Mother's Day and I am working.

My sister and I had portraits made for mom this year. She received them early this morning before I called. She loved them. My sister bought the pictures, I framed them. We had to be a little sneaky to get them done.

In the garden, the first Stella D'Oro has bloomed.



Red Hot Pokers by the street are growing straight and tall this year. I started this from seed two years ago. It was just tiny little grass like seedlings for a few months. I expected blooms last year, but none arrived. The one in part shade is growing crooked again. I might have to move it this fall.



Self sown petunias are blooming. The colors range from light pink to this nice magenta.



More magenta in the rose campion. I have clumps scattered through the perennial bed. Seeds will be tossed as they ripen in the crape myrtle bed.



Various larkspur plants are in bloom.



An unknown hybrid tea rose. It's not fragrant, but the color is nice. It fades to a pinkish orange as it ages.



It's cool and 66 degrees at 2:37pm. The power went out last night due to a tree crashing into a transformer a couple streets over. Still no rain. Maybe next week. I'll spot water after work again this evening. The newly planted seedlings have to be nursed a bit to survive what is quickly turning into a drought. Only 1" of rain has fallen in the past 4 weeks.

That sickening, sweet smell.

That's how the customer from Maryland described the odor he and his wife were smelling "on the back roads around here." The culprit is Chinese privet. It's an invasive species that grows wild everywhere, including my own backyard. At the corner, just beyond the red dogwood tree, there's a huge specimen.



Down the street, the butcher with the BushHog took out native Sweetshrub and Mock Orange, but left the privet.



And the honeysuckle.



In my own yard, Ligustrum howardii is about to bloom. The fragrance and flowers are very similar. I'll deadhead my plants once they've bloomed to keep them from reseeding.



The colors in the garden this time of year tend to be more pastel and muted. Pink, blue, and white dominate.



I didn't really plan much of this. It was more an effort of plunking and running with wintersown containers and the scattering of seeds.



Nigella has bloomed in many parts of the perennial bed. Dianthus Pinks Maiden join the chorus.



The cool colors are welcome at 79 degrees. It's not even 10am yet.



In the background, the freshly mowed path produces its own fragrance.



It's sunny and humid. The high today should reach 84. Dragging hoses and moving the sprinkler will take up the rest of the 2 hours I have before work. Still no rain in near forecast.

New blooms.

The red clover in the meadow is nearly done. The wind and rain has trampled it down pretty good. The seeds are forming. I'm tempted to rip out most of the plants, but I want to let this area do its thing. Cosmos are up and growing even without rain. I'm watering once a week with the sprinkler.

New larkspur blooms are open in the perennial bed.





Blue Bedder salvia, grown from seed last spring and overwintered, is budding.



The roses along the front bed parallel to the driveway look great. These are knockouts. Sunny Knockout is growing faster than the pink or reds.



At the base of the dead oak tree, a new fungus appeared last night. I didn't notice it yesterday as I walked around the yard watering new plantings.



It's 59 degrees. The humidity stands at 93%. The high today will reach the low 90s. No rain in the 10 day forecast, again.

These things aren't roses.

I've gone a little overboard with the hybrid teas lately. So here's what I've been neglecting.

Elymus arenarius 'Blue Dune' is blooming.





Fuchsia in a hanging basket. We had an abundance at the store. It was cheap. No, really.



Sweet william. Wintersown in 2008/9. From the same container. One clump on each side of the perennial arbor.





Just around the corner, Pinks Maiden dianthus. Wintersown in 2008/9. Bloomed a little last year.



Columbine. To be wintersown 2010/11. Lots of seed pods here. Dame's rocket is flopping all over. Seed pods are starting to form.



The first larkspur. These seeds came from Kathy in Texas. I tossed them out in the late fall. They germinated and held on through the rough (relatively speaking) winter. I noticed this one while Szylvia and I were walking the yard yesterday afternoon. I sent her away with tomato plants and a rooted cutting of the white butterfly bush.



Ditch lilies. Stella D'Oro clumps have formed buds too. The Coreopsis Moonbeam below them will not bloom for another month at least.



It's 72 degrees. The rainfall measurement reported by weather.com was 0.68". Parts of the yard are still dry. I'm going to spend the rest of the morning planting out Pineapple Sage and Sunflowers. I've already planted six ligustrum along the neighbor's chain link fence. They were on deep discount, $1 each. They'll need some recovery time before I show them. In a couple weeks, they should have new foliage. I've also planted two new hybrid teas. One is an unknown yellow with orange tones. The other is Gypsy.

One very positive note, NellJean was right again. The oakleaf hydrangea is regrowing from the roots already. It wants to live.

Morning Light

Red Valerian. The blooming stalks have grown a lot in the past week. I really like this plant. I hope it spreads into chaos.



It has a home with other pink and red blooms. I didn't plan it that way. I like the outcome. The transition into summer should be interesting in this bed. Self-sown datura seedlings are up. Great Blue Lobelia has been planted in hunks. Perilla is present. White Four O'clocks have reseeded heavily. Echinacea and Black and Blue salvia will turn this bed into a cool oasis from the hotter reds and yellows near the street.



At the other end of that space, the foxgloves are beginning to bloom. They are shaded until about 6pm when the hot afternoon sun hits them.



These are a creamy yellow. I was hoping the purple one survived the move late in the winter. I think it was too wet.



Yvonne's salvia seedlings, I hope. If not, they are S. subrotunda. I'm okay with that. It's a nice plant. The goldfinches love the seeds. The hummingbirds love the nectar.



A stray larkspur seed has grown into a 2' tall specimen. I avoid it every time I mow.



This poppy found a home in between the stones I use for edging.



Pulling back a bit, the garden glows in the early morning light. It's my favorite time of day to take photos.



I did find time yesterday to mow the paths and the front lawn. It's 45 degrees. The high today will be 84.

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.