Round and Round.

I don't remember what prompted me to check on the eight Foster Holly plants I bought this winter for 1 penny each. They were mostly dead from the cold we experienced in January. I didn't expect them to survive. They're putting out new growth. I pruned all the dead stuff away yesterday before work. I really have no idea where to plant eight shrubs that can reach 25' tall and 15' wide.



Only one of the tea olives survived. It's planted in the crook of the driveway under the oak tree.



Wintersown in 2008, sweetshrub has returned. Down the street, the flowers are holding tight, nearly ready to burst into bloom.



May Night salvia is blooming already.



The lilac at the end of the driveway is just starting.



Scattered clumps of pink dianthus from Jim at the Gaudy Garden are tossing up little blooms here and there.



Sunflowers have germinated. These are the mammoth variety. They were over 10' tall last year. I'll plant them behind the potager in the upper meadow.



It's 45 degrees. Sunny and 84 is the forecast.

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.

I miss my shadow

It's another dreary, cloudy day here in NC. Overnight, it rained again. It wasn't much, but the ground that was soggy is now fully wet. Walking across the lawn leaves depressions. On the other hand, we're less than a month away from reversing the tilt into winter. Solstice will be here before we know it. The last of the fall color in the backyard is gone. The only remnants are the leaves covering everything that stands still.



Not everything is so bleak. Morning glories in the wild are still blooming. This one has entangled itself with the elaeagnus.



The orange rose is still blooming too.



These buds probably won't open with frost in the forecast for Friday night.



Up the street, Calycanthus floridus is still green and golden. I have several of these planted in the shrub island that I wintersowed last year. The largest one is about a foot tall.



Sweet gums are still dark red. I should try to locate some seed pods for the gully when I go home tomorrow for Thanksgiving. They grow all over the place at my parents' house.



Speaking of the parents', my mom wants two Leyland Cypresses for her yard. I planted these along the fence earlier in the spring. They need to be moved, so I'm taking them to her. Tomorrow is also her birthday. I bet she thinks I forgot.



Miss Huff (probably not) is lonely without Yvonne's salvia. With so many unripened seeds on the Salvia, I cut it down this morning and brought the flowers into the basement to dry. I won't trade seeds from this batch, in case they aren't viable.



Cold weather is on the way. I need to find a day to get out back and collect more firewood. There's plenty to be had. I just need to split it with the gas powered log splitter. Waiting for a cold day. Things that slither could still be moving under all that greenery.



For all of 5 seconds, the sun tried to peek through the heavy clouds. Then it disappeared. If the forecast is right, we should see some sunlight before it sets tonight.

Helpful gardeners.

The goldfinches are dispersing seed all over my perennial bed. Their favorites seem to be the zinnias, hyssop, and salvias. They've got a helper from the chipmunk that lives near the "orange" rose bush. For the past few weeks I've noticed sprigs of grass and other items popping up as if planted in a clump. This morning, I saw the culprit. The chipmunk is raiding the birdfeeder, "hiding" the stash under the soil, and is probably unaware that the grass is germinating. Someone's gonna be hungry this winter. Bye bye crocuses.



The goldfinches have found the black eyed susans too.



I spent a couple hours this morning doing a few chores. The new Golden Showers climbing rose was planted next to the arbor. The one I purchased in the spring turned out to be a red rootstock.



I planted out two Calycanthus florida seedlings that were wintersown. They went into the shrub island I built last month. Four more butterfly bushes were installed too.



I collected more seed this morning from the Golden Jubilee. The brown in the right side of the container are the seeds that fell out while snipping the flowers off the plant. I expect lots of reseeds next spring.



Other happenings:

The white hyacinth bean has reached the top of the wire trellis on the back of the house. The moonvine hasn't even reached the bottom rung yet.



Rudbeckia fulgida is looking great with purple petunias.



Gaillardia has three blooms. More buds are forming.



Coreopsis "Full Moon" is awakening.



Squash and/or cucumbers are doing well. We need rain.



This is my petunia seed store for next year. I like the variation in colors.



Seems I've already missed a couple seed pods.



The Kongmansia I moved earlier in the week is putting out new leaves.



The brugs in the perennial bed have buds. They will be yellow or orange. All have at least one bud, one has 8.



The spirea in the shrub island is putting out new growth. I chopped it back when I moved it to reduce stress. It should reach 6-8' at maturity.



A gardenia cutting that was rooted last fall is growing nicely under the dining room window. I moved three others to bed opposite the front steps earlier in the week.



I'm starting to like this combination of color.



Finally, I have a new visitor.



It's muggy and 75 degrees. 50% chance of afternoon rain in the forecast with more on Friday and Sunday. I've got my fingers crossed.

A clean house

I'll be the first to admit it. I am not as anal-retentive about keeping my house clean as I once was. Part of it comes from having a house that has been in construction mode since the day I backed the U-Haul into the driveway. The third half of the excuse is simply that it's spring. I live with my windows open all day and all night during this time of year. When it hits 90 degrees, I'll close up the house and turn on the a/c. Until then, I'm saving money on my power bill and enjoying the sounds and sights of nature. The neighbor who plays Michael Jackson's "Greatest Hits" album at full volume is just icing on the cake.

I got up this morning around 7am. No alarm clock. No where to be and nothing that couldn't be put off til tomorrow. Still, I got up, got dressed, and made my first cup of coffee. While it was brewing, I went downstairs and started a load of laundry. Since then, the floors have been swept and mopped. The furniture was dusted. The ficus tree that I pruned too severely in the living room was moved to the kitchen porch. I'll bring it back in this fall. Hopefully, it will regrow into a more pleasing shape over the summer. I emptied my three trash cans. I scrubbed the tub and toilet. The sink was wiped down and the dishes were washed. The only thing left is laundry and it's doing its thing in the basement now.

I should be outside mowing the grass. I've let it grow over the past couple of weeks hoping some of the white clover and dandelions will reseed. I just can't put it off any longer. It looks terrible. The bees sure do love it though. I'll have robins all over the backyard this afternoon if I get out there and do it.

Too bad I just made another cup of coffee. Too bad I just took a shower and am enjoying the smell of clean in the house. Too bad I just don't feel like cutting grass right now. Who am I kidding? I know I'll be out there doing it just as soon as the coffee is finished.

It's 64 and overcast. Rain expected on and off all day. Heavy storms moved through yesterday afternoon while I was at work. The sun came out later for a nice steamy afternoon on the concrete of the garden center. Bad day to wear jeans.

3:37pm - 81 degrees, mostly sunny with a few clouds.

I got lots done. I transplanted some butterfly bushes into individual containers. I potted the Calycanthus florida (sweetshrub) into containers. I planted out 20-30 clumps of odds and ends. I moved a couple of things like yellow yarrow. I put it in a pot to recoup before sticking it out in the dry bed. I sowed seeds for a couple salvias, blue and white. I direct sowed a bunch of fragrant seeds in the white bed. I checked and I do have bean, corn, and cucumber sprouts. If it doesn't rain tonight, I will water them tomorrow with the sprinkler.

25 Butterfly bushes, mostly collected from Jackie's "Black Knight".


I have more left to pot up once they grow a little larger. All wintersown.


Sweet Shrub


Other rooted cuttings got planted out and added to those hardening off outside.


Giveaways. Hoping to get rid of them soon.


Still waiting: wintersown daylilies, coleus, impatiens, white crepe myrtles, and two trays of hosta.


My single Japanese Maple sprout has been transplanted into a container.


In the perennial bed, I have this area that's hard to grow anything in. So I planted some left over bush beans. I hope the extra nitrogen they add to the soil helps with the weird soil over here. Years of decomposing leaves have created a mat.


The red hot poker I started last spring from seed is about to bloom.


A single, tiny poppy has bloomed. The larger ones are covered with blooms.


With all that done, it's time for a nap.

6:22pm - THUNDERSTORM!!! Just tossed out some fertilizer on the hosta, potager, and the brugmansias. A good soaking rain is just what I was hoping for.