Steamy Sunday

Another 1/2" of rain fell Saturday afternoon just as I was putting away the lawnmower. An hour later, the sun was out again.

The ditch lilies are still going strong by the front walk.



So are the rudbeckia in the perennial bed.



The first Four O'clock bloomed last night.



Monarda citriodora.



Black & Blue Salvia is blooming.



Three pink azaleas are way behind schedule.



The squash is right on time.



It's 72 degrees. The temperature is already starting to rise. By mid-afternoon, we'll be in the 90s.

Learning.

Spring blooms.







Across the street, the azaleas have taken center stage as the camellias recede.











Chinese fringe tree. I'm gonna have to take a few cuttings soon.



It's 72 and breezy. The clouds are starting to roll in.

Late start.

I'm getting a late start this morning, my day off. I spent the night in Charlotte at the home of two friends. As soon as I arrived, I noticed a few things.

There are more blue flower on the Mountain Bluet, wintersown in 2008.



The purple azalea I remember in the backyard next to the a/c unit isn't quite as purple as I recall.



The two year old tea olives are getting big.



Snowball viburnum is about to bloom.



A one year old cutting from Sharon's gardenia bush is growing again. Sharon passed away this past winter from cancer. Her husband still walks her little dog down the street. He says she loved to walk past my house last summer before the disease forced her to stay inside.



I finally have ladybugs. I also have lots of aphids.



And Brown Avenue is gone. At least for a few months.



I'm going to spend a few hours planting some containers out. I'm thinking of mowing the grass again, but it could wait a few more days. I need to transplant my tomato seedlings into individual cups. Their growth stunt may be caused by the nutrient starved seed starting medium. I don't want to lose this second batch. I have very few seeds left. I might even spend a few minutes getting reacquainted with the hammock. It's sunny and 64 degrees. The high today should reach the mid 70s, back to normal.

In other news, Dixie Carter passed away at age 70 last night. The lights have gone out in Georgia.

Rain is coming.

We've got a good chance of rain this afternoon.



New things are popping up all over. The rain should kick things into overdrive.





The ferns I transplanted last week are starting to unfurl.



Black & Blue salvia is returning. This one is pineapple sage. That's the first time I've ever had this plant return from the roots. The three others show no signs of life.



Brugmansias have new growth too.



It's 61 degrees. There's a coolness to the air.

Azaleas are blooming.

Across the street, the azaleas and wisteria are in bloom. That's 18 days ahead of last year. The dogwoods are blooming too.



In my yard, a single azalea bloom was found yesterday.



My two clematis vines are growing by leaps and bounds. I've never had luck with these before. Maybe ignoring them helped.





The Muskogee Crape Myrtle is leafing out. It's way too early for this.



The maple trees in the gully.



The Asian cabbages are bolting.



In the perennial bed, I think I have problems. Reseeds.



And I planted out 10 brugmansias. I'll take Nell's advice. If a frost does come, I'll use containers and buckets to cover everything I can.



It's 54 degrees. Another upper 80s day is in the forecast. By Tuesday, 90.

Back to life.

It was a cool day after the wonderful temperatures we had this weekend. Later in the week, we'll be in the 70s again. It looks like my day off will be a nice one. As the clouds parted this afternoon, I snapped a shot of the evening sky. It's great getting home while it's still daylight.



The flowering quince growing around the chainlink fence that belongs to my neighbor is a welcome sight. No blooms on any of mine this year.



Nearby, what I think is an amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) may need to be removed this year. They can become very invasive. If it blooms soon, which it looks like it will, the yard will be full of fragrance for the first and last time.



The Loropetalum is coming in to bloom.



Azaleas are budding. This is a formosa purple that was here when I bought the house. I cut it down to the ground because it was so wretched.



The oakleaf hydrangea is sporting new growth and last year's leaves.



One of the three aucuba I rooted last summer. All three are showing growth. It'll be years before they fill in. I'll start pinching later in the season to get some bushier growth.



The Snowball viburnum cuttings are pushing out leaves. They were so tiny when I put them in last fall. I was afraid they wouldn't survive. All three made it. I will have to transplant these soon. There's no way these shrubs can grow where I put them for the winter.



It's currently 45 degrees. We're expecting to drop into the upper 30s tonight, maybe low 40s. Rain could come at any time, or not. Tomorrow, it should warm up a bit to the mid 60s. By Wednesday, we'll be back in the mid 70s. I plan to spend the day mowing and doing some more planting. My sinuses are stuffed. My nose is running. My throat is sore. Pollen has started to fall from the maples. The oaks will begin their assault soon.

Frost warning

Last night about 9pm, a frost warning popped up on Accuweather. That's the firefox browser plug-in that I use. This morning, there's no sign of frost on the houses nearby, nor on my truck, nor anywhere that I can see. It could still form, but the chances are slim. My window mounted thermometer reads 48 degrees. Accuweather tells me it's 34 and sunny. I think someone is lying.

Yesterday I planted 6 white azaleas in the backyard. Three went into the rear beds near the Fragrant tea olives. The other three went behind the white bed. The three near the house should reach a size of about 3' x 3'. The three along the edge of the woods will reach 6' x 6'. That should give me a nice border for that bed. Cheap plants are great. $2 each for the azaleas in 1 gallon pots.

I did splurge a bit on the semi-dwarf cherry tree I purchased. I got a self-fertile variety named Montmorency Cherry. It's hardy to zone 7, but the Arbor Day map shows I am in zone 8. The USDA map shows us in zone 7b. We'll see how it performs next winter. It needs 700 chill hours to produce. It's beginning to bloom now. I doubt cherries will develop this year.

I also bought 3 more six packs of white petunias for the back beds. The plan is coming together. My kongmansia (brug) that I lost over the winter is being replaced next week. Two cuttings both rooted, but slowly died. It will be planted somewhere in the white beds. The blooms of this brugmansia should be about 18-24" long and as round as the average man's head. This time I'll be getting a plant instead of cuttings.

I also moved one of my pampas grass clumps. I'll replace it with my rooted fig tree cuttings in a few more weeks. It came out easily. I placed it in the backyard along the edge of the woods to hide the compost bin area. I might divide it this fall to create a larger screen, sooner.

No work planned for the yard today, though I might crank the lawnmower before heading to work at noon. I spent the evening in my chair in the backyard. A bobwhite was perched in the redbud tree. Doves were enjoying the fresh water in the bird bath. Robins are chasing things all over the ground. Even Daomai ventured outside for a few minutes. There was no sign of the owls.

11:03am - Lunch! It's 55 degrees and sunny. I planted the 18 petunias along the rear bed of the house. I planted out some more sunflowers in the cherry tomato bed. I planted out white and green zinnias in the white bed. And I gave everything a good long drink of water from the hose. Only the baby seedlings need water. Those plants that were put out in January and February aren't thirsty at all. I hope once my beds fill out, there won't be a need to water as much as I have in the past. More rain is forecast for Sunday, so I may try to fertilize a bit before then. I'm tempted to sow my corn and beans on Saturday, but I'm trying to wait until the 25th when the almanac tells me it's a better time. Patience, caterpillar.

I've got wood

On Saturday, I went to my parents' in SC to get some more firewood. This should last me through the two final cold months this winter. I'll spend a bit of time this afternoon splitting enough to last the next few days. It doesn't burn as well as seasoned wood, but it does burn.



The unusually cold weather and last week's snow has caused some damage to a few plants in the yard. My gardenias I started from cuttings last summer were the worst hit.



The variegated gardenia is probably dead.



The loropetalum should be okay, but I won't know until spring if it comes back to full life or not. I did get some cuttings from it but no roots so far.



The azaleas that were chopped down in 2007 were looking great until the snow. I'm sure I won't see any flowers on these this spring.





None of it seemed to stop the daffodils.



The rest of my day will be spent tidying up a few things here at the house. I'm waiting to hear back from a client about a potential project. I contacted other clients for references this weekend. One, maybe two, will have something next month. In the meantime, I'll still be looking for full time work. This Friday, I plan to apply at a nursery for a summer position. It won't pay the bills, but it would be a job I will enjoy.

Sunday's picture taken on Monday.


Hardwood cuttings: quince, blackberry, lavender crape myrtle, holly, mock orange. These were stuck in potting mix and placed in the hoophouse.