Three Hundred and Counting on GBBD

This post is my 300th posting.  It is hard to believe I finally hit the 300 mark.  Since we moved to South Carolina I missed two anniversaries.  I started this blog in early December 2008, so am into my fourth year.  It has been a great adventure and I am really glad I started blogging.  The wonderful friends I meet every day in the blogging world are just amazing. 

This coming spring I will get to meet many of the garden bloggers at the Garden Bloggers Spring Fling!  It is like getting to meet a penpal face to face. 

Today is the 15th of the month and that means it is Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, please make sure to go to Carol's blog.  She has been hosting this great gathering for a long time!  I just checked her sidebar, GBBD has occured 81 times!  wow.

So let's see what is blooming in South Carolina -- First is my favorite spring weed.  This was taken along the roadside while walking the dogs.  (Three dogs, a camera, and holding my jacket as it was warmer than I thought) These little flowers have four petals, ranging from lavender to dark purple.  I have checked my sources and I do not have a firm ID.  I think it is in the Houstonia family, but it is blooming in February!  Any ideas? 

Bloom day in the winter wouldn't be complete without another shot of my lovely Daphne odora.   Her blooms are few now, but I have great expectations for winters to come!

The Muscari I planted last year are starting to bloom.  They are circling a sundial next to the driveway.  If you look closely you can see some black ears...my shadow, Newton.

I believe this is Narcissus 'Foresight' blooming now.  I have three daffodil blooms open right now...but just wait a month!!

The red flowering Quince has some swelling buds.  Can't wait for them to pop open.

Over the last two years we planted eight Osmanthus fragrans, Tea Olives.  These guys have been blooming since last fall!  Their fragrance is out of this world. 

Coming into the backyard you find the Edgeworthia chrysantha.  I shared the close-up before, but I wanted you to see the shrub in its lovely naked winter glory.  I love this plant.   In the summer the leaves are large, oval, kind of velvety, and blue green, shading the ferns under them.

Many of the hyacinths are coming up.  I have pink and dark pink. 

Here is another view of the Edgeworthia,(there are two)  along with the Sarcococca hookeriana, soon the Sarcococca will be blooming.  Right now the buds are plumping, getting ready to open.   I made this photo larger... see the umbrella looking thing in the background?  It houses some Carolina Jasmine and a native honeysuckle.  Can't wait for it to be covered!

Also under the Edgeworthia is my Hellebore 'Pink Frost', almost open.

Lower in the garden towards the water are the other Hellebore, they are really blooming a lot more than last year.

One plant that hasn't done gangbusters, yet, is my Pulmonaria longifolia  'Diana Clare'.  She is full of buds this year and one is open.

While I was walking around the garden I noticed  I had some company.  These little anoles will rustle the leaves and I think somebody is walking up on me.  They are fun.

Blooms that you don't think about as 'blooms' are on my shrubs.  This is the Myrica cerifera, Wax myrtle. 

And this is the Cryptomeria japonica 'Black Dragon', busting with flowers.

Some forsythia in our area are blooming and mine, well, one of the buds is just about open.  Spring is on its way.....

Thanks for joining me on this Bloom Day.  I appreciate all the comments you all share.  This blogging experience has been a wonderful trip...here's to 300+ more!!

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

OHHHHhh There is a Garden There

When we first moved in the foundation plantings were done.  Along this side of the house I have Abelia x grandiflora 'Little Richard' and Deutzia gracilis 'Nikko'.  I moved the 5 Hellebores into the back where there is more shade.  At first glance we thought there would be more shade along the side of the house, but apparently not.  In its place I planted the Peony I brought with me from Virginia.  I was able to divide it into three clumps....they should do well there.

Along the right hand edge of the photo you see the woods.  It is someone else's lot, but until sewer comes to our subdivision, no one can build on it as it doesn't perc.   Our property goes about 5 feet into the 'wild' at the bottom of the picture, gradually increasing as we move toward the cars and up to the street.  I think at the street our wild area is about 30 feet wide.   

 One of the first things I planted was a Jane Magnolia.   She is planted at the corner area of the grass up by the parking area.  While the soil doesn't look fabulous, it was workable and I added some amendments to the extra large hole Charlie dug.  Additionally top dressed with some compost.   We had a big rain and there was some washout around her stem.  Knowing that Jane is a multi-stemmed plant, I thought nothing of the two stems at the base.  HOWEVER, the more I looked and poked around, the more I was convinced it was two seperate plants.  I dug it up and gently seperated the roots from each other -- now I have two Jane Magnolias, both along the edge of the woods. 

Working along the edge of the grass, in what is really the edge of the wild, I planted a Ninebark,  Physocarpus opulifolious 'Coppertina'.  My hope was to put one in the front of the house near our copper topped bay window.  Our house front faces South and the Ninebark cannot handle quite that much heat, so it is tucked along the tree line.  It gets morning through midday sun and late afternoon it is in the shade.  Next to the Ninebark is a Viburnum x carlcephalum.  Its roots were girdled (I know I should have checked, lesson learned) so this was another plant whose roots were untangled and manipulated a good bit.  I keep an eye on this one, I think it will struggle a bit. 

Above you see the tree line that I am working along.  I reclaimed some of the woods.  I found some plants worth 'saving' and pulled a lot of Muscadine grape vines.  On the photo below you can see one of the wreaths I made hanging in the tree near my compost bins.  I found a small  Ostrya virginiana, Ironwood, tree.  It is really small--about a foot to foot and a half, but worth having in there.  I also found a small Euonymus americanus which makes Charlie happy, he keeps singing "Heart's A-bustin'". There was also a small dogwood that I was happy to find.  I did cut/pull some red maples and a few Sweetgum.  I have plenty in the yard of both, just don't want them on top of each other.  I also left in place a few Carolina Jasmine, Gelsemium sempervirens vines to add some color next spring.



Once all the pulling and planting was done, I used what bales of  pinestraw I had on hand and top dressed the beds.  It helps define the beds and as the leaves and pine needles fall, it will add more to the top of the forest floor and my beds.  I spread 6 bales (two days ago, spread lots more on other days). 

 Near my 'queenofseaford' on the above photo you can see the viburnum and to the left of it is the Ninebark, already losing its leaves.  I like having the natural area along side the house, I can look out the window above my little desk area and watch all the birds.

Looking up to the parking area there is another green shrub that we planted.  Viburnum tinus 'Spring Bouquet'.  It is a compact evergreen viburnum and will add a bit of screening once someone does decide to build on the next lot. 

Here is 'Little Jane' --the second stem from my first Magnolia.  In the landscape in the fall she kind of fades into the background.  Pulling her apart from the other Jane didn't seem to stress her too bad. 



More garden planning - planting coming soon!! Come again.

 words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Updates And A Promise

Thought I would give everyone an update on the 'color' in my front garden. The county guys came on Tuesday and told me they would be doing the work on Wednesday. They saved the piece of pipe that had been 'punctured' by another utility...looks more like they broke it! Pipe was cut and repaired, a new cleanout pipe put in, sand, topsoil, seed and straw placed. These guys were really great. I couldn't dig up my bulbs because of the frozen ground. Since they had the big bucket scooper they scooped my bulbs and set them off to the side. How great is that? They also made sure not to grass seed my garden bed area at the end. You can click on each photo to see the enlarged picture. I spent a little time this afternoon putting the bulbs back in the ground and scattered a few seeds that need the cold period.




And now for a promise of color for spring...the Carolina Jasmine on the back swingset is full of buds!

words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Multiple updates- prunings, transplants and blooms

Back in February I posted a dilemma as to whether I should prune my rose bush/ Clematis/ Passion Flower combination that is growing on the swing set. In this post I lamented about the birds having a place to perch and hide near the feeders. I was made aware of the Gulf Fritillary butterflies needing the Passiflora incarnata. Well, I trimmed down all the Passiflora but didn't Round up the cut ends. I will probably be sorry later in the season. I have nowhere else to put the vine that wouldn't get into the waterways.
So after many rose thorns and lots of tug-of-war struggles with the vines I went from this---



to this-




I didn't stop there- I have a Carolina Jasmine, Gelsemium sempervirens. I first put it on the side of the house, behind the elephant ears, Colocasia ssp. that grow very happily. The vine wanted more sunlight. As you can see, it moved around the corner of the house to reach for more light. Since it was going into the gutter, I needed to move it.





After looking around the yard, I found a great place for it to grow as large as it wants.





So now I will have more seasonal color on the wooden swing set.

Additional updates-- I bought seeds and some bulbs at the Maymont Home and Garden Show.. The lettuces are growing and the hyacinths and tulips are finally blooming. Here is the container I did of the tulips, hyacinth, crocus, and a Veronica repens. The tulip is Tulip "New Design" and is variegated and the hyacinth is Hyacinth "Chestnut Flower". Both flower colors are pinkish and quite sweet.


Last but not least is the lettuce crop-- Red Romaine and Red Sails. I have them in windowbox planters. For convience sake they are on the deck, also away from the bunnies as I have them perched on an upside down planter. I will thin them some more-- hard to do sometimes as I am happy for such germination.