garden – Page 2 – Fine for Friday

June Heats Up 13 June

It is getting hotter as the days lengthen. The humidity is rising and most days is around 75%. I am good for 2 or 3 hours every morning but I am avoiding the afternoon as much as possible.

The perennial beds are so dense now that little weeding is necessary and that is a good thing. I am enjoying cut flowers for display in the house.

In the morning, I will be joining the SixonSaturday crowd. It is fun to find six photos, put them in a blog or post and then upload it to our host website. In this case, it is hosted by Jim Stephens. Here it is https://gardenruminations.co.uk/.

The purple coneflowers continue to be impressive. It is attracting the pollinators. I am preparing for the Great Southeast Pollinator Census https://gsepc.org which will occur on August 22 and 23. This fuzzy fellow is a bumblebee.

The canna started blooming this week. I moved it here last fall so I am glad to see that it is happy. I am uncertain of a name but it may be Durban.

The Stoke’s aster has just begun blooming. It has done so well in my garden that I have divided it and now have two thriving colonies.

The plumbago is in a container. It is the second time that I have tried this phlox look alike. The first time, I planted it into the perennial bed and it fizzled. I am giving it another try in a container. It is such a beautiful blue.

The Henry’s Lily is in its second year in this location. No pests or predators and a magnificent bloom. I love those massive stamens.

The Blephilia or pagoda plant is a polite plant along a walking path. It meanders a little but it can be forgiven.

It continues to be a special year in my garden. The rain is sufficient and the heat is just right.

Happy Gardening!

June Heat 6 June 2025

It is heating up. Slowly but surely, as the days continue to lengthen and the sun moves to the north, it is hotter. It’s been gradual but consistent. The rainfall has also been steady so the garden is in great shape.

I have been able to tend the garden regularly and I am very pleased with its progress. My blueberries really started to produce this past week and I have made some blueberry ice cream. Yum!

I will be joining the SixonSaturday group again tomorrow. It is fun. Just take 6 photos and link the post or blog where they are located to the group. Here is the website hosted by Jim Stephens https://gardenruminations.co.uk.

The Vitex Agnus-castus or Chaste tree is in full bloom this week. It was a struggle to plant it a few years back since it was in a 15 gallon container. It was worth it.

This Rose of Sharon is a beauty of an heirloom plant. I have another with a white throat. The shrub survives a long time and is often found in old country cemeteries and abandoned farm properties.

I apologize that this is a little out of focus. This Tradescantia is a reliable perennial. It dies back over winter but reliable returns each spring and grows all summer with these delicate blooms.

The Knockouts need weekly Neem applications to keep the sawfly larvae at bay. I recently put a new layer of compost around them and I am being rewarded with the second blooming of the year. There will likely be a third bloom in the fall.

All the daylilies are doing so well this year. I am showing this representative which will be nameless.

This Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ steals the show for me today. It will be a large plant of 8 to 10 feet in height so it may need some pruning at times in its present location.

Hope you are able to enjoy some gardening! It makes you happy!!

Here Comes The Rain 25 April 2025

We have had unsettled air for the last week. The cold front from the North has been slowly moving South and this is meeting the slowly circulating air from the Gulf. It has given us brief showers every afternoon. The rain is welcome for the plants. The timing of the rainfall works out since I prefer to do my gardening in the mornings. The rain really helps to water in whatever I plant each morning.

The ground temperature has been steadily warming. It is safe to plant tender plants like some tomatoes. It is even time to plant some annuals I prepared from cuttings. I will soon be planting last year’s caladium bulbs that I had saved.

I will be joining the Six on Saturday crowd in the morning. Here is the link if you are curious https://gardenruminations.co.uk.

The Firecracker is among the bulbs that I planted last fall. Botanical name is Brodiaea. It is a native of California and Oregon much to my west but it is pretty enough to give it a go.

I love the great variety of cannas. This one I inherited from a local garden. I do not know the common name but I like this color.

Both these bloomers were started from seed. The Monarda is a native planted last year. This is the first blooming. I believe this one is M. bradburnia.

The Salvia is ‘Victoria Blue’. It is such a deep blue, special color with lush foliage.

Not the best photo, but both these shrubs are native to Alabama. The Viburnum has almost lace cap blooms. It is the first blooming of it that I have seen.

The shrub on the right is an Itea virginica known as Virginia sweet spire. A friend gave this one to me harvested from his hillside property. It is a prolific bloomer.

Hope you are finding pleasures in your garden.

Happy gardening!

Daffodils, Daffodils 1 Mar 2025

March has arrived as a lamb. It is beautiful weather. Sunshine, calm and warmth prevail. The garden is showing signs of advancing. The best show is being displayed by the daffodils.

Garden tasks this week have included trimming some hollies to shorten the skirt but not before they were stripped of berries by migrating robins. Tending my new seedlings which need some gentle watering every day. I attended a workshop on grafting Japanese maples and now have one Sekimori Japanese maple to cultivate.

I am joining the Six on Saturday group this morning. Check us out. Here is the website. https://gardenruminations.co.uk. We are hosted by Jim Stephens. It is easy to post photos of your own. The rules are on the website.

I may have posted one or more of these last week. They were putting on such a display that I hope you forgive me for having overlooked that fact. These are all well established and I have sizable groupings of each. May be time to consider dividing.

This hellebore is in very good form. It is standing erect and putting on a wonderful display in the morning light.

“Jetfire” is putting on a good show. The bright cups stand out in this grouping. I had these in containers last year but they look much better in this bed underneath a row of crape myrtles.

This is a new addition for this spring. It is the eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis). It is a small native often called the Pussy Willow. Since it puts out these buds so early in the spring, it has often been associated with rebirth. It seems to be off to a good start where it will replace a star magnolia (Magnolia stellate) which will soon need to be removed.

Happy Gardening!

The Last Fall Colors

Frost is expected this coming week. There are still a few blooming plants but for the less hardy plants, the season is over. The garden needs the rest. It is the end of a glorious season. I am grateful.

The tender plants are placed in their shelter. The falling leaves are being chopped by the lawn mower and placed in the compost bin. The bulbs will be planted next week. The seeds for next season will soon be purchased. Holiday decorating is in progress. It is Thanksgiving this week.

This may be my last post for this year on the Six on Saturday group today. I will resume again when the spring blooms emerge in February. If you have time, come visit the group and see the posting of gardeners from around the world. If you wish, post to a blog or social media and leave a link. Here is the site hosted by Jim Stephens https://gardenruminations.co.uk.

I am featuring the persimmon again. It bore fruit this fall and is now bearing gorgeous leaf color.

The Oak Leaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) has a grand display of color as usual. The bloom heads certainly add to the display.

The indoor Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera sp) is blooming abundantly just in time for Thanksgiving. These blooms are a pink shade.

The two ferns (Dryopteris sp and Adiantum sp) have performed marvelously this fall after the intense summer heat passed. Sorry that the maidenhair photo didn’t turn out as well as it looked.

The hardy mum also wins a beauty contest this fall.

Happy gardening! To my American friends Happy Thanksgiving!

Autumn Colors 15 Nov 2024

Last week, I spent several days on the Gulf Coast of Northwest Florida. The area is known as the Florida Panhandle. It is about a 4 hour drive from here in North Central Alabama to the beautiful white sand beaches near Destin, Florida. It was a glorious time with excellent weather.

We had some rain 2 days ago so the fall colors are persisting. Fall clean up continues and most of the less hardy plants have been moved to places of shelter. It has not yet been cold enough to plant bulbs but there are many other tasks to occupy my time.

As usual, I will be sharing this blog with the Six on Saturday crowd in the morning. Come join us and see what gardeners from around the world are doing. The site is here https://gardenruminations.co.uk. If you wish, post 6 of your own by following the instructions that you will find there.

The dogwood is showing magnificent color. The one on the right is showing the floral bud which will not bloom in early April.

This camellia blooms in January. It is Kramer’s supreme.

This begonia will bloom until frost. I usually cut it down before then. It makes a drippy mess if you don’t.

The hardy mum is in its second year and is spreading and putting on quite a show. I believe that this one is ‘Mrs. Gloria’s Thanksgiving Day’.

The camellia is a sasanqua. I captured an image with the bud showing how the outer petals are pink while the inner double petals are bright white. This is quite a show stopper.

Hope you are enjoying the fall. Happy Gardening!

The Lion is Weakening 15 March 2024

The vernal equinox is approaching. It is inevitable. In truth, the lion that entered March is wearing. The warming temperatures and spring rains are having their expected effect. The emerging green and increasing blooms are a steadily increasing pleasure.

I have a large choice of photos for this week but I have six to show you. Every Saturday morning, a group posts there 6 photos of the week on the Six on Saturday meme. Come join us. Better yet, post a photo of your own.

Here is the link https://gardenruminations.co.uk hosted by Jim Stephens.

Here are my 6 for this week.

This pink azalea was on my property when we moved here 40 years ago. It has reached for the sun since this is the northeast side of the house. It is magnificent this year.

I think the native iris in the center is Iris virginica.

The dwarf blue iris on the right was one of a group planted last fall.

The tassel fern on the left Polysticum polyblepharum is waking up and doing well.

The Southern maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedantum) is also enjoying the welcome milder weather.

The final photo is Carolina spicebush also known as sweet shrub Calycanthus florida. Its most unusual bloom does have a sweet smell.

I hope you are experiencing now or soon the same explosion of spring growth in your yard.

Happy Gardening!

March is a Lion 1 March 2024

Growing up, my mother announced the character of March as coming in as a lion or a lamb and going out as the other. It would be interesting to know if this sounds familiar to you. This year, it is a lion here in the American South albeit a small one. It has been breezy and rainy today but spring’s promise does not disappoint.

There are an abundance of blooms to report today. So let’s get on with the show.

If you love spring, come join our group on Saturday morning. There should be an exuberance of offerings. Here is the link https://gardenruminations.co.uk/page/2/

This is the star for this week. It is the delicate, regal and magnificent Camellia japonica “Sea Foam”. In the last week, the plant has more than a dozen new blooms. It is still a young plant, so I am expecting many more.

There is an abundance of red camellias to report. The only one I can name for you is the “Professor Charles Sargent” which is on the right.

The asparagus fern has awakened from its winter sleep and is sporting a beautiful lime green gown.

The quince which I submitted a week or two ago is now displaying many blooms. I moved this plant last year and seems to prefer the morning sun location where it lives now.

The Kerria or Japanese rose has such a beautiful bloom. It is a leggy plant with long arching stems but the blooms make it stand out.

I am premature in showing you the begonia. It survives in my cold frame. Soon, I will take cuttings and prepare them for planting in window boxes. If it succeeds, this will be the fourth year in a row for this plant.

Don’t forget to join us tomorrow. Jim Stephens does such a good job of hosting us.

Happy Gardening!

Mid-Winter 9 Feb 2024

I am settling in after last weeks sunny break in Florida. The weather definitely is warming and I was able to play golf yesterday for the first time in a month. More color is appearing and there are new growth surprises nearly every day.

I have some plants started from seed and I am itching to plant them. Be patient! Planting weather is still at least 6 weeks away.

Every Saturday, a group of gardeners from around the world, get together online to post 6 recent pictures of what is happening in their gardens. Come join us to see the show or better yet join us and post 6 of your own. The weekly event is hosted by Jim Stephens at https://gardenruminations.co.uk.

Here are my 6 for the week.

The first is Leatherwood. It is a native shrub. It blooms early before the leaves come out and they are small but beautiful. The shrub may grow to be 6 or 7 feet tall. This plant is about 5 years old and seems quite healthy.

Next, is the first daffodil in my yard or in the Corner Garden. Looking at my notes, this is a week later than last year.

These hellebores are outstanding. They were a gift from a now deceased gardener but I do not know the name. I will enjoy them even though they will likely remain nameless.

My camellia japonicas are just beginning to bloom. This one is an old standby but the cultivar name is lost. These did not bloom last year after the December 2022 deepfreeze. This year there was another deepfreeze in January but fortunately, the blooming has begun.

This second hellebore has delightful color but is also nameless. It has such a beautiful shade of color.

My window box pansies have really broken out this week. This is the majestic series which has done so well for me.

Glad you stopped by and I hope you enjoyed the show. Happy Gardening!

Winter 19 Jan 2024

It was my birthday yesterday. It seems to never fail that the coldest weather of the year occurs on the week of my celebration. We had temps down to 10 F a few nights ago. It will be in the mid teens Fahrenheit tonight and tomorrow night. Looking around the yard, I do not see any evidence of severe damage unlike a year ago. It is later in the winter season and the plants have slowed down. I hope this is true.

It is bright and sunny today and I spent some time in general clean up duties around the yard. There were fallen small branches and some blown leaves to tidy up. I took some photos of things that caught my eye to show you.

Regularly, on Saturday morning, I post to the Six on Saturday group hosted by Jim Stephens. Come see what gardens from all corners of the world are doing to keep busy and brighten their corner of the globe. The link is here https://gardenruminations.co.uk/

This holly has a good crop of berries which the birds can enjoy in a well lit sheltered spot. This is Ilex but species unknown.

The Echinacea purpurea is still retaining some seeds. I leave the seedheads on in the fall for the goldfinces, chickadees and others that come to get some energy.

I took this photo because of the interesting frost line that formed on one cold morning. This is the north side of my house and the line reveals the shadow from the roofline of my house.

The Hydrangea quercifolia produces such interesting colors and shapes during the winter.

The camellia still managed one last bloom before the heavy frost of a few days ago.

I had to show you this Euphorbia. I had it as a house plant but I moved it outdoors in the warm weather. It is in the cold frame now but producing these beautiful blooms.

Hope you enjoyed the tour. January is passing and it is time to begin starting some seeds. Maybe I will have some to show you next week.

Happy gardening!!