Signs of Spring

I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted!  Of course, for a while there, nothing was happening in the garden, so each post would have been more or less a repeat of the last one.

But all of a sudden, Spring has Sprung!  New shoots and buds are appearing everywhere.

This little clump of daffodils somehow manages to survive getting flooded every year and reliably pops up in March -- encouraged, no doubt, by the metal daffodil staked into the ground to mark their location.

The Angel Trumpet I transplanted from the pot that fell apart to a half barrel is leafing like crazy.  I hope I get some blooms on it in the fall.

The Sam Houston peach is starting to put out blossoms.Hopefully this year the fruits won't get beaten by a hail storm like they did last year.

All of the Rose of Sharon bushes are leafing out, including this one on the west fence. This came with me as a cutting from a bush I had at my previous house.

This volunteer sapling is a bit of a mystery.  I have no idea what it is and can only assume it was "planted" by the birds that like to hang out around the Southern Wax Myrtle, in the midst of which it is growing.

I was going to hack it down a year of so back, but my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to let it grow and see how it does.  At this point it's about as high as the Wax Myrtle - 15 feet or so - and has deeply lobed leaves. 

Over by the utility boxes, the Homestead Verbena is spreading nicely across in front of the trellises that hide the utility boxes (and the brush pile).  It's also spreading the other direction, under the Vitex tree toward where we have the grape vine.  I love the purple flowers and so to the butterflies and bees, so wherever it wants to spread is okay by me :-)

That's it for today - I need to get out and weed -- the nutsedge is taking over the island beds!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.  Did you remember to move your clocks forward one hour last night?


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Signs of Spring

I had mentioned last week that I'm starting to see signs of spring in our back yard.  It's a dreary, dismal sort of day here in Texas but I got out with my camera this morning, to see what was going on.

First of all, here are some of the weeds - um, "lawn companions" - I was complaining about last week.

I *think* this is wild strawberry.  It grows rampantly along the side of the house in the soggy area that gets run off from our neighbor's roof.

Here's another photo - you can see just how rampant it is.  I don't mind it though, the birds seem to enjoy the teeny tiny berries it eventually gets on it.  

I'm not sure what this grassy plant is.  We only have it in the corner of the back garden closest to the bird feeders, so I think it may be growing from seeds that have either blown off the wall or been dropped by birds.  It's tufty and very fine and you can see here, it has lots of seed heads.  In fact, last weekend when it wasn't raining, there was a flock of sparrows out there, pecking the seeds from it.  it keeps coming up in the borders and containers too, but I just pull it out by hand before it gets out of control, as it has already done in the lawn.

On to more cheerful subjects, I'm letting this bramble type vine grow along the back, underneath the Southern Wax Myrtle.  Just recently it's become covered in pretty white flowers and I hope that berries will follow.  I'm sure the birds will enjoy it.

The native honeysuckle, Lonicera sempiverens, still looks rather puny but at least it's blooming.  I had thought it was too early for it to bloom, since it's a major hummingbird magnet, but I had forgotten about the hummingbirds' spring migration.  So really, it's right on time.

I haven't seen any hummers out there yet, but I'm going to put up a feeder this weekend and start keeping a watch for them.

The "Sam Houston" peach is blooming and beginning to leaf out.  I hope we don't get another freeze, like we did last year, and that we might be able to enjoy a peach or two this summer.

This is the original cutting of my Rose of Sharon that I bought over from my previous house.  I was happy to see green leaves sprouting all over it.  I have two others in different parts of the garden that are also starting to leaf and I'm especially pleased to see that the cutting I took from this one last year, and planted further along the wall to fill in a gap, is leafing too.  It's got a long way to go, being only a foot high, but I'm pretty confident that will grow well in the spot I chose for it (probably better than this one, which is getting crowded by the Wax Myrtle)

 
My husband's grape vine, a "Mars" table grape, is leafing out.  Eric pruned it back last year, so we're hoping for some vigorous growth and lots of grapes this year, as last year was very disappointing.

Other than this, we've got daffodils blooming, there's new growth appearing at the base of the Tropical Milkweed, the New Gold and White Gold lantana and the St. Bernard's lily by the waterfall.

And if it stops raining this weekend, I have some Purple Coneflowers and Black-Eyed Susan's to go in, as well as four new native milkweed plants that just arrived yesterday. 

Have a great weekend everyone.  I hope you're enjoying the Signs of Spring in your garden too. 

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Signs of Spring, Part Two

A couple of weeks ago I showed you that we had a few signs of spring in our garden. Well I think the garden was holding back, waiting for the official "First Day of Spring" to really let loose. 

The daffodils, encouraged perhaps by the metal yard art, burst into happy bloom.

The Sam Houston peach, which did nothing last year (I think perhaps we had one blossom on it), is covered in blossoms and now starting to leaf out.

Time will tell whether or not we actually get a peach or two this year as well. (I can hope, right?)

In the raised bed by the trellis, several asiatic lilies are coming up.  I forget which they are, so it will be a surprise when they bloom :-)

On the trellis itself, the Major Wheeler honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens, has been a huge disappointment since I planted it two years ago, with little growth and no blooms. But it looks like it may finally redeem itself this year.

For the first time ever, it has some of the red tubular blooms for which I purchased and planted it.  I'm also seeing other signs of new growth, so it may fill out this year. 

At the moment it consists of one single stalk twisting up the trellis and I was so close to digging it up.  These few blooms and signs of growth have earned it a reprieve! 

I do wonder if I'm wishing for too much though.  Everything I have read on it talks about how wonderful it is etc. etc., but it's supposedly hardy in zones 4 to 8 and as far as I know, I'm in zone 9B. Our summers may just be too much for it.  I'd be interested to hear from other Texas gardeners who have had success with it.

Elsewhere in the garden, I'm seeing new growth on the three Rose of Sharon bushes, and the milkweed in the front border is sprouting new growth at ground level. The grapevine is leafing out, as are the crepe myrtles and by the utility corner, the homestead verbena has started blooming (no photos of that yet).

Spring seems to be springing out all over - I love this time of year!

Finally, here's a little hint of what's to come in my next blog post....

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Signs of Spring

I got all excited last week when I noticed the daffodil bulbs I had planted just a few weeks ago were putting up leaves, which at the time were only an inch or two high.  One Friday evening, I took more photos because I was surprised at how quickly the leaves were growing.  They were now 6 to 8 inches high. As I snapped photos, I noticed a swelling bud on one of the plants.

 This morning started out a bit windy and cloudy, but as I surveyed the garden, I caught sight of a little ray of sunshine...

There are buds on a lot of the others now, but I'm not sure if I will get to see them as I leave the house before dawn to go to work and it's more or less dark by the time I get home at this time of year.  

That's what made this little gem so precious!


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Finally, something blooming that isn't a pansy!

I planted these gazanias, Gazania splendens, also known as Treasure Flower, last summer.  They provided me some nice late summer and fall color and I was rather expecting to have to wait for them to bloom much later in the season.

I'm pleasantly surprised that they made it through the winter unscathed by the freeze and that they have bloomed so early. According to the plant profile on Dave's Garden they bloom repeatedly, so I'm looking forward to enjoying them throughout the summer. I didn't know until today that they are called "Treasure Flower." But how appropriate - what a treasure they are.

Elsewhere in the garden, I seem to have more "almost flowers" than I do "actual flowers".

Here's Lilium "Dolly Madison" growing next to the utility boxes.

And here's the Hollyhock on the other side of the utility boxes. Unfortunately the one in the front garden got covered in rust and I had to pull it up, bag it and put it in the trash before it affected this one.

And finally, I picked up three Tropical Milkweeds over the weekend.  Two are this color, one is yellow.  So I'm ready, should the Monarchs choose to stop by this year.



Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

The Color Purple and Other Garden Pleasures

This week we've been blessed with perfect weather, bright moonlit nights and sunny days without the oppressive humidity we get in summer. Each day I've been eager to get home so I can wander round the garden and just enjoy it.

Sure, there are some areas that make me frown -- one bed that seems to spell d-e-a-t-h to whatever I plant in it, and areas of St. Augustine that are seriously compromised and may end up having to be resodded -- but there are other areas that make me smile.


For example, those little pansies I put out in the front garden before Christmas are still blooming. 

This is Matrix Purple with Red Wing just behind it to the right.

This one is Matrix Morpheus - I love this delicate color.

Unfortunately, the one below was also labeled Matrix Purple, although it's obviously a different variety, and quite lovely, I have no idea what it is. 

Among the other garden pleasures:

The Vitex tree is bursting back to life and covered with bright green leaves, as is the Rose of Sharon. (below)

On the patio are a variety of pass-alongs from a new friend I met through my garden blogging - thanks Ursula!   These will either get transplanted into the ground, if I have a suitable place ready for them, or re-potted into a more permanent home this weekend, since I have a long weekend off from my day job.

And finally, in addition to starting some seeds and transplanting or repotting some plants this weekend, I see an inviting corner of dappled sunlight with a comfy chair in my future!

 It doesn't get much better than that!

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Springtime Quotes for the Gardener

When I got home from work last night, I took a tentative stroll around the garden to see if anything else is coming to life in the back garden.  I was particularly worried about the Flame acanthus and the Rose of Sharon that I had brought from my previous house. 

That Rose of Sharon had done so well last summer, did it make it through the freeze?  As recently as this past weekend, I would have said "no" -- there were no apparent signs of life, in spite of all the other buds I was able to blog about last week.

But as I approached the Flame acanthus, I was thrilled to see some tiny specks of green down at ground level. I had hope it might be root hardy, and it seems it was.  But, more than that, closer inspection revealed little buds of green all over it.  I don't have to cut it back to the ground after all!

And the Rose of Sharon, apparently dead sticks last weekend, is now covered in leaf buds from top to bottom!

I didn't get any photos yesterday evening, but I'll be sure and take some photos to document their progress.

In celebration of the new life in my garden, I thought I'd share some favorite gardening quotes about spring.

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No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.  -- Proverb

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

I love spring everywhere, but if I could choose, I would always greet it in a garden. -- Ruth Stout

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. -- Anne Bradstreet

Yesterday the twig was brown and bare;
To-day the glint of green is there;
Tomorrow will be leaflets spare;
I know no thing so wondrous fair,
No miracle so strangely rare.
I wonder what will next be there!
-- L.H. Bailey

If you've never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom.  -- Terri Guillemets

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another.  The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.  -- Henry Van Dyke

In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.  -- Mark Twain

The naked earth is warm with Spring,
And with green grass and bursting trees
Leans to the sun's kiss glorying,
And quivers in the sunny breeze.
-- Julian Grenfell

Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments, not the composer.  -- Geoffrey B. Charlesworth

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I hope you enjoyed these quotes.  Do you have a favorite quote about spring? Add it here in the comments, so we can all share it.