The Garden Awakens
Anise 'Woodland Red' ( Illicium floridanum ) A few weeks ago, I thought spring would never arrive, but now the change is astonishing. The nights are still cold (40s and sometimes even 30s) so planting tender annuals and vegetables is unwise although I have already succumbed, but covering and uncovering things gets old quickly. Someone made a wise comment last week and I must agree with them - "Don't plant anything tender until after May 1". Several plants are blooming like never before. One is the Anise shrub (above and below). I don't know if the recent tree pruning, which is allowing more sun into the woodland path, is affecting it or perhaps it is just age, but I've never seen so many blooms. Michael refers to this as "the stinky fish shrub" and I have to admit to smell of the flowers is quite unpleasant. It is so beautiful that I can overlook that. The old pink dogwood tree, which was already here, shades our woodland path and it too is prett
Despite the rain dance Ranunculus and I did yesterday, we only had about 1/2 an inch last night--but down the road, I think the Tidewater Gardener and the Transitional Gardener got several inches (I hope not too much!) At least my hydrangeas had a little drink. Anyway, lovely photo--
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photo! Thanks for the history too :) I'm so glad we finally got a little rain!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Rose! Here in our neck of the woods (GA) we only had 1/10 inch which is nothing for a rock hard dry ground! A few miles up the road they had up to 2 inches! I was kind of hoping Dolly would come our way but she opt for Texas instead. Sigh, in time I reckon...
ReplyDeleteYou are showing off those raindrops with pride! I know you were so happy to get some sky water. We went thru the same thing last year. It would even rain in sections of our neighborhood and miss our street. The ground was so hard I actually dug holes for plants with a pick axe at some points.
ReplyDeleteLovely rose and it's wonderful that you got rain! Now your beautiful garden will continue to bloom!
ReplyDeleteGail
Great timing-I just finished one of the big ones-it was so good-thank you again! Glad you enjoyed the post-we have three lady bugs in the garden now! Harold has made friends :D
ReplyDeleteThat is a lovely photo. I have one planted with some May Night salvia--very pretty combination. Mine stays short enough to fit very well near the front of the border.
ReplyDeleteMarnie
I live in Tupelo, MS and have been reading your blog for a while. You're fortunate that you got the rain. We got a very short shower, immeasurable, and all the while the sun was shining! I enjoy seeing the beautiful pictures and your lovely garden! Thanks for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteWell, the rain wasn't that much and I hope we get more soon - ditto for all you other rain-starved gardeners as well. Thanks for dropping by Judy!
ReplyDeleteI love Gruss An Achen, although my plant is being crowded and shaded out to the point that it's not looking great these days (that describes lots of the things in my garden!). Never knew "Gruss" meant "greetings"; I had years of Latin, and I've done a lot of singing in German, but rarely know what I'm saying when I do.
ReplyDeleteYour whimsey is a whole lot classier than mine (as is your whole garden, by the looks of things!). My latest project is mounting a staghorn fern on a set of (broken - I have to fix them first)moose antlers I found by the curb one garbage day a few weeks back. That's where lots of my garden art comes from; I think it's genetic.