Vignettes

Main Entry: vi·gnette
Pronunciation: \vin-ˈyet, vēn-\
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from Middle French vignete, from diminutive of vigne vine
Date: 1611

1 : a running ornament (as of vine leaves, tendrils, and grapes) put on or just before a title page or at the beginning or end of a chapter; also : a small decorative design or picture so placed
2 a : a picture (as an engraving or photograph) that shades off gradually into the surrounding paper b : the pictorial part of a postage stamp design as distinguished from the frame and lettering
3 a : a short descriptive literary sketch b : a brief incident or scene









It's 45 degrees and clear. The rain of last night has moved out. The high today should reach 70.

Dame's Rocket, clematis, roses, and a big pile of blue.

Dame's Rocket is suddenly one of my favorite early blooming spring plants. I wintersowed seeds in 2008. I planted out a few clumps and really just forgot about them as they grew larger and larger. They started blooming a couple weeks ago.



I have a lavender and a white. From what I've read, the white is less common. Both are fragrant.





Next to the perennial bed arbor, there's two large clumps. There's a weigela in there too. Golden Showers is the yellow rose. The clematis is blue, and came home with no tag.



Mountain Bluet was also sown in the winter of 2008. It bloomed nicely for its first year last spring. The show this year is much more stunning. I plan to divide and move some of these plants in the fall. I'll also scatter seeds into the meadow.



Salvia subrotunda seedlings are up near the street. I'll transplant some of these once we've gotten some rain. The finches love the seeds. The hummingbirds love the red dainty flowers that rise 5' or taller into the air. It bloomed all summer last year.



It's 63 degrees and cloudy. It's been sprinkling on and off this morning for an hour. No real rain, yet. This evening it should come.

2:35pm - It's 77 degrees. The sun was out for a few hours. I laid in the hammock, planted out a few more seedlings, and walked around the yard a few times drinking my second cup of coffee. I need a table and chairs. Need, not want.

The rose by the swing is blooming on last year's wood. That tells me something about when to prune. I'm going to be snipping off wayward canes after this flush of blooms. I'm hoping it sends out another. It may be a one time bloomer.





Charlotte got rain this morning. We got a sprinkle. It's headed right for us.

Two roses.

The first rose is the unknown pink now growing next to the swing. Yesterday, the first bud was open when I left for work.



By mid-afternoon, it was looking sort of wilted.



Golden Showers has opened. I love this color.



It's 45 degrees. Not much on the agenda today with Laura here. We'll putter around the yard, chatting. I'll point at things and name them. She'll hear "mmphf, mmphf, mm." She's not a plant person. The names confuse her. She searches her mind for those sounds, as if she should know what Eupatorium maculatum means. We'll have a grand time. Rain will be moving in this evening.

His mama named him Tommy

The folks just called him 'Yellow'.
-Kenny Rogers

I've got two kinds of yellow roses. Sunny Knockout opened its first bloom yesterday. It's funny. I never even noticed the bud. I think the fading daffodils had me confused.



Golden Showers on the perennial arbor is budding. This is a reblooming climber.



The last "last" daffodil has opened. I think. Maybe there will be another later blooming variety after this one. These came from the mixed bags I planted in the fall. Ignore the weeds. They'll be gone soon.



The last daffodil, the one that bloomed before the last yellow one has a touch of yellow in the center. Both of these have multiple blooms per stem.



The Amur Honeysuckle also contains yellow. It's not much, but the fragrance is lovely.



This bearded iris came from my sister's house last spring. I had to clear a bed of them when I planted her round flower bed. I remember them all being brown. I don't have a very good memory, obviously.



Out near the street, this has appeared. I'm not sure what it is. I know I planted a rooted weigela in that area. I don't remember anything being this color. I like surprises.



The latest columbine bloom has a hint of yellow with blue streaks.



Speaking of blue, Blue Girl hybrid tea rose is budding.



Lagerfeld is finally open and looks as it should, a pale lavender with a delicious fragrance.



Soon, the pink rose I moved from the woodsy area last spring to the perennial bed arbor, then the front porch, and finally to the swing out back, is about to bloom. I hope this year to have it identified. There will be lots of blooms. It's covered in buds.



After work yesterday, I repotted most of the tomatoes into individual containers. They're still tiny. I gave them a very weak dose of transplant solution. I also stuck cuttings of euphorbia in the cloner. I'm hoping they take root. My seeds didn't germinate.





Poncirus trifolata, or Hardy Orange, has germinated well. I'll be planting these out in the gully to discourage the neighborhood kids that have twice decided to play hide and seek on my property at night. The 1-2" thorns are deadly.



It's 45 degrees. The high today should reach the mid 70s. Still no rain to speak of. Maybe Tuesday.

Foliage and stuff.

It's 63 degrees at 10am. There will be no rain at least for the next week. This morning I found two squirrels digging in my potager where I had planted squash and bean seeds yesterday. One has no hair on its tail. The owls were after it yesterday evening. I'm hoping they achieve their goal soon.

The foliage tour begins in the basement. I stuck cuttings of my red camellia, black & blue salvia, Mystic Spires salvia, Russian sage, and White Profusion Butterfly bush. It's probably too early for the camellias, but the growth on the others were nice and firm. If I'm successful with the japonicas, I'll be taking another walk through the neighborhood early one morning next week.



Artemesia.



Hosta



This variegated weigela was rooted last spring. I plan to root several more very soon. I love the foliage. The white flowers are just an added bonus.



Wine & Roses weigela is more wine than roses at the moment.



Larkspur, Dame's Rocket, and a yellow climbing rose named Golden Showers at the perennial bed arbor.



Golden Jubilee, red clover, Bloody Dock, irises, and lots of weeds.



Proving that plants are forgiving things, the oakleaf hydrangea looks the best it ever has. I took a cutting yesterday. It may be too early. This one has buds at the ends of the two main stalks.



Eastern Redbud loves you too.



Ginkgo. Grown from seed, these were tossed late last spring when I figured there would be no germination. I noticed I missed another when I dug them out this winter and moved them before they leafed out. All three are doing well. The bright yellow foliage will be welcomed in the gully over the next 20 years as they mature. I'm learning patience.



Virginia creeper has latched onto the dead oak tree. It's over now.



While scouting for plants to pinch, I found this little gem. The first rudbeckia bloom of the year. R. triloba.



I saved the best for last. My favorite foliage of all comes in the form of gigantic trees that ring the backyard. The undergrowth has filled in. To compensate for the lack of foliage in winter, I've spread evergreens along the edge. Leyland Cypress, arborvitae, and soon, Foster Holly will provide enclosure and privacy in the years to come. I made a promise to one Leyland yesterday. No more moving. Maybe.

Tough Love, Tenderness, and the Shakes

It's 61 degrees, cloudy, muggy, and I've got the shakes. Almost every picture I took this morning as I walked through the yard with my first cup of coffee came out blurry. Maybe it's the excitement of spring. I'm betting it's the caffeine.

Last evening I closed the hoophouse not sure what kind of weather we would have this morning. As I opened it this morning, I looked over all the plants that spent the winter inside with me. Some began their lives as cuttings. Others were started from seed. They're still tender plants not fully adjusted to sunlight. I've got a white shade cloth draped over the hoops to protect them from the sun.

Other plants in the yard get no special treatment. Some are looking really rough these days. A couple weeks ago they were covered by snow. Now the blazing sun and 70 degree temperatures have them all confused. Just wait until the final freeze comes along in a couple of weeks. Spring isn't here to stay just yet. I don't care what the weatherman says.

In the hoophouse, there are tomatoes.


More tomatoes, datura, and pineapple sage.


Castor Bean Plant, Yvonne's Salvia, petunias raised from seed, and other rooted cuttings.


In the garden, the Golden Jubilee is changing color. A white daffodil is about to open. A hyacinth(?) is blooming.


The peonies from Virginia are rising up out of the dirt.


The azaleas had a hard winter. They bloomed last fall. I doubt they'll bloom this spring.


The hunter on the prowl. Precious thing she is, Daomai (dow-may: Chinese for 'bad luck'), usually stays on the concrete. Something drew her attention in the yard this morning.








That tiny plant in the yard behind her is a Magnolia Grandiflora. Last spring I found a branch that had rooted from one of the larger trees outback. I stuck it in the hole that an old clothesline post came out of. It put out only a couple of leaves last year. I hope to see some real growth on it this year.

I was planning to use some of my photos for Wordless Wednesday. They were too blurry to tell a decent story. I'm going to have another cup of coffee and get to work.

edit: I forgot to mention the "Golden Shower" climbing rose I picked up yesterday at the Dollar General store here in town. I went in looking for cheap annual seeds to fill in bare spots in the garden this summer. I spent $6 and came home with 6 packs of seeds and a rose bush.

7:24pm - 75 degrees and raining. The radar shows just a sprinkle really, but I'll take it. I opened the hoophouse to let the plants enjoy it.