Arrival of April -

My favorite azaleas, George L. Taber, are now blooming - and I have several. 

Most have been in the garden many years and are huge. I prune lightly as

 soon as the blooms die back as this plant sets new buds for the following

 year around August. This beautiful shrub grows to a height and width

 of 8 feet, so gets quite large!  

The George Taber Azalea has a rounded, upright shrubby growth habit. 

Grow this azalea in USDA plant hardiness zones 7-10. Has slight cold

 hardiness but grows best in the southern United States. It is sun and

 heat tolerant.

Did you know that azaleas can live a long life if planted in the right place

 and given some easy TLC?  Azaleas are not high-maintenance plants. 

Attention to pruning, watering and a winter blanket of mulch are all that's 

required. Follow these easy maintenance tips to keep your azaleas healthy, 

and find a location with the right amount of sunlight. I add some fertilizer in

 early spring and the plants stay green year round which is a huge plus in

 the garden. I have other azaleas, different colors, all beautiful, but this is

 definitely my favorite.

Azaleas are not the best indoor flowers as they drop their blooms

 quickly, however I cut a couple of stems to add to these LIDL tulips

 and mini carnations purchased on Friday for the weekend.

After a long overnight drink - the flowers, not me - I arranged them

 adding some greenery from the garden. A couple more days and the

 tulips will grow and flop a bit. I love when they do that!

Yesterday we experienced ongoing high wind gusts which were somewhat

nerve wracking. . . . . . . .especially after seeing the awful damage caused

 by the tornadoes across the US south and Midwest.

Our prayers go out to all the people who have lost dear ones and/or 

their homes and businesses. 

I did a little garden work Saturday morning but was not happy beneath large

 twigs falling from the surrounding oaks, and clouds of pollen. We had a little

 rain which helped settle the pollen somewhat, but the gusts continued for

 hours. Then the glorious sun came out late afternoon and things felt better.

This Sunday morning is cool, breezy but brilliant sunshine lights the garden

and I need to venture forth once it warms up. So much requires attention

 and one can only stare out the window at waiting bags of mulch for so long!

Are you a gardener? If so, what are your least enjoyed garden chores?

March madness!

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: 

when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."

Charles Dickens ~ GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Saturday was a beautiful day and really felt like spring had settled in. . . . . 

. . . . . . but Mother Nature, often fickle, surprised us early Sunday morning

 with the first, and probably only, light fall of snow of winter '22-'23.  

It was fun watching the flakes fall for about 30 minutes.

The birds arrived and we scattered extra seed along the porch rail and

 on the ground. It was all over quickly, the remainder of the day doused

 with a dreary, cold drizzle.

Our winter in this area is now officially the third warmest ever according to

records. I had missed snow and really cold days, however have to admit it

was enjoyable not having to deal with bad weather.

I started this post a few days back mainly to share the weekend flowers 

brought home on Friday, however was distracted by other happenings. . . .the

 story of my life lately. 

Easter decor needs to be attended to - the white rabbits are out of the attic 

waiting patiently in their boxes. I will get onto that job this week . . . . . following

 a few bits of green going up for St. Patrick's Day of course!

 The cute fuzzy green bunny was a gift from granddaughter Jasmin last

 week. I added a couple of new felted bunnies - one shown here - 'acquired'

at the lovely shop named ACQUISITIONS where I swoon each time

 I set foot through the doorway.

ACQUISITIONS, LTD. 

~ Shop, showroom and warehouse ~

Raleigh, North Carolina

I'll be sharing more on this awesome shop soon.

Have a fantastic week wherever you hang your Easter Bonnet . . . . 

or cold weather beanie!

April has to be better................

 

I'm still swamped.  

I'm definitely under water.  

Thank goodness March has gone.

I hope to be back here soon.

Sunday morning sunshine -

Hope your Sunday is sunny and bright.

Tulip time and hanging art -

As February fades, March, according to the weather forecast, plans to creep in with rain, and more rain, to this already damp, soggy area of the country.  Bunches of tulips have arrived brightening the empty corners of the grocery stores. Buying food has become the only real shopping I do these days, months, and now a long year, which feels so strange. But, on entering the store, the flash of colorful flowers are there, near the door, and taking time to stop and look is so worthwhile. . . . . making the day feel a little more normal as silent, masked shoppers fade into the background for a while. Lately I've seen more shopping carts with a bunch of colorful flowers or a potted plant tucked in along with salad greens and toilet tissue.  People need beauty and seem to be longing for spring. I have a feeling that garden centers will thrive this coming season as we start digging and delving in our gardens. I need a lot of new shrubs for the back garden.

I bought tulips twice in the past ten days!  

The first bunch, a deep almost reddish pink, in tight buds

 which opened into more red than pink blooms.

As they started to fade, I had to pop to the grocery again a couple of days ago - for more salad greens etc., so picked up another bunch of true pink blooms. 

The combination of colors reminded me to take this floral painting out of winter storage and add some springtime color. This original painting is done on a board, not canvas, and has nothing on the back to enable hanging. Anyone know what type of hardware I could attach to the back - the board is not very thick, or heavy. Have you used any of the adhesive types of hangers? I'm thinking of designing an 'art wall' so hanging pieces without making holes would really be great if possible!

Any ideas for this project would be appreciated. 

Thanks as always.

My Garden in April. . . . . .

A little fanfare please - here in the southeast, spring now surrounds us.

I have to admit that yesterday the house and garden looked lovely
 in the sunlight of late afternoon. I took these photos with my phone.
Bob had spent over three hot hours, mowing, trimming, blowing etc. 

We walked about for a while but the pollen was
extremely heavy so no sitting outside. We checked the
shrubs, many now blooming, and perennials such as 
peonies and hostas poking their way through the earth. 
We felt good about how the garden looks this week.
 I joked with Bob about perhaps we should put out a FOR SALE
 sign with so much 'curb appeal' going on!

Our lawn is thick and green, the best I can recall in many years thanks
 to over seeding heavily last autumn. For those of you interested in gardening
 but living in other areas of the US, or overseas, we prefer to grow fescue grass
 which remains green all winter into spring, dies back somewhat in hot, dry
 summer weather if not watered, but then greens up again in autumn. 
It does require weekly mowing in the spring and summer as it grows tall but
 is lush and dark green. 

Others prefer Bermuda grass which turns brown in winter but does well all

 summer in the heat, staying green and quite short without much water.

 Here, behind this urn with pansies, Queen of the Night

and Angelique tulips, you can see the thick, lush grass. 

The azaleas were happy in the rain of recent days and 

are now coming into bloom.

How does your garden grow?

Promise of a new day. . . . . . .

The sunrise can be beautiful but fleeting.

Here in the garden I was just in time to take a 

photo of this female Cardinal in the fig tree

this morning. . . . . . . the sun illuminating her 

feathers and turning them to gold.

One more quick snap and I caught the magnolia 

in the early sunlight. . . . . . . . 

. . . . . . . and the first of the tulips not yet eaten by visiting deer!!!

I have a feeling my tulips may disappoint this year.

Planning and planting for next year. . . . . . . . . .

Yesterday I planted 100 tulip bulbs in several large decorative pots.

I bought just pink and purple - Queen of the Night, Pink Diamond,

Fancy Frills and Curly Sue, all of which I hope bloom in April

because we'll be away from home in May!

I only plant tulips in pots - the hot humid Summers here mean they 

are basically annuals, rarely returning a second year. Trying to dig 

in hard garden beds is another of those chores I now have to pass on.

Of course these aren't tulips. 

I also bought pansies to plant on top of the bulbs.

 They will bloom until late Winter when the temperature drops really low

and then get their second wind come Spring, blooming profusely until that 

often intense heat arrives here in the south in early Summer.

Note the leaves are falling now - and we've decided to let them pile up for a while. 

Usually we are out there raking constantly, almost daily, this year we don't need that

 much exercise. As long as the back deck is swept/blown, and we can use it without

 breaking our necks from rolling around on the zillion acorns falling this year, all

major raking is on hold for a couple of weeks.

I love pansies and violas, they have sweet 'faces' and always make me happy. 

Bright and beautiful, they bring a splash of color wherever they are planted. . . . . 
. . . . . . . . and they are a whole lot sweeter to talk about than politics.
My blog is not going there!

Step into my April garden. . . . . .

Just a Sunday saunter about the garden to view the 

changes a very warm week and a heavy rain brought.

Come into the garden. . . . . . .

Everything's blooming!

Everything's starting to look beautiful!