Stepping Into May
Rhododendron 'Klondyke' and Geranium maculatum May is already here and the garden suddenly explodes with growth. We spent the weekend watering (already?) because there hasn't been significant rainfall in a while. We don't have a sprinkler system so it is all manpower, dragging hoses and sprinklers. It takes two days - one for the back and one for the front - to water everything. It is possible to get it all in one day if we start really early. The rhododendrons are beginning now - 'Mandarin Lights' 'Jean Marie De Montague' 'Percy Wiseman' - beautiful but suffers from lacebug. I'm considering replacing it or maybe I will try and treat it. A favorite right now is the Chilean Potato Vine ( Solanum crispum 'Glasnevin'). This plant is hardier than you might imagine. Some sources list it as a "9", others an "8". It is going on its third year in our garden, having been moved once. It is sheltered somewhat by a fence but ...
Love your space there, Phillip, and honeysuckle, well, I can smell it by just saying the word. Nothing blooming in the PNW as yet, just a few groundcovers.
ReplyDeleteI would love to be sitting on that patio in the sun sipping wine or coffee and enjoying the scent. Love honeysuckle but it sure can take over a spot. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMy daffodils are blooming and daylilies are coming up. My star mag aren't blooming yet and I hope they hold off. Cold weather is predicted in a couple of weeks. Mary
ReplyDeleteI wish I could smell it... I'm not sure I've ever run into one of those ??
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid winter is not done with us yet, and all those early blossoms are going to get zapped.
ReplyDeletePhillip..I am enjoying mine also! It is loaded and had honeybees on it! I bet Florence is blooming all over...even further north things are freakishly ahead of schedule by about 3-4 weeks. Thanks for giving me my start of this wonderful shrub!
ReplyDeleteIt is warm enough here to have honeysuckle blooms but there is only one bud on ours. It won't be long if it stays this warm.
ReplyDeleteYou always have such enticing garden rooms, Phillip. And so many of them! Love it.
ReplyDeleteMy winter honeysuckles have never bloomed this long - they started at least a month ago (North Carolina). I was walking thru the bedraggled garden one day and was enveloped in lemony freshness - wondered whose laundry I could possibly be smelling so deep in our back yard, then realized it was the honeysuckle. It's not a beautiful shrub, but the fragrance is worth it.
ReplyDeleteOur crocuses, lenten rose and small daffs are blooming - the large daff flowers are still tightly closed. Tulip foliage is poking out of the ground. Spanish bluebell foliage is up. What a weird winter.
It's a wonderful photo! I have this Honeysuckle and it is a heavenly smell!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shot! I have been tempted to buy a winter honeysuckle. I love fragrance in the garden. Yours is perfectly sited by the patio!
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