Can't get enough of this spring

I am lovin' spring 2010! Temps are pleasant, maybe a little on the cool side, but this means the lovely ornamental trees and shrubs will entertain us with stunning color a bit longer than if we were baking in 85-degree heat.

The Lady Banks rose is absolutely glorious. I've taken several photos from different angles, but can't capture its beauty. The pink azalea is brightening up one stretch of the house. My neighbor says its name is Mimosa. All I know is that it's a stunning deep pink.

I didn't get a picture of the loropetalum in time to catch its brilliant hot pink blooms, but that'll leave one good picture for next spring. I'm letting this plant grow tall. I saw one last year in Raleigh that was as big as a full-grown Bradford pear.

We've cut back the camellias. Yeah! So happy to catch them this year right after blooming.

And it's only April! So much wonderous color to look forward to this summer.

The work begins!

I hit the Master Gardeners' Sale at the arboretum Thursday morning and walked away with pink, red, purple and white pentas, zinnias, cardinal flower, Mexican petunia, creeping zinnia and a gorgeous varigated lavender/purple dahlia.

I put everything but the pentas in the ground and weeded (ugh) the butterfly garden. On a tip from friend Marcia, I loaded up the van with 20 bags of 99-cent per bag hardwood mulch.

Fed and pruned the roses (two climbers, one Lady Banks and three miniature) last week. Trying to do a little a couple times a week instead of the 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. marathons I've labored through in previous years.

My husband has begun dismantling the two-tiered circle of landscaping stones in the front yard. Some went under the recycling bins, some under the worm box, some are stacked and ready to be shaped into a platform for my kayak--and there are still a hundred or more left. Maybe we'll lay a patio where the pampas grass used to be.

My Bradford pear is beautiful, as are all others in the neighborhood. Camellias are still blooming.

I'm looking forward to gardening this year because most of the hard work of filling in bare spots is done. This summer I'll concentrate on color--hence the pentas and zinnias, two butterfly favorites.

Oh, yes! The Redbud is red and ready to pop. Weeping cherry is flowering. Can't wait to see their glorious colors soon.

Finally, Camellias!

With several days of warmer temps, the camellias on the west side of my house are finally achieving their annual glory. I was getting worried.

Camellias are natives to Asia and were brought to Europe by a Jesuit missionary named G. J. Camellus. I call them trees, but they're actually shrubs with glossy evergreen leaves and white, pink, red, or variegated roselike flowers.

All the camellia in my yard (planted by the previous owner) seem to be of the same variety, which gives nice continuity. But there are so many varieties of camellias, I kind of wish I had some different ones just for fun. See photos at right.

Spring progress

I returned yesterday from six days up north: Pittsburgh, where streets narrowed by six-foot-high piles of snow made it difficult to pass and find parking spaces. Everyone up there is eager for spring, but not a hint of it is in sight.

In contrast, my Bradford Pear here in Wilmington looks ready to POP its leaves. Daffodils are six-inches tall and sporting buds. Daylily leaves are looking greener and taller. The camellias are finally blooming after our own cold winter.

We've decided to cut down and eliminate our pampas grass, which is overgrown and tearing at window screens. In their place will be a lovely flowering tree. Still undecided on the variety but it will bring color to the space visible from large kitchen windows.

I love the way Angelina sedum has turned deep red--almost burgundy--this winter. Another response to the cold.

Leaving northern temps (20s) and returning to southern temps (50s) makes me grin.

Second day in the garden--daffodils!

Here it is the last week in January and I'm lucky enough to be living in a region where daffodils are poking through the ground. Nowhere else have I lived where I was this lucky.

Yes, some daffys are just poking, while others are three inches tall. I'm pleasantly surprised to see the hydrangeas with leaf buds ready to pop. This will be the first season for Lemon Daddy. I can't wait for its chartreuse leaves to shine like lamplight under the pine tree.

Camellias are still slow, although a few flowers are smiling at me through the family room window. The Bradford Pear, completely denuded of fruit by hungry birds, has leaf buds looking soft and hopeful.

I expect strong color--crayon red--from the azaleas under the pine after the good fertilizer drink I gave them last Sunday.

Some unpleasant sights: two yucca plants that refuse to leave my yard peacefully. We dug them out in '08 but they continue to send their sturdy spikes skyward. Can anyone share a foolproof method for extinquishing them?

We also decided the pampas grass has to go. The plants are immense and not flowering well. Just too big, I think. I envision a lovely flowering tree--cherry or crab apple--in place of those outside the kitchen window. Can anyone share a foolproof method of extinguishing pampas grass? I love the flowers but these have outlived their charm.
Georgia

First day in the garden

After a heavy night rain, the sun came out shining. With temps in the high '60s, how could I not go out into my garden?

Basically, it was clean-up time but I did revel at the sight of buds on hydrangeas and azaleas. The camellias, I'm afraid, have been stunted by below freezing night temperatures and daytime lows in the 30s. Just not good blooming weather. Only a few flowers are open and the buds, though numerous, are brown. We'll see what happens.

I'm expecting action soon from the Lenten Rose and am on the lookout for daffodil shoots. Remembered to fertilize the azaleas around the pine tree.

Also getting excited about the worm box I'll have this year. I've heard they're very successful and easy to establish. Fruit and veggie scraps go it and natural compost comes out. Go worms!

Georgia

Finally, camellias

I have six large camellias in my yard. While other varieties have been blooming since December, mine are just starting. Two are outside the family room windows, so when they're loaded with red flowers the sight is stunning.

However, these two are not the biggest bloomers. That title goes to the trees/bushes on the west side of the house which in preview years have been covered solid with flowers. I don't know the variety. They were all here when I moved in.

As soon as they are lush with flowers, I'll post a picture. It's wonderful to finally live in an area where I can enjoy outdoor flowers year-round.

Georgia

Hello, Pansies

Out went the bedraggled petunias and in came purple and white pansies to the porch windowboxes. They look like Christmas ornaments. Keeping in the holiday theme, the Bradford Pear is a spectacular combination of deep red and green. I love this tree!

Everything's getting a good autumn (yes, it's still autumn) drink with all the rain that's fallen and will continue to fall. The retention ponds (and overflow ponds) are filled. I like this so much better than the bare, dry holes that have dotted the area the last two years.

Camellias are full of buds. Some earlier varieties have been blooming since October (but not in my yard). I don't know what my camellias are called. They were here when we moved in. All I know is they are beautiful!