's restaurant here in town, they've got some in full sun that grow to more than 6' tall every summer. Mine were about half that last year.



The black stemmed elephant ear I planted in late winter has finally made an appearance. The black leafed ones rotted. They were soft when I planted them. I didn't expect to see them.



A brown/orange rudbeckia is blooming. These usually show up in the fall. Maybe this is one that overwintered. On a business trip in 2008, I stopped by a roadside plant stand in Delaware. I brought back a single plant called Autumn Colors. From those seeds, I've increased the varieties of blooms in the garden, with a little help from the bees.



Asters, purchased for 15 cents last fall, are blooming already. I spotted a white one this morning. This is the hot pink one. It's taller and less meatballish than the plants I purchased on clearance. I figured as much. I could cut these back I guess, but I won't. I have plenty that will be blooming in the fall.



Spirea, wintersown in 2008/9. I'll probably need to move this plant next spring. It should be in the shrub border. For some reason, I thought it was caryopteris. Obviously, it's a true spirea. It's nearly 3' tall.



Helenium is blooming too. I think this was labeled "Helen's Gold", but I could be misremembering.



Cherry Brandy Rudbeckia has made me rethink all the nasty comments I made about it to others last year. It was the color of dried blood. I wasn't impressed. Year two is much more Cherry. It can stay.



Second generation seeds were collected from Cherry Brandy last fall. They're blooming now. I think I'll keep them as well.





It's 72 degrees. I've finally decided to call a repairman for the HVAC system. It needs freon. I can't do that myself. I have a feeling, this is going to be expensive. When it's 94 degrees on Saturday, I'll be glad I spent the money. So will the cat.

Sunlight.

On a cloudless day, the colors are more vivid.



Every flaw, every weed, every nuance is highlighted. Texture is more visible with hard shadows. Fuzzy becomes apparent.



Red is true.



Orange.



In dappled sunlight, things are fuzzier. Weeds blend with the foliage of other plants making them less recognizable.



Backlighting is useful when photographing dark colors.



In deep shade, the colors are more muted.



Details are clear if you can focus.



But once in a while, the sun breaks through for just a few moments.



It's 57 degrees. The chance of rain has been downgraded to sunny and warm. The high will be in the upper 80s today.

Returning.

The perennial bed was my main focus last spring. Most of the wintersown plants went into this bed. I also grew a great number of annuals like melampodium, zinnias, petunias, salvias, and cleome. Already, after a few days in the low 90s, there are blooms in the perennial bed. Many more will be coming along shortly.



Red Valerian, or Jupiter's Beard, is about to bloom. One comment I read about this plant says it's best suited where chaos is desirable. Let chaos rule.



Clearance dianthus are blooming. These were purchased for a song last fall and used in the window boxes until Thanksgiving. I planted them out in the garden along with pansies and violas.







The purple columbine is heavily budded. I've waited a whole year to see these bloom.



Small white bell-shaped flowers stand atop these plants. I don't know the name. I moved some from a neighbor's yard in mid winter this year.



The canna found in the lawn last summer has returned. Must be a cold hardy type. I hope it blooms.



The ferns transplanted last week are growing.



Perilla seedlings. I made a huge mistake.



In the backyard, a dark leafed weigela is budding. The other three I have are a little behind this one. It gets more sun.



Spirea. This was the first plant I moved to the shrub island I built in June 2009. I took cuttings this spring. None seem to have survived. I'll take more later.



More hosta have popped in the North Bed. I was planning to reorganize these before they grew too large. I don't want to disturb them now. Maybe I'll do it next year. I have lots of wintersown babies up in three containers in the driveway.



It's 39 degrees. I moved my tomato seedlings indoors last night before dark. I set out the water sprinkler in the perennial bed, just in case of frost. There seems to be none with the relative humidity so low. The sky is starting to turn. There's a thin sliver of the crescent moon through the trees in the backyard. The high today will reach the mid 70s. It's going to be chilly for a bit this morning.

A Travel Day.

Today I'll be heading to Robert's to help him with some projects in his yard. We're going to plant some shrubs, decide on some planting bed layouts, and I'll give him some suggestions for future plantings. In my own yard, spring is advancing rapidly.

The irises are growing almost daily.



Gold Flame Spirea is putting out new foliage.



Variegated Miscanthus is returning.



Ligustrum Howardii has tons of new growth. These were purchased from the clearance rack last fall with a few leaves and lots of sticks.



Even the Japanese Maple is leafing out.



The first of the returning hostas has emerged.



It's 39 degrees. We should see a high again in the upper 70s. Tomorrow, I'll spend most of my day weeding the perennial bed and planting out as many containers as I can manage.

Forgotten Camellia

Just beyond the top of the dead oak tree, there's a clump of shrubs that used to be part of the gardens here. They were likely planted years ago by Mrs. Russell, before the trees reclaimed the area. There's a stand of quince that bloomed even in heavy shade. I moved some of these to the yard two years ago, although mine haven't bloomed yet and seem unlikely to do so this year.

Surrounded by orange ditch lilies, crocus foliage, and mahonia, there's a single camellia. The blooms are the same as those on the shrub in the yard. I wonder if she took cuttings and propagated this one herself. I wandered out back yesterday to get a closeup. This spring, once there's new growth, I plan to take cuttings from this shrub myself. I'm thinking of planting a few along the back yard. Azaleas, abelia, and other blooming shrubs will be added when the time is right. I've already started propagating the spireas.







It's St. Patrick's Day. Wear something green. It's 36 degrees this morning. No frost. The forecast calls for 65 today.

9:33am - Spent the last hour "propagating" things. I've pruned some hardwood sticks and shoved them in the ground where I want them to grow. If it works, I'll have a backyard full of spring and summer blooms. If not, I've lost only an hour of time, outside, with a cup of coffee. I stuck Sweet Shrub, camellias, mock orange, forsythia, spireas, vitex, Korean lilac, weigela, althea, pussywillow, and crape myrtles. I think that's all.

New growth, new blooms, new foliage:

My fragrant, unknown spirea is starting to bloom.



The Korean lilac is leafing out.



Peonies.



My "dead" loropetalum isn't quite dead yet. Nell Jean was right.



Stuck cuttings of forsythia and mock orange. I may be too late for these to root, but the very wet soil should help.





Peach blossoms will be here by the weekend. The plums are smart, they're waiting.



New growth on the Oakleaf Hydrangea that I've tortured since finding it in the backyard in the summer of 2007.



Red Pussywillow is blooming.



And lookie here, my tulips are going to actually bloom this year. A testament to the cold winter we had. Only two out of the 40 bulbs I planted in the fall of 2007, but hey, that's two more than I had last year.



It's been a good morning already. I'm off to shower and work in a few.