Blackberry Winter

Blackberry Winter is the last cold spell of the season. It arrives when the blackberry vines are in bloom, hence the name. (Dogwood Winter is a bit earlier, while the native dogwoods bloom.)

Tonight a strong north wind is blowing and a bit higher up on the mountain a light dusting of snow is expected. The blackberry vines are in full bloom. Tomorrow night the tender plants will need protection and the houseplants will need brought back inside.

Further north a huge winter storm is beating down on the northeastern states. I feel for those folks. I’m glad I don’t live that far north.

My order of seeds from Parks Seed Company: Black-eyed Susan Vines and hibiscus in various colors, Cherokee Purple Tomato, okra, and various peppers arrived yesterday.  After this cold spell I’ll be playing in the dirt with a passion.

This afternoon I took some pictures of what’s blooming now:

The clematis is beautiful. It was moved to this location about 4 years ago and has finally regained its former glory. My new “baby” clematis is still getting used to its location, but has blessed us with some blooms.

 

My iris are blooming, even the white one (she went on strike last year).

The Weigelia I rooted about 7 years ago is blooming. A pretty pink, but someday I want a red one.

Hopefully nothing will be nipped too badly over the next few nights. I’ll let you know if it does.

Friday Night Update: May 27, 2011

This is the front bed, recently redesigned. The clematis has been in this location for three years now. The variegated hydrangeas' since last fall. I put in the hosta  earlier this spring.

This big pot of catnip was one of the first garden plants to “green up”this spring. . . much to the delight of Thomas T.

This clematis bloomed for the first time this year. It is still very small, but I can see it filling the trellis in years to come.

 

The garden steps, severely overgrown by forsythia. The much needed cut back on the forsythia is awaiting the robin family to move out. I was attacked soon after starting to prune this mass of foliage. Believe me, there really are steps under all that green.

I have lots of overgrown areas right now. I am behind in my gardening. I have some vacation time planned for the first of June… perhaps I can tame the over abundant foliage while off work.

Stay tuned for more photos and the gardening adventure stories I’m sure I’ll be telling.

Be Blessed.

The Vines Are Blooming! Finally!!

This spring I decided that instead of potting up cannas for the deck I would plant vines. I planted moonflowers, a hybrid morning glory, black-eyed Susan vine, and cardinal creeper. I gathered sticks for them to climb on and waited.

Soon they were up and growing:

They grew and grew, but no flowers.

Now, at long last, they are blooming.

I don’t have a picture of the cardinal creeper yet. It has only had a few blooms and I didn’t get a picture. So, there will be more to come.

Hibiscus

July is winding down. As August approaches I can’t help but wonder if it will surpass July in the number of super hot days.

We have had some real hot ones here lately, as has most of the country. The heat has taken its toll on me and on the gardens.

My single remaining hibiscus has started blooming. I told hubby yesterday that I will be ordering more seeds and starting more this winter. I lost the others due to my neglect, I won’t do that again.

The cannas experiment (putting them in the front flower bed) has been successful. they seem to like it there.

They should be blooming soon. I can’t wait!

Earlier I wrote about my Rose of Sharon that bloomed from seed. It only had one white flower. I am happy to say that more of the seed-grown Rose of Sharon's are loaded with buds and soon will be in bloom. I’ll be sure to post when they do, with photos. I am anxious to see just what colors I may have.

The container plants are finally filling in and looking better.

I was worried, it seemed to take them forever to get going.

Have a beautiful end of July. Next time I’ll tell you about my frog encounter.

Blessed Be.

Grown From Seed - First Blooms

One of my grown-from-seed Rose of Sharon bushes bloomed this week. It had one blossom, but at least now I know what color it is.

A grown-from-seed cannas is also in bloom.

I love collecting seed and propagating plants. It is a way to be frugal and still have a beautiful garden. Although I sometimes embarrass my husband when in seed collecting mode.

The Rose Of Sharon seeds were collected on a cold February day in 2008 while on a shopping trip. We had parked beside a store’s landscaped border and I couldn’t resist collecting a few seed pods.

In the end I had 11 plants which were planted around Shady Hollow last Spring. 

Cannas seedlings from last years seed collecting are growing now. I didn’t expect this many to germinate!

 

When I save and grow seed from plants such as the cannas and Rose of Sharon I have no idea what the blooms will look like.

I also save and grow daylily seed. A grown from seed daylily takes three years to bloom, minimum. That’s a long time to wait, but sometimes the results can be spectacular.

Sometimes the bloom color is disappointing, especially with open pollinated seed. For me, and my goal of flowers everywhere I can possibly put them, it’s not a big problem.

I haven’t thrown away a single one.

Summer Is Here

The high temperatures have been getting to me this week. I’m usually the one who absolutely loves it when the days get hot, but this year the heat is almost too much. Maybe I’m getting old or something.

The gardens are blooming, but right now they need rain. The little veggie patch is doing good. My makeshift fence is keeping the rabbits out just fine. It may not be pretty but it works. That’s what counts, right?

This birds eye view of the veggie patch was taken from the deck about a week ago. Things have grown some since then.

The squash and tomato's are blooming. We are looking forward to some yummy meals of fresh veggies before much longer.

I spent some time last weekend potting up impatiens for the front patio. They are starting to bloom now, as are the cannas.

 

The hydrangeas have outdone themselves this year.

  The camera didn’t capture the brilliance of the blue in this picture, but you can see how full of blooms they are.

My variegated hydrangeas' were not doing well under the oaks. Last Saturday I dug them up and put them in big pots for some TLC.  This fall I’ll replant them in a better location. If I can find one, that is. Maybe in front of the cottage? They might like it there.

If I have learned nothing else gardening here in the shade on a hillside, its that if a plant isn’t happy where you planted it; dig it up and try another spot. The results are amazing.

Be Blessed!

A Beautiful Spring

Spring burst upon us here in Western North Carolina with a vengeance over the past two weeks. In an amazing twist, the super cold and snowy winter seems to have invigorated all the plants.

These daffodils have faded now, but I wanted to share them with you...

The forsythia was beautiful and made a golden arch for my pathway steps.

The tulips...

I've never seen so many blooms on the flowering quince:

If the beauty I see around me is any indication, it's going to be a great year for gardening!

Spring Is Springing Out

Spring is definately underway at Shady Hollow. The flowering magnolia put on quite a show last week. I don't remember it having this many blooms, ever.

Spring Flowers

Here are some flower photos taken so far this spring.

Harvest Update

The little veggie patch I planted has surpassed my wildest dreams. We have given away vegetables and I am now freezing some for our future use. I planted in the pottager style and included vegetable plants in among my flowers this year. The result has been fantastic as far as yield, but has had some unexpected results as well.

For instance, the tomato plants next to my garden shed have outgrown their cages and spilled into the path leading up to the shed. It is going to be nearly impossible to get the lawnmower out without damaging the tomato plants. This last weekend it made a perfect excuse not to cut grass, but sooner or later I will have to get that mower out.

The yellow squash I planted in the front bed are completely surrounded by flowers, making it difficult to find the little squash. Its like an adult Easter Egg hunt among the flowers when I go harvesting.

The only real "failure" I've had so far is with okra. A few plants came up, but they have never done well. I'll try again next year, but will have to visit our local farmers for okra this year.

The flowers are fantastic. The cannas on the deck and by the shed are healthy and happy. At this point about half are blooming with the rest to bloom within the week. These are all new to me, some purchased, others given to be by a dear friend, after mine failed to survive the winter. This picture is of one called "Princess Di." I'll take better measures to protect them this winter.