I've been waiting...

patiently. No, for real. I don't do patient very well. I want it now, exactly the way I want it. And there's no time for dillydally. But...there have been instances of patience in the garden. Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished is not just a phrase I include on my header images. It's what I needed to learn through gardening. On rare occasions, it's possible to see results.

A fig tree. My first ever grown from cuttings taken late one night just after Halloween. I call it the 6th St Fig. Beside it is a one year old hibiscus that's trying to over take it.



The figs have begun to ripen. I've eaten over a dozen so far, picked from the bush and barely chewed.



They really are delicious.



The story of this fig tree is not one of daily checking for roots. This one, I stuck in a wooden frame filled with sand. I put a few other things in there like honeysuckle, grapes, redtwig dogwoods, and a few other things I can't recall. The forsythia rooted. And so did this fig. I ignored it for a few months. I would water them if I remembered once every few weeks. I just didn't pay any attention to them. I was busy wintersowing and planting out that first year. I didn't have time to think about a few sticks. I kept myself and my mind busy, and nature was accomplished. Eventually I potted it up into a one gallon container. Last spring, when I created the Shrub Island, I planted it there. It's going to stay in that spot, even when the bed around it disappears. This winter, I'll take new cuttings to take with me.

Just across the path, I've got a Confederate Rose that has been in the same spot since the day it was planted. Yeah, amazing, I know. I wintersowed these fuzzy, ugly seeds one day in early 2008. I didn't think they were what I was looking for. But it is. Now if it will only bloom this year. It's over 7' tall already and still growing. I didn't water it this summer. I doubt the returning Camellia sasanqua next to it is doing it much good either. But there she is.



It all started by playing with plastic containers and dirt in the basement on cold winter nights. What I didn't know, I learned by doing, asking, and reading. At the store, my bevy of "old ladies" gave me some wonderful knowledge and plants from their gardens. Online, other gracious gardeners shared wisdom and inspired me. I've learned a lot here. I've learned a lot about me, too. I'm still learning patience. It ain't easy.

It's 72 degrees and cloudy. There is a certain chill in the air this morning. The still unmowed grass is wet with dew. The high today will only reach the low 80s. It's time to turn off the A/C and open the windows. Finally.

The tomatoes are in.

48 plants went into the lower potager beds this afternoon. Here's Granny Cantrell.



The peonies are about to pop. These will be red. I also have pink.



The orange rose is ready to bloom. Yes, I have aphids. No, I don't spray. The ladybugs are here. I might hose them off with a jet of water at some point.



The 6th Street fig is doing well.



All that's left besides a container of hosta, 4 6-packs of impatiens, and some tree/shrub varieties still in the shade. I even planted out some Cornus florida today. 54 of these containers hold sunflowers for the upper meadow and butterfly slope between the potager beds. Others have 6-packs of pineapple sage, petunias, and celosia. I'm hoping to get them all planted by the end of the week. The long boxes in the front are my window box planters. I put them inside the wood boxes I built last year. I'm waiting to make sure I have plenty of growth before moving them to their permanent location.



The rain tonight will probably stay north of us. It's 72 degrees and clear. Great day.

The Meadow's Progress

Last fall, I sowed Crimson clover seeds in an area that had been treated twice with RoundUp. I scattered chopped leaves over the "soil". I sowed a lot of seeds. Things are starting to happen. Right now, the clover is blooming.



Next up, we have larkspur and poppies. I sowed a lot more seeds than I have plants to show for. Perhaps the soil will improve when the clover collapses and begins to break down. More leaves will be added again next year in addition to more seeds.





Cosmos have germinated with just a few infrequent waterings. Wonder what will happen when it rains?



Rudbeckia. Lots of rudbeckia.



Datura. I'm not surprised. I have it popping up in just about every bed in the yard. I think I sleep-scattered some seeds one night.



Even a sunflower from a few handfuls of bird seed (for feeding the critters during the winter) has sprouted. This has got to be the toughest sunflower ever. The soil is so dry, it'd be just as happy growing on a rock.



Other things are coming soon. There should be some agastache, amaranthus, more cosmos, Salvia subrotunda, and even Perilla. I'm curious about how this bed will develop over the course of the year. I'm going to start tracking the results. I might even take a picture a week again. I'll have to look back to see what my most common point of reference has been. I should have some late fall and early winter photos.

As long as the bees are happy, I'm gonna be eating squash and cucumbers this summer. No sign of them sprouting yet. The clover will keep them busy for now.



In the upper meadow, I've been working on planting out pineapple sage seedlings and Yvonne's salvia. They're tiny for now, but they grow fast with ample rain and heat. The red flowers should attract hummingbirds this summer. Salvia subrotunda seeds were scattered in the fall and late winter. I've seen a few sprouts already. Black eyed susans and other heat loving perennials have been planted along the path I created as well.

Yvonne's salvia (S. splendens) - grows to 4' or taller.



Pineapple sage.



It's cloudy and 52 degrees. The high today should reach almost 80. Scattered showers are in the forecast today and all weekend. Sunday, we might see some thunderstorms.

12:12pm - Planted out a few more containers this morning after the charges at the courthouse were dismissed. Expired registration. All good now. In the meadow, I planted goldenrod, agastache Apricot Sprite, Golden Jubilee, and Apache Sunset. I planted pink and purple cleome seedlings in the crape myrtle bed. I moved the dwarf loropetalum from the shrub island to the base of the lavender crape myrtle. It can spill over the brick wall now, hiding the broken bricks and missing chunk.

In its place, I planted one of the Foster Hollies. The other 6 were scattered through the lower meadow, also known as the gully. I've got seedlings of Poncirus trifolata that will go in next week, after some rain. They've got the wicked thorns good for creating a natural barrier, or a boma, as supplied by FlowerLady some days ago in the comment section. The final Foster Holly was installed to provide shade to what was once a shady corner before the oak tree died last summer. Brugmansias, hydrangeas, and other shade tolerant plants are already in their home. It should be a stunning display this year. Morning sun only.

Several rooted figs were planted where I had stuck cuttings this winter. I stuck them too early and only one of 12 had any roots at all. The ones in the hoophouse were potted up a while ago and have done much better. I have a system now, but I think 6 fig trees will be plenty for me and the birds.

All that behind me, I feel a little better than I did when I woke up. I've got a case of the crud coming on, I believe. I woke up sweating. That's not good. Especially in a house that was only 62 degrees.

It's 70 degrees. The sun is out and the clouds are gone. Unless something drastic happens, we won't see any rain today. Tomorrow there's a much better chance.

12:57pm - The first California poppy has opened. Love the orange.

The Orchard.

The fruit trees are producing this year. The Morris plum, planted last summer, has a few tiny fruit developing.



The Thundercloud plum. This tree was originally installed in the perennial bed. As it grew too large, I moved it last fall to the backyard. There are tiny plums forming on it as well.



There are peaches on the Belle of Georgia.



Figs on the rooted cutting from last spring. Probably a Celeste.



Strawberries are forming. Let's hope the critters let me taste a few.



Tent caterpillars. I saw their nests, high in the trees out back a couple weeks ago. They're all over the yard.



The blueberries are just starting to bloom. The blackberry should be next. Fruit will begin ripening in mid summer. My seedless grape vines are growing again, but have never produced fruit. Last year I did find a few tiny grapes, but they disappeared long before they were ready to harvest. Maybe this year.

It's 52 degrees. The high today will only be in the mid 60s. I might need long pants.

The Tradition Continues.

When it's warm enough, I like to take my coffee outside in the mornings. It's 60 degrees and the coffee is warm.

Red clover in the meadow is starting to show blooms. A little rain on Thursday will send it over the edge.



A better shot of my baby peaches. It's going to hurt thinning these, but I know the tree isn't strong enough to hold all the peaches that are growing. I'll probably start thinning them in a week. 35 leaves per peach is the recommended amount of fruit a tree can support.



Baby figs on last year's plant. This is the breba crop. I'm going to leave them to see how they taste. I already know what the main fall crop is like, sweet and golden.



Mr. Lincoln.



Golden Showers. I have this free blooming rose planted on the arbor at the perennial bed. From what I've read, it should grow 12' - 15' at maturity. I've paired it on the other side with Carolina Jasmine for yellow blooms during a good portion of the year. A clematis vine on each side should intertwine and make for a stunning display in a couple of years. I can't remember which is which, but both should bloom this year.



A gerber daisy made it through the winter. I'm surprised given the cold and wet weather we had.



The backyard is filling in quickly. The neighbors' houses are disappearing. Brown Avenue is becoming a distant memory.



The high today should reach 91. Tomorrow, the chance of rain has been downgraded from 80% to 50%. Everything is yellow, including the cat.

Figs, peaches, and ginkgo.

Rooted last spring in an outdoor sandbox, the unknown Sixth Street fig is showing signs of producing a nice breba crop.



What I still think are Black Mission cuttings (maybe?) have nice large leaves. I took one of these to my mom on Easter.



The tips from Black Mission cuttings are rooting just fine. I potted these last week after leaving them in the hoophouse most of the winter.



Shy baby peaches are afraid of the camera. The tree is absolutely loaded with swollen growth at the base of many flowers.



The ginkgo seedlings were moved about a month ago from the spot at the end of the driveway. I had tossed an unsprouted container into the edge of the woodsy growth there last spring. I was able to move 3 plants. All three have leafed out in the gully where I planted them.



Finally, Dogwood seedlings are up and growing in several containers. There's also about 20 sprouts in the winterberry container. We'll see if they're actual winterberry seedlings or if some weed made its home there in a few weeks.



It's 59 degrees. The high today, 94. Yes. 94. Let me say that again. 94. I'm going to see a woman about some poo for my beds this morning. Horse poo.

Haircuts.

I mowed the yard for the first time this year. There really wasn't much mowing to be done, but I wanted to mulch up some leaves and chop the wild onions growing all over the place. I'm not a grass freak. Whatever grows is welcome. The clover is taking over in some areas. Eventually the bermuda grass chokes it out.

In some places, I'm very nervous about mowing. After last year's accident with the hateful lawnmower, I tend to stay away from certain areas. Here's the "path" near the swing in the back yard. All the rain has washed away what little soil was there exposing hundreds of new potential accidents. I'll get out there soon and rake again, just to remove the lose ones.



It was a nice, cool day. We did reach 62, but it never felt like it. The wind has been blowing most of the afternoon making it comfortable in just a light longsleeved shirt.



Across the street, the forsythia is really showing off.



Pineapple sage, sown only a few days ago, has germinated. I found more seedlings at the end of the driveway where my plants were last year. I thought it would be a reseeder.



And the figs in the cloner...You're doing it wrong. The roots are on top with nothing below. I've been given advice to just lay them on moist soil and keep them humid. They should continue to root.



Finally, my own haircut. It's the best picture of the whole lot. The rest made me look like a serial killer. At least I just look like a stalker here.



It's 57 degrees. The hangover is gone. I'm hungry.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

And I'm off from work. I have to go meet my sister again today, but this morning, I'll be in the yard in half an hour. I've got some plants to move, rooted cuttings to plant, and I want to do some general cleanup.

In the 10 day forecast, there's still no freezing temperatures. I'm not about to believe that our last freezing day will be March 9. It's a really nice thought, but I know better.

It's currently 45 degrees and clear. Last night it rained, and then rained some more. The clocks need to all be set forward an hour. Welcome to Daylight Savings Time. It'll be nice to have the extra hour in the evenings.

10:54am - I've gotten a few things done.

I stuck some cuttings. Left to right, top to bottom: unknown spirea, unknown spirea, yellow knockout, burning bush, burning bush, row 2; unknown spirea, unknown spirea, yellow knockout, white spirea, burning bush. The lower tray: top row, Carla's current fig, possibly a Celeste or Brown Turkey. Bottom row: black missions from Carla's former house. I don't label when I do things like this because they're more likely to die. I've put them on the seed rack by the woodpile on the shady side. The leftover fig cuttings were stuck here and there in the yard.



I planted out eight quarts of wintersown dianthus "Depford Pink". They're along the top of the wall below the lavender and knockout roses.



Blue Spruce sedum was divided and planted along the top of the wall below the butterfly garden. That's where I have the 200 daffodils.



To delineate the end of the butterfly garden, I moved the three clearance cotoneaster plants from the upper meadow to the front slope. Beyond this, I'll let the vinca, violets, and whatever else run wild. Maybe.



A few feet from the edge of the "lawn" at the top of the same slope, parallel to the street, I planted six rooted gardenias. I also moved an Endless Summer Hydrangea to the very end of the line.



Forty-eight wintersown Rudbeckia hirta were planted in various spots in the yard. They're still tiny, but I know lots of the plants will survive. Mother Nature will cull the weak ones. I may have to intervene at some point.



Eight calla lilies, purchased for 25 cents a piece went into the perennial bed near the ever blooming camellia. It's drier here in the winter than elsewhere, so they might return. I had them in a yard in Charlotte on Country Club Drive when I rented a house there.



I also pruned the neighbor's rose bush, planted out a couple of Arizona Cypress "Carolina Sapphire". These trees reach 30-40' tall and 20' wide. They have a bluish color and grow almost as fast as Leyland Cypress. They were developed by Clemson University for use on the East Coast. In front of these, I moved two rooted cuttings of Elaeagnus. They're really well rooted, so I expect them to thrive in the full sun. I've sort of left a path to the stream back there. I know in the next few years, things will grow in and block it. I'm okay with that.

I moved some sedum from last year's clearance sale to the front slope, now known as the Butterfly garden. In the next couple of weeks, I'll be rooting more of it and the Blue Spruce. The dry soil should work well. I've got a few overwintered cuttings of a taller sedum that I need to plant today. I don't know. Somewhere. Why?

It's 52 degrees. I've got a few more things to do and about an hour and a half to get them all done. I have to be in Cheraw at 3pm. The third cup of coffee is cooling off.

12:12pm - I'm going to stop for the day. I planted some rosemary in the bed at the end of the driveway on the sunny side.



Along the bottom of the retaining wall next to the driveway, I divided and planted Coreopsis Full Moon. I moved these from the perennial bed. I pulled back the leaves and cut back the dead foliage from Coreopsis "Moonbeam". There are Stella D'Oro daylilies and orange ditch lilies in this bed all along the wall. I planted out 12 more wintersown Rudbeckia containers here too. Let's see if all this yellow and orange clashes with the blues and pinks above them in the front beds this summer.



Five butterfly bushes were transplanted to the butterfly garden. I placed them at the top of the slope. Between them, I planted 6 overwintered clumps of tall sedum. Milkweed, lantana, and other butterfly plants will be scattered through this bed.



I've got a follower in the yard. This robin went everywhere I did, plucking earthworms from the dirt I was disturbing. It came within 6 feet of me several times.



On the agenda for my next day off, the front bed. The pansies will be done in a couple more months. Heucheras are putting out new foliage and the Japanese Maple will be leafing out soon. I've already installed penny priced nandinas, rooted gardenias, and tea olives. For summer color, I'm going to plant echinacea and shasta daisies to brighten up this bed. It gets a little sun in the mornings and evenings, so these two should do okay. I may root some more Montauk Daisies for late summer blooms.



It's 54 degrees and sunny. I need lunch and a shower.