Pony Tail grass blows in the wind

My favorite grass, officially known as Mexican Feathergrass but casually called Pony Tail grass, is spectacular this month. See the photo of it blowin' in the wind. I love how the plants mimic rambunctious horses tossing their palomino manes. I trimmed the plants back in February and the new growth is frisky.

I finally took down the two-tiered circle in the front yard (relic from previous owner), smoothed out the sandy soil, planted an Arizona Blue Ice Cypress, and replanted six purple and yellow lantana.

I was told the Blue Ice Cypress would reach 10-15 feet by the nurseryman, but upon checking online learned it grows to 30-50 feet with a 10-foot spread. It pays to check!

The landscaping bricks/stone/pavers (whatever they're called) are being reused to build a patio in the L-shape between kitchen and family room. While in Massachusetts last weekend, I bought three LARGE pistachio-colored pots to place on the patio. Filled them with ginger lilies, canna lilies, purple fountain grass and the lonely sky pencil holly that's been hanging around here since February.

These should be the last big projects in my yard. I'm looking forward to keeping up with garden maintenance and maybe putting in a few favorite annuals like pentas and wave petunias each year. That's all!

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.

Red Bud's first good year

The Red Bud tree I planted two years ago has finally shown its color. The photo at right was taken a couple days before it really popped. I love this early spring garden, bare as it appears, because the creeping phlox is hot pink and contrasts so nicely with the tender, spring green of the daylily leaves and pony tail grasses.

The Lady Banks rose on the arbor is just beginning to flower and should look spectacular this year. You can just see the weeping cherry in the left side of the photo. The grass is still crisp and brown but we've turned on the sprinkler system and it'll be healthier in no time.

The holly bushes near the house foundation are full of bees. Not the stingy ones--the big fat friendly ones that love Spanish lavender. Something smells good in the garden, but I can't figure out what it is. The holly?

Azaleas are beginning to bloom. Spring is a truly hopeful time of year.

Ready for worms

Ordered 1,000 worms from earlybirdworms.com. My 2x4-foot worm box has been readied--marine varnish on the inside; primer and dark green exterior paint on the outside.

When the South Carolina red worms arrive I'll soak newspaper strips in water, squeeze out the excess, place them in the box and be ready to go.

We eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables in our house, so the worms will not go hungry. Soon I'll have rich, homemade compost for the garden plants.

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.