CAN YOU BELIEVE it's actually April, 2013 already? For those of you still dealing with snow, take heart. Spring is not far off now. We who live in the Pacific Northwest are seeing lots of sunshine and garden-friendly temperatures. Of course this means lots of gardening opportunities. Although I've got tons of work to do, my garden is looking better every day.
Before we get to garden photos, I thought I'd share a few close-ups. On Saturday Carol, Vickie and I met at Fry Road Nursery and got swallowed up in possibilities. Check out one of my take-homes below.
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| Clerodendrum x speciosum (C. splendens x C. thomsoniae) |
By my outer pond, look what's in bloom:
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| Darmera peltata in flower but no leaves yet. |
A few more bloomers:
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| Muscari are as blue as blue. |
My favorite Daffodils are blooming early this year:
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| Narcissus 'Geranium' are so fragrant! |
Now, for the (imperfect) garden. Try not to judge me too harshly.
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| On the left are two 'Knock Out' roses with phlox, asters and gaura. |
Winter of 2012, I wasn't very diligent about cutting back my shrubs. This wasn't very smart. The overgrowth last summer was none too pleasing. Lesson learned. This year, I've been brutal.
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| On the left is Daphne odora. On the right is Berberis 'Crimson Pigmy.' The sticks in the middle are a clump of Fuchsia magellanica. |
Here is the same area last August. The Fuchsia and Solanum were smothering everything.
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| August, 2012 |
Below is the area under the pear tree. Not much going on yet however, if you look closely, you'll see a few green spikes in the red container. These are the beginnings of Hosta 'Sum & Substance.'
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| The little green tuft in the center area is Geranium 'Jolly Bee.' It gets surprisingly large. There's also a Fuchsia and a Persicaria 'Red Dragon.' By July, you can't see the ground. |
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| This time of year, all of my garden junk, er accouterments remind me that I really should stay away from the thrift stores. |
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| I was brutal with this hedge (on the right). It was very overgrown. A few posts back I showed a photo of extremely overgrown Clematis 'Polish Spirit.' Those brown vertical sticks under the ladder are what remains. |
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| Ferns, hostas and fuchsias are still dormant here. |
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| Sheesh. What a lot of stuff... The ratio of organic vs. inorganic is a little out of proportion, wouldn't you say? But don't ask me to part with any of it. |
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| One of my two ponds is on the right, behind the green grass (Stipa gigantea). |
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| The blue mound is Pulmonaria 'Reginald Kaye' outdoing himself. |
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| My lawns look like crap--the result of neglecting them last summer. |
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| My neighbor was moving and gave me the large wagon wheel. For lack of a better idea, it became the focal point of this island bed. I still haven't gotten this bed in shape yet. |
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| The Magnolia stellata flower petals are raining down on the area below. |
