The Lovely Lady Banks

Wilmington may be famous for azaleas (dogwoods, redbuds, cherry, peach, crab apple and apricot trees), but the Lady Banks rose is my absolute favorite springtime treat. Lushly laden with blooms, it showers an arbor or fence with more blossoms than one can possibly count.

Besides exploding with clusters of yellow (in my case) or white flowers, Lady Banks is thornless, a vigorous climber and not picky about soil types (although what rose doesn't enjoy a little organic matter now and then). It grows furiously and can quickly cover a rooftop.

In late winter my Lady looked like she'd been electrocuted. Branches grew up, down and sideways. One morning I grabbed clippers, scissors and a role of twine and tied that Lady down. Cutting away any branch that didn't grow left to right, I formed a thick dome across the top of an antique arbor, leaving short branches to grow up from the base. As you can see in the photos, right, Lady Banks truly is spectacular.

If you're ever in southern Arizona in April, stop by to see the world's largest rose--The Tombstone Rose--a white Lady Banks that covers 8,000 square feet. Now that's vigorous! And old--more than 100 years. The branches twisting up from its massive trunk are thicker than a wrestler's arm--way thicker. Check it out at http://www.goldcoastrose.org/articles/tombstone.htm

I suppose this could happen to any Lady Banks left to her own devices. Mine has gotten pretty shaggy in previous years. This year I intend to keep her neatly trimmed, a lovely welcome to my home.

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.