Visions of Spring

Those are snapdragons in my header picture.  I planted them on March 7, 2012, and I am so ready to start digging in the dirt again. Unfortunately, Mother Nature seems to have other ideas about when Spring will make an appearance this year here in central Mississippi.  Two days ago, the low temperature was 18 degrees, and the forecast for the next few days is daytime temperatures in the 60s, with lows hovering in the 50s ... better than 18, yes ... but still not favorable for planting Spring flowers. The growers were hit hard this winter, and the local nurseries are suffering too.  Their stock is way down and the plants they have on hand were bitten back by the extremely cold temperatures. Even Home Depot doesn't have anything, except for some straggly Pansies and a few Cyclamens. I guess I'll just have to be patient for a little longer ... but in the meantime, I'd like to reminisce of springtimes past by sharing pictures of some of the flowers I planted. Lavender Lantana, May 2013  Sunpatiens, May 2011 Home Depot Mix, April 2009 Purple Verbena, March 2008 Red Verbena, April 2007 We have a new landscaping project in progress which I hope to share soon.  We've done the ground work and are now (not-so)-patiently waiting for the nursery to get some new plants in.  After looking at these pictures, I've gotten some ideas on flowers I'd like to use in the new planting areas.  I especially like the purple verbena cascading over the rocks along the stream in our courtyard. I hope Mother Nature is being more cooperative where you live ... and I wish you a March filled with many happy hours spent digging in the dirt, with visions of Spring flowers dancing through your head!

A Gardener at Heart

I love puttering and piddling and playing with plants and flowers, but I have to confess that I'm not much of a gardener.  I truly love plants and flowers and enjoy digging in the dirt and planting them, but I don't have the patience it takes to fertilize, or re-pot, or prune, or spray for insects and diseases, and all the other things that separate the dedicated gardeners from people like me.  I guess my little "Grow dammit" sign pretty much sums up my philosophy of gardening.

I just want my flowers to grow and be happy and make pretty blooms and not lose their leaves or turn yellow or brown or wilt.  Is that too much to ask?

  

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a pretty pink Knockout Rose, and it bloomed beautifully ... for about a week. 

When I noticed it wasn't blooming as profusely, I moved it out into the courtyard where it would get more sun.  But it has been steadily going down hill, and looks as if it has been literally "knocked out" and is down for the count.

I'll give it a couple of weeks and if it doesn't perk up, I'm afraid it's going to end up on "death row," which is where I put the plants that don't survive my "tender loving care."

On a brighter note ... I'm pleased to say that I actually have quite a few survivors. Like this ivy plant ...

It sits on a table on our porch and makes me smile every time I see it and its little bird friend.  

This primitive little wooden birdhouse planter was the container for a Mother's Day bouquet from my sweet husband ...

I added a clump of ferns in a clay pot and, I ask you ...

does it get any cuter (or simpler) than that!

Fortunately, considering my lack of gardening skills and gardener virtues, I've discovered that you don't have to spend a lot of money on exotic plants to add interest to your landscaping.  

This "grocery store" palm plant is nestled amongst a couple of stone birds on a table beside our porch door, and seems to be quite content with just a drink of water every now and then ...

My daughter gave me the pretty copper and aqua planter shown below for Mother's Day, and I love the way the coleus plants perfectly complement the colors of the planter ...

So far, so good ... 

Red Impatiens make a pretty contrast with the verdigris armillary on this little garden cart.  I have to water them every day or they will wilt (not a good prognosis of things to come?).

Lantana is a great cascading plant for large urns and is practically maintenance-free.

I am "into" lime green this spring, for some reason, and spray painted an old urn that had red Sunpatiens planted in it (I kindly covered the flowers with a plastic bag, in case you're wondering).  I like the combination of lime and red ... 

I also added Sunpatiens to this planter beside the path leading from the courtyard to our backyard ...

I can see the planter from our bedroom window, and I love opening the blinds in the morning and being greeted by those pretty red blooms.   I just hope they survive the long, hot summer that's fast approaching.

Simple ornamental grass plants in urns or pots are easy to take care of and can fill a space where you need a little something extra.  Variegated liriope looks elegant in this footed urn with a small iron trellis.

This urn is beside our pond and  holds a variegated Asiatic Jasmine plant, which has "weathered" several winters and faithfully comes back in the Spring (my kind of plant!).  

I'm terrible about throwing away the tags that come on plants (something a true gardener would never do!), and I don't know what kind of plant this is ... I know it's some kind of lily grass, but can't remember the name.

I bought it last winter and was so pleased that it survived.  Another one that just needs water to be happy. 

I hope I haven't given the impression that I don't love gardening ... because I do enjoy it, very much.  I am in my glory when I'm digging in the dirt and "tending" my flowers ... it's like therapy and one of my most favorite things to do when I'm not out taking pictures.  In fact, I've tried to instill a love of gardening in our granddaughter Avery Grace, since she was old enough to know what a flower is.  Here she is helping her great-granddaddy plant tomatoes when she was four ...

And planting Morning Glory seeds when she was five ... 

I have a very special gardening project that I'm looking forward to doing with Avery this coming weekend. So, perhaps, I am a gardener, after all ...  at heart, if not in the most literal sense.  And isn't that even better?

  

It's Gonna be a Long, Hot Summer

It seems that our long-awaited Spring didn't last as long as I had hoped (but then, it never does). Our April temperatures have been hovering in the mid-to-upper 80s, heralding a long, hot summer ahead for Mississippi.

In anticipation of the summer heat and humidity, I visited a nursery in Jackson yesterday and bought a few heat-resistant plants for our courtyard. I came home and planted them, and was so pleased with the results of my hard work that I decided to capture some pictures of the flowers in all their glory, before the heat starts taking its toll on them.

I have always loved Impatiens, but have never had a yard shady enough for them. This Spring, I was delighted to hear about a new type of Impatiens called Sunpatiens, which are supposed to thrive in hot, sunny conditions. I planted several of them in the area of the courtyard that gets sun most of the day, and hope they will be happy in their new home. I'm trying to think positive about them surviving the summer, but I can already tell that they are going to need watering twice a day. Time will tell, I guess.

My Snapdragons are still doing well, and I mixed some of the Sunpatiens in with them.

You can click on the pictures to enlarge them if you'd like to get a closer look ...

I bought two Yellow Lantana plants for my urns ...

And a large Surfina Wild Plum Petunia plant that will, hopefully, cascade over the waterfall.

Harry the Heron seems to approve ...

Another new addition is this bright cobalt planter and Asparagus Fern ...

I love Asparagus Ferns, and have several scattered around the courtyard. They are perennials and thrive during our hot Mississippi summers.

The jury is still out on the Sunpatiens, though. I'll let you know the verdict.

Out with the Old, In with the New!

This is a follow up to my story yesterday about the toll the extreme summer heat has taken on some of the flowers in our courtyard. If you would like to read that post you can click here. And now for "the rest of the story."

You may recall that my red Verbena was languishing on what I call "death row" (a place where my plants go when they are scraggly, faded, and sad looking).

I couldn't stand to watch their suffering any longer, and bought some "Chapel Hill Gold" Lantana plants to replace the Verbena.

Late yesterday afternoon some dark clouds started rolling in and I took advantage of the sun screen and went out to plant the Lantana.

It was painful to have to pull up the Verbena plants. They had been so pretty and had really struggled to be "good flowers," but they were no match for our sizzling Mississippi temperatures hovering close to the 100-degree mark for several days in a row. Perhaps they will be given a "new lease on life" when they reach the landfill.

I would like to think of them reviving themselves and standing tall and proud, their bold red blossoms beautifying their final resting place. Sorry, I tend to get emotional about losing my "death row" plants.

Oh, well ... as they say, "Out with the old, in with the new!"

And here are the Lantanas in their new home. Is it my imagination, or is that a welcoming smile on Harry the Heron's face? And look at that frog beside the pond in the background on the left. I think he looks kind of happy to see some new flowers, too!

Remember the pink Verbena (from yesterday's post) that was languishing away in the urn?

I had a couple of Lantanas left, so I "recycled" the pink Verbena, too.

I love it when a plan comes together, and I'm very pleased with my new flower bed. I just hope the Lantana remembers the "Promised Performance" pledge on their tags ...

... Because I surely don't want them to end up "you know where."

And to give them a little extra "encouragement," I couldn't resist adding this little sign.

Thou Shalt Not Whine About the Heat

I have a little wooden plaque prominently displayed above my cooktop in my kitchen where I can see it everyday.

It reads:

I wish I could say that I am a faithful follower of that rule, but I have to confess that I have been known to whine "every now and then" ... and it seems that "every now and then" has become more and more often now that summer has arrived, bringing temperatures in the mid-90s and heat indexes hovering around 115.

I've been practically hibernating the past couple of weeks, only going outside to water my plants on our porch, and to watch the flowers planted around our courtyard slowly fade and wither under the sizzling June sunshine. It's as if they are on "death row," just serving their time until the inevitable happens -- I can't stand looking at their little yellowed leaves and scraggly blossoms any longer and pull them up!

I braved the noonday sun yesterday (97-degree high/117-degree heat index) to capture some pictures of my struggling red Verbena patch.

It doesn't look so bad from a distance ...

But when you look more closely, you see that it's really suffering.

Especially when you consider that it looked like this just a couple of weeks ago:

And, sad to say, I've already put some pink Verbena that was in one of my urns out of its misery, and this poor little "death row" plant's days are numbered, too.

This is the way it looked a couple of weeks ago, bless its heart:

When I looked out the window yesterday morning at the red Verbena, it seemed to be gasping for breath and begging for mercy, so I decided it was time to put it out of its misery, too.

While I was out running some errands, I stopped by Home Depot and was delighted to see a cart filled with a new shipment of "Chapel Hill Gold" Lantana plants that they hadn't even had time to price yet. They looked so fresh and GREEN and healthy, and I just couldn't leave them there. I thought they would be perfect to replace the Verbena.

I didn't get the Lantana planted yesterday, but hope to this afternoon when it cools off a little (hopefully, without too much whining about the heat, and before dark!).

Oh, and did you notice what it says on the tag? It says, "Promised Performance." I wonder if that means it will be granted a pardon before reaching "death row?"

I turned the tag over to read the planting information, and discovered that the sale of those Lantana plants supports the Sweet Melissa Lung Transplant Fund. I was pleased to be able to contribute in a small way and thought that was very nice lagniappe. If you would like to read Melissa's story, you can click on the link.

As I continued to read the "fine print" on the back of the tag, I also learned that "Asexual reproduction of plants protected by the Plant Patent Act is prohibited." So, remember that the next time you think about reproducing your plants. You don't want to end up on death row, too! That would result in some major whining, I think.