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
Happy Valentines day. It was so nice this weekend and such a welcome change. And for the rest of the week is looking good.
ReplyDeleteAnd more beautiful weather for the rest of the week here!! Actually turning off the heater in the greenhouse, yippee! I have a few small grasses, I cut them back last week.....
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding me that I could be doing this. Happy Valentines Day.
ReplyDeleteJust finished mine in Atlanta, also taking advantage of the nice weather. The only downside is that the grasses take three trips to the greenwaste dump to get rid of them all!
ReplyDeleteA very informative post. I don't grow any of them (no room) but I was happy to learn by reading your post. I agree ornamental grasses (there are a lot of them around here) look interesting in winter.
ReplyDeleteAnyone need clumps of zebra grass? I have one that has gotten to about 3 ft in diameter and it needs dividing. After trimming it this weekend I'm going to run a middle buster through it to dig part of it up. Mary
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ReplyDeleteBeautiful weather here too, and drier too, nice for a change! I haven't cut back many of my grasses yet because the birds are still using them for cover since I still don't have many woody plants near where most of my grasses are. I am going to cut back some of my muhlies this year, which I haven't done before, because I can't comb out all of the dried leaves on the big ones.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's that time of year. DH and DD will probably burn our grasses tomorrow (DH's day off) unless it's too windy. We try to do it around Valentine's Day. It's like a spring ritual for them. Another sign that spring is on the way! :) ~~Rhonda
ReplyDeleteHi Phillip! Thanks for reminding! Need to give a haircut to my pampas grass!
ReplyDeleteHope you wore long sleeves. I always look like I got in a cat fight pruning the grasses in the yard!
ReplyDeleteGot mine cut this weekend but will go back on a few and get them shorter. Some of them were a bit monsterous!! Thanks Phillip!
ReplyDeleteIt's still a little bit early to cut back our grasses here, but it won't be long. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteOrnamental grasses are my absolute favorites because of the winter interest and the fact that they withstand my clay and poor drainage. I am just about ready to cut mine down now here in NJ.
ReplyDeleteThrilled to have found your blog and look forward to following along.