Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day May 2013

phlox pilosa

My gardens are still covered in the fabulous pink phlox.  I guess the cool spring has prolonged the bloom time, much to my delight.

Around the yard now I have clumps of purple with the siberian irises.  I just keep dividing and giving them away and moving them to new locations within the gardens.  They are really putting on a show this spring.

siberian iris

The ox eye daisies sway in the breeze intermingled with the phlox.

These red dianthus are supposed to be biennial, but this is their fourth year.  Every year they produce bigger clumps and more blooms.  This is my "mostly red" bed where the red honeysuckle is still blooming and encouraging the hummers to linger.

leucothoe fontanesiana "rainbow"

These tiny little blooms above on the leucothoe (commonly called "fetterbush") are a bonus.  I bought this last fall for the wonderful foliage, and now the little urn shaped flowers are peeking out from under the leaves.

My bearded iris have been a disappointment this year. I had to move most of them last summer and I'm hoping that's the reason.  I also find that every year I have less and less sunlight and I think that is also affecting the bearded iris.  Here is one that did bloom; I believe this is "Memphis".

 The pink flowering spirea are just beginning (princess, goldmound, goldflame, and anthony waterer).

anthony waterer spirea

goldmound spirea

  The mild spring weather has given us a longer bloom period.  April blooms have lasted well into May, and now everyday more buds appear. I am so enjoying the unfolding of Spring in the garden.

 What's blooming in your neck of the woods?

I am joining Carol at May Dreams Gardening for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day! 
Check out  A Southern Day Dreamer for Outdoor Wednesday!

In the pink

dianthus - "Bath's Pink"  (cheddar pink)

 According to Collins dictionary, the color pink is named after the flowers called "pinks", in the genus Dianthus. The name derives from the frilled edge of the flowers. Have you ever used pinking shears?  They cut in a kind of zigzag, like the jagged edge of the dianthus.  The word "pink" was first used in the 17th century (OED online).  Pink is thought of as a feminine color, but that has not always been so.  Think about Valentine's Day and you see why pink is called "the color of love".

Lenten Rose (helleborus orientalis) are still hanging on although the blooms have faded in color.

Winter gave way to Spring with the pinks of hellebores, camellias, flowering cherries, redbuds, crabapples, pink tinged daffodils, tulips, flowering almond, and creeping phlox.  Now spring is in full force with pink abounding.

George Tabor azalea

Pink is such a spring color.  It is very easy on the eyes - it doesn't "pop" or glare.  I find pink to be a very soothing color and look forward to the shades of pink in my gardens every spring.

 I didn't always love pink - not until I had a baby girl. I began to see pink in a new light.  It's a sweet color that delights the senses and brings a smile to one's face.


 Pink blooms are like tiny ballerinas in their tutus, dainty and delicate!

cross vine "tangerine beauty"

These encore azaleas  were sold as purple, but look pink to me.

Would you call the color of the crossvine pink?  Maybe so.

knock out rose
  
As with most colors, there are many shades and names.  With pink the shades vary from nearly white to almost purple. There's coral, salmon, hot pink, blush, shocking pink, fuchsia, cherry blossom, and rose - to name a few.

gladiolus communis

rain lily (zephyranthes)

oxalis

weigela florida "wine and roses"

And the star of the pink show this time of year is this phlox that Gail at Clay and Limestone calls PPPP (Practically Perfect Pink Phlox pelosa).  Usual bloom time is mid-April, but Spring has been slow to arrive this year.  It has just begun it's reign.

As the PPPP gently blankets my gardens, I am anticipating the arrival of more pink blossoms: astilbe, hydrangeas, coneflowers, bee balm, spireas, and more.  Awww,  I'm tickled pink it's Spring!  Hope you are too.  Have a wonderful May Day celebrating the beauty of our earth!

Dead or Alive?

Have you ever played that game where one person names a celebrity and the others have to tell whether he/she is dead or alive?  I find that with my aging brain I often have a difficult time with this game - I just can't remember.

Lantana

But what's worse is when I play "Dead or Alive?" in the garden.  You see, every Spring I wander around the yard/gardens and I see plants with no buds or leaves.  Uh, oh, has that plant  kicked the bucket?   Or maybe my aging brain just can't remember that some plants spring back to life later than others. [Note to self: be patient]

Beautyberry

 The ones that are always the biggest puzzlers in the game are the ones I  just planted the fall before and so, no, I'm really not sure if it's dead or alive. And the fact is only time will tell.  





Today I saw some new growth (yeah!) on some plants, but the jury is still out on a few others.

Baptisia -  ALIVE!

Balloon flower -  ALIVE!

fothergilla -  ALIVE!

So every day I wander the yard and I peer at these plants and search for the tiniest of buds. And only then will I learn the answer to "Dead or Alive?"  I've got my fingers crossed.


Here's hoping you're finding more alive than dead in your garden!

April Appears

 It may sound ridiculous, but for awhile it appeared that we wouldn't see April weather until April this year. And, no, we didn't. Usually, in Memphis and the mid-South, we have glorious April days in March. Or as we call it in our household "San Diego weather".  Last year we had days and days of 70's in March, but not this year.  Our mom earth has made us wait for April.  What a bunch of March madness for those of us clamoring to be digging, not slogging and shivering.

amsonia March 31, 2012

same amsonia March 31, 2013

  But, even without the gardeners in the garden, the gardens have been waking up.  All around us are the signs that March this year was indeed a Spring month.


 And the blooms that  are coming are lasting longer due to the cool weather.    Daffodils that bloomed almost 3 weeks ago are still standing pretty in the garden.


And so now April is here and we see all around us what's been happening during the past month.  New growth, the swelling of buds, the unfurling of leaves, the rise of stems, pushing upward.

hosta

hosta

     What fun to watch the hostas
       emerge from dormancy!
                 
        Many hostas here are in
        pots to protect them
        from the voles.

But all the March action was not missed by this gardener.  Every day during March, no matter the temperature or the precipitation, I was walking

asparagus

slowly through the yard, looking for signs of Spring.

creeping phlox

  

hardy stocking fern

solomon's seal (Variegatum Polygonatum...)

grape hyacinths (muscari ameriacum)

bridal wreath spirea (Spiraea prunifolia)

epimedium

In reading garden blogs from other areas, I realize, in comparison to many,  I shouldn't disparage the weather this time of year.  But we in the mid-South have come to expect certain things. That's why we live here.  Can I hear an "AMEN"?

April foolishness

It does seem a bit of foolishness that I've chosen April 1 for my maiden voyage into blogging. But I'm going to give it a shot.

Lately spring has been playing peek-a-boo with us here in West Tennessee. We are fortunate not to have the snow this March that has afflicted our northern neighbors, but we still wonder if Nature is trying to pull off an intricate April Fool's Day joke.  So here's one for you:  This picture of my poodle, Sadie, and the tulips (above) was taken last year on March 13.  This year, as you can see below, we are just beginning to get tulips buds.  I don't mind that Spring is taking its own sweet time because we will have more days to savor the earth's reawakening.