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Sunday, March 31, 2013

Garden Bloggers are The Best

Marian's Prunus mume 'Hokkai Bungo'
lovely cinnamon fragrance!
Hi!  Remember me?  Yes, I know it has been a while since posting my last missive.   Besides having had company for the last two weeks, I have been busy with driving (riding) to various military installations for a new ID card, organizing volunteers for our Home and Garden Show, and learning to play bridge.  One of the ladies in our neighborhood is teaching many of our neighborhood residents.  It has been fun so far.
Before life got all crazy busy I had the pleasure of visiting Marian, Hortiopia, who lives in Greenville, a short hour away.
Her front garden is on a slope and in the shade, quite lovely and full of many shade loving plants.  Marian, ever the generous garden, shared a big clump of Hellebores with me.  Wow!  Her back yard borders the Reedy River and has a lot of great wildlife.  Visit her blog to see more of her wonderful garden.

My visit was to talk about blogging as Marian is relatively new in the blogging world.  It was a nice visit, just like two friends getting together for lunch and a walk about the garden.   We talked gardens, birds (both love watching the birds), blogging, books, and the water we each live on.
Marian has the loveliest collection of gardening books.   Here she is next to the best collection of gardening books I have seen.   Again, this generous lady gave me a book by a friend of hers.   She was down to a precious few copies, and she shared one with me.

 Down to Earth a book  by Margot Rochester, written and published not too long before she passed away.  I have enjoyed reading through her book, wanting each plant she mentions.  I have added some Mexican Sunflowers to my garden -- ordered some seeds last month-- thanks to Marian and Margot.  

We hope to get together often --love having more garden bloggers close by!  
As you can see there are two books in the above photo.  Low Impact Low Carbon Gardening, a winning from Donna at Gardens Eye View.  Donna lives in Central New York, so her garden zone is quite different than mine, I thoroughly enjoy reading her blog.  Thanks Donna!  

Since my last post spring has come and then stalled here in South Carolina.    Many blooms have opened.  My Pieris japonica 'Valley Rose' has lovely pink buds and light pink blooms.  What a great shrub, while it is only about 8 inches tall, I have grand hopes for it in future years.

 Lots of daffodils are blooming, many of the white ones are blooming now.  Below is Narcissus 'White Marvel'  -- I was hoping I had it timed to bloom the same time the white fringe tree, Chionanthus retusus is blooming.   If the tree blooms soon I will have succeeded...though it doesn't look close to bloom time.

The banished to the garage Clivia miniata is in full bloom now.  Soon the warmer weather will allow me to repot it minus the nest of ants that caused it to be banished.

This is the time of year that the Loropetalum shrubs are blooming.   I wanted to share the difference of the two colors I have in the garden.  The one on the left is L. 'Ever Red' with its red blooms and burgundy foliage, love it!  The one on the right is L. Daruma, pink blooms and a green/red foliage, depending on how mature the leaf.

A spring post wouldn't be complete without the glorious Crocus blooming with the sun shining down, making them glow.   Crocus tommasinianus 'Ruby Giant'

Oh, remember the Home and Garden Show I mentioned earlier?  Well, I met another garden blogger at the show.  David from Pinewood Cottage Garden stopped by our Master Gardener booth and introduced himself.  What fun!!  We had talked of getting together, but I was surprised when he walked up and asked if I was the Queen of Seaford!  After a short conversation we agreed to visit each other's gardens once the weather allows spring to come into full swing.
I am sure spring is here...or very close.  I have found a number of ferns starting to emerge.  I believe this one is Woodwardia virginica, Virginia Chainfern.


Speaking of Virginia, below is one of the two Red Buckeye's  I brought with me from Seaford.  Both are doing well though this one looks as though it is going to bloom!  I await its bloom -- think it is going to be a hummingbird magnet!   Aesculus pavia

A new bulb in my garden is a miniature tulip.... Tulipa turkestanica, is blooming now.

Another garden blogger I have been planning to meet in Spartanburg is DJ from Meander Mountain.  DJ and Julie (Growing Days) and I have talked about a visit to Hatcher Gardens.  Garden blogging friends from the last fling getting together sounds like a good time doesn't it?

Our Red headed Woodpecker is a frequent visitor this winter.  Lately there are two.....doing a lot of fluttering around.  Could baby woodpeckers be coming?


On my way home from Marian's house I saw this ugly guy at the stop sign.  You will be happy that I cropped the photo to eliminate the road kill he and his buddy were working on.   These birds do a good job of cleaning up along the roadways.

As I said in an earlier post,  I will be working by way around to your blogs, catching up on my reading.   Time to get back into the routine of posting and reading.  I have missed you all.


©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

46 comments:

  1. Hi Janet! What fun you've been having. Sounds like there are tons of bloggers in SC so when is the fling coming there???? Skeeter and I would love to come and visit. Glad you showed the difference in the fringe flower. Very neat.

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    1. Tina, I have been having a good time. I am not sure when the Fling will be in SC. This year San Fran, next year Portland, then Toronto.

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  2. Thanks for catching us up on what you've been up to. Garden Bloggers are the best! It sounds like you have had a grand time meeting folks.

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    1. Alison, Glad you stopped by to see what I have been up to. I look forward to the next fling to meet more folks...like you!

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  3. A cheerful and sociable post. It's exciting when one comes across fellow bloggers. Specially like your white daffodil and little tulips.

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    1. Lucy, thanks so much. It has been fun getting to know bloggers in person. Great folks. I am thrilled with this little tulip, hope it does well again next year.

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  4. Janet--thanks for giving me a hand with the blogging and including me in your circle of friends--you are the generous one! Looking forward to our next adventure.

    I'm so glad you mentioned the red buckeye. I had a couple of these shade superstars in my previous garden and need to add them to the "must have" list.

    See you soon, I hope!

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    1. Marian, Thank you!!! I look forward to another adventure too. I know you got a couple Red Buckeyes at the native plant sale, what a great little tree.

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  5. Hi, Janet, good to catch up with you! Sounds like you've had a great time lately--it's always fun to meet other bloggers. Love the blooms on your Pieris japonica--beautiful!

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    1. Rose, I need to get over to your blog! It is fun meeting up with garden bloggers.

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  6. Dear Janet,
    thank you for that lovely post - and the recommended garden books (at the moment I have "only" 3 long rows of them in Berlin (in Hildesheim are most of them - but though I will reduce them here a bit, - sending 3 big tomes of Gertrude Jekyll back to Hildesheim - I cannot resist interesting new ones :-)

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    1. Britta, I love gardening books, especially in the winter when we aren't out in the garden.

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  7. What a fun visit! And, you have been busy! But, spring is that way...it seems there are so many activities every weekend one has to pick and choose. Your red bud is much further along than mine. I think you put it right when you said that spring has stalled. Hopefully we are on the upswing now. Any chance you will be able to make it over to our Garden Expo next weekend?

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    1. Karin, I hope we get together soon, sorry I didn't get over to your Garden Expo. It has been a crazy spring.

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  8. Beautiful post! I must admit I am a lover of vultures.

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    1. Carolyn, the vultures do serve a purpose. Seems like spring is finally here.

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  9. How fun to have a fellow blogger so close by. Great pictures from your garden, I especially like 'White Marvel' and the T. turkestanica.

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    1. Jason, it is fun to have bloggers close by...though we all are as close as the internet. I love White Marvel! Timing isn't great with it and my Chionanthus retusus....which is finally blooming now that the daffs have faded.

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  10. That's a lot of books! Your little buckeye looks great. :o) I wanted to add one to my garden here but they're too big. How wonderful to meet another blogger!

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    1. Tammy, it is a lot of books. An amazing collection for sure. You think the Red Buckeye is too big? I think of it as a small tree. Oh well, depends on the space you have!!

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  11. Hi Janet,
    You have been busy! Lots of fun!
    Lovely blooms!
    I especially love the Clivia. I was hoping for a second bloom on mine, but I guess it is waiting until the weather is warm enough for me to haul it out to the porch.
    Have a wonderful week!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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    1. Lea, thanks! I am going to divide my Clivia this year...hope it doesn't get upset. ;-) hope you get/got a second bloom from yours.

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  12. Hi Janet! Great to see you back on again! (I was off for most of the winter, too, so am trying hard to catch up, as well.)

    You are a touch ahead of us - not surprisingly - based on your red buckeye. Mine just broke bud within the last few days and I am waiting anxiously to see if it was able to store enough energy last summer to share a few blooms with the world this spring. At least it survived!

    Our spring has been slow but, once it really got here, glorious! We're getting some rain, which feels thrilling, even when its really chilly outside. The gardening season has begun!

    Oh, and thanks for reminding me - I need to check my id expiration date! My driver's license is due next month, too!

    Cynthia, aka Gaia gardener

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    1. Cynthia, hi, good to know your first name! I have about a dozen of your posts to read through!! Hope your ID card didn't expire, what a hassle. The computers were down world wide when we drove the two hours to Ft. Gordon and then were greeted with rude people (surprise) so we went two hours to Ft. Jackson and completed the mission....and had nice folks to deal with. Since we don't usually go to military installations, having the ID card expired wasn't an issue except for health insurance.

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  13. oh those poor turkey vultures, they get such a bad rap due to their looks. I find them rather majestic if you don't look directly at their faces :) Glad to see you back. What luck to find so many other bloggers in your vicinity. It's great to chat via the internet but getting to see others gardens in person must be really wonderful.

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    1. Marguerite, they do have pretty ugly heads..no feathers!! It has been fun with bloggers close by.

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  14. I am behind reading due to work...you have been having fun with friends and watching your blooms...we had another foot of snow. Glad you like the book and thanks for the shout out my friend!!

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    1. Donna, I am still trying to catch up. So many great posts to read and other things to do as well. Thanks again for the book.

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  15. Thank you for stopping by my blog. I envy your blooms and colors and your meetings with other garden bloggers.

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    1. Lula, thanks for coming by here as well. I have been really surprised at how many blooms I have had all winter, love winter blooms.

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  16. Janet, how great to visit with Marian in her garden! And Margot, although I didn't know her well, was a treasure, and a wonderfully supportive gardener and teacher. Her essays are beautiful. I'll always treasure the memory of a dinner that Tim and I had with her (before she spoke at SCBG) where she was so encouraging about Tim's book project (now his lovely Wildflowers and Plant Communities book). Here was my post after we lost her: http://naturalgardening.blogspot.com/2008/10/thanks-margot.html

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    1. Lisa, how nice that you and Tim had interaction with Margot. I did go back and read your post. thanks. Margot did love her garden and it came through so well in her book.

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  17. So nice you are back and have so many wonderful photos. It is great you have a close blogging bud. I too have some around here, Jim from Art of Gardening is one. I think you know him too. I see him mostly with the National Buffalo Garden Festival stuff, but always stop in during Garden Walk Buffalo too. It was nice your new friend gave you a book. Love your bird shots. I never saw a Red Headed up here, even though they are in our area.

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    1. Donna, I am back, though still not as often as I used to be. Will it continue or will I start posting more? Who knows, just going with the flow. Yes, I remember meeting Jim.
      We sure had the Redheaded Woodpecker here all winter, fun to see.

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  18. "A spring post wouldn't be complete without the glorious Crocus blooming with the sun shining down"

    Definitely, spring is not here if this lovely crocus is not blooming.

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    1. Nelson, thanks for stopping by! I hope you too have lots of crocus in your garden.

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  19. I've missed your posts! What a fun visit you must have enjoyed with Marian. She seems like a kindred spirit. I thought I owned a lot of gardening books until I saw her collections--wow! Gardening friends are just wonderful, aren't they? I've never met a nicer group of people. I'm coveting your red buckeye...I think one needs to find a home in our garden! Ah, spring plant sales...I wonder how much trouble I can get into?! Hope to see you soon, Janet!

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    1. Julie, I have missed doing them! Marian is a kindred spirit. Hope we all can get together soon.

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  20. Love looking at the two different loropetalum blooms. Have you checked out the new Purple pixie dwarf variety from Southern Living? I'm loving it because I am always looking for smaller shrubs/ now maintenance ground covers for clients. Oh, and I have a Tuesday tree for you, but it's not Tuesday, sadly. Just posted it today - can you grow them? Maybe in a pot that you bring inside?

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    1. Diana, I do have Purple Pixie, received one from the Spring Fling and then Southern Living sent me another! Love it. I love your tree....will have to think about a posting. Yes, I would have to bring your tree in at least to the garage.

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  21. Hi Janet, I can almost hear you fizzing with enthusiasm over plants and gardeners alike! You are, as ever, a source of planting inspiration. I loved the flowers on the Loropetalum, not a plant I had ever come across, and lo, it could be the perfect extra plant for a border I am currently working on, very exciting - as you say, garden bloggers are the best!

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    1. Janet, It does energize one to meet up with fellow gardeners. I think a loropetalum would be a great addition to your garden... there are some that get quite large...12 feet or more...but there are others that are not so large.

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  22. Hi Janet, It is good to take some time off for other things. Sure sounds like you have been busy! It is great that you were able to get together with Marian. (I must try to visit her blog. I remember the early days of blogging. I hadn't a clue!) I love the dainty blooms of the Pieris japonica 'Valley Rose'. I was reading just this evening that Aesculus pavia are hardy here. I may have to watch for one on my spring nursery trips.

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    1. Jennifer, it was good to take time off though it wasn't planned. Hope you visit Marian's blog-- she had a lot of great information. You would love the Aesculus pavia, Red Buckeye....the hummingbirds love it.

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  23. YRH
    I had just disparaged the Pieris japonica growing in my garden because it wasn't living up to its press. Now I know why - I'm guilty of exceptional cruelty to a plant that deserves to grow in a warmer climate - yours is lovely. Sounds like you had a marvellous time with your blogging buddies - friends, plants, food - it doesn't get any better.
    Barbarapc

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    1. Barbarapc- sorry the Pieris doesn't do well in your northern climes. Hope you can find something to replace it that does better for you.
      thanks so much for stopping by.

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