azalea – Fine for Friday

Fall Bloomers in the Heat and the Drought 19 Sept 2025

It’s hot again. It’s dry. Very dry. It’s a test to see which plants do well in these conditions. I have no butterflies or insects to show you today. The butterflies are there in abundance except for the Monarchs. They are said to be migrating south but I have seen none in my yard.

I am spending most of my time watering and removing dried up leaves. I have some shrubs that I bought at the Fall Plant Sale at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens but I am not yet ready to plant them.

I will be joining the Six on Saturday group tomorrow. Come join us. Here is the link https://gardenruminations.co.uk.

The azalea is in it third blooming for the year. It is a magnificent color.

The Physostegia is also in its glamour. It is slowly spreading but it is definitely controllable. A good friend characterizes it as ‘Disobedient Plant’.

The Gaura has appeared. I had two but the other has completely disappeared. This is a crowded corner of the garden with rudbeckia, Shasta daisies and obedient plant being very competitive.

The Lycoris has also appeared. It is commonly called surprise lily which is an appropriate name. It completely dies back and shows no trace until a week before it blooms.

I have shown these two recently but in the morning light they really caught my eye.

The Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ is in a concrete container which really shows it off.

The limelight hydrangea is now 8 feet high and the mophead panicles are turning green and bronze. It is by far my favorite hydrangea.

Happy Gardening to all!!

April Is No Fool

The progress in the garden has been very encouraging. We will have some rain on Sunday which will be followed by some cooler weather. No frost. It is time to bring some of the tender plants out.

The hardwood leaves have emerged with their brilliant green. The irises are beginning to show blooms. The grass is beginning to green and needs a cutting.

I took a field trip yesterday to see a grand collection of native azaleas. I have 2 photos from the Donald Davis Arboretum that housed the collection.

I hope to join the Six on Saturday group in the morning before I leave for a road trip to Nashville to visit family. Join that wonderful group at this link https://gardenruminations.co.uk

Here are the two azaleas. They are native to Alabama. In this collection, there are several outstanding specimens. They are Florida flame, Piedmont and Canescens varieties.

The silver bell ‘Halesia sp’ on the left is a beautiful medium sized tree which will be a good replacement for out native dogwood Cornus florida which has been ravaged by an apple wood borer.

This late appearing daffodil is really a winner.

The delicate foamflower on the left is an Alabama native. It is accompanied by the beautiful ground orchid. The Paw Paw on the right is blooming now and is also an Alabama native. The fruit will have a dumbbell shape if it appears.

I hope you are enjoying your garden in this fine weather.

Happy Gardening!

Blooms and Blooms 28 March 2025

We are having beautiful days with sun, some breeze and cool mornings. The plants continue to awaken and there are increasingly more beautiful blooms. It seems like spring is solidly here.

I have been planting the plants I so diligently started from seed over the winter. There are some onions to harvest and herbs for cooking.

I will be sharing this post on Six on Saturday tomorrow. The group each shares 6 photos to reveal what is happening in their gardens. Come take a look at this website. https://gardenruminations.co.uk. Jim Stephens is our host.

The poppy is a native that has been slow to establish but may have turned a corner this year. Very bright yellow blooms catch my eye as I walk along the path which passes by it.

The Spanish bluebells come up so suddenly. It is seemingly overnight that they are blooming.

The native azalea is also a slow developer. They are deciduous so they are unremarkable in the winter. But now as you can see the blooms are beautiful. This one, I believe, is Flame Azalea.

The Bloodgood is growing well in a container. It struggled for a year until I discovered that the container did not drain well. Now that is remedied. Behind it, you can see the bright red kurume type azalea.

The Solomon’s seal spreads by rhizomes and it seems to be thriving in its shady spot.

The flowering quince continues to impress. It is ‘Toyo-Nishiki’.

Hope your gardens are giving you pleasure. Happy Gardening.

It’s Masters Week 12 April 2024

The days are longer, the temperatures are rising and the blooms are increasing. The azaleas are beautiful and the grass is greener than green. It must be Master’s Week. It rained heavily yesterday and the wind is till gusting. That clearly means it is Master’s.

Every Saturday, the Six On Saturday group meets online and posts 6 photos taken that day or from the past week. It is cool to see photos of gardens from all over the world. Check it out tomorrow. It is hosted by Jim Stephens. This is the link https://gardenruminations.co.uk.

The Peony is unnamed but it is a stunner.

The Piedmont azalea is a native Rhododendron canescens.

The knockout rose is also unnamed but has been reliable for many years now.

Iris pseudocorus is in full bloom now and it is glorious.

Iris tectorum known as the roof iris is also blooming beautifully this week.

The last photo is the bloom of the tulip poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera. This is a tall, up to 60 foot tree with a very straight trunk. The blooms are at the top of the tree and this one must have come down with the gusty winds we have been having this week.

Its time to get back to watching the Masters.

Happy Gardening!!

Frost and Spring

Five for Friday March 18, 2022.

The cold snap did some damage. The plants that were gloriously blooming are damaged. Those that were destined to be later, are beginnng to emerge with the rain and warmer temps as Spring approaches. As always, Mother Nature has ways of recovering. I am sure that the azaleas will still be beautiful in Augusta for the Masters.

Today, I have some photos of the damage in my yard and some of the beauties in my yard and from the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

First, here is the damage. The pink azalea and the paperbush took a hit. They were really beautiful for several days. Better days are coming and there is always next year.

Second, here is the Johnny-jump-up violas. They were protected enough that they continue to dazzle. Just another reason to keep planting them each fall.

Third, here are some newly planted Oak Leaf Hydrangeas. Hydrangea quercifolia. It is a native here in the Southeast USA. It is a great woodland shrub. The left picture shows the new growth of the spring while the picture on the left shows the coloration of the fall.

The blooms are in the form of a large pannicle with numerous white blossoms. Very striking.

Oak Leaf Hydrangea

Fourth is Alabama croton. It is a marvelous shrub. Now, the small but bright yellow blooms are quite striking. You can also see the small leaves which have a silver color on the reverse side. When the wind blows, they shimmer. The leaves become a bronze orange color in the fall. All this makes this small shrub nothing but a winner.

Fifth is a Carolina spring beauty. This is a Spring ephemeral which can be found on small woodland meadows. You have to look closely for it but it is worth the effort.

Sixth, as a bonus, I found this little gem near the edge of the yard which borders on a woodland. This is partridge berry or Mitchella repens. Linnaeus named it after his physician friend John Mitchell who used it to treat yellow fever.

I am unsure of its value for the fever but once its established it is a hardy perennial which the deer seem to love.

Here’s to the return of Spring and here in the US the Senate has passed a bill to make Daylight Savings Time permanent. I like that since it seems harder to adjust to time change with each passing year.

Don’t forget about the propagator.

Happy gardening.