Winter Observations

I am outside every day, multiple times a day with the dogs. This time of year I see so many different things. Looking down, along the house I see that I have an oakleaf hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia growing along the foundation of the house. This area gets water from the condensation pipe from the AC, so it makes a nice place to try and root new shrubs. I thought I had dug up the whole shrub and put it in a new place, guess not. 

Hydrangea quercifolia

Moss covers the ground in this area in a thick patch. Have you ever looked closely at a patch of moss? It is quite delightful. 

I have wildflowers/volunteers that sprout up throughout the garden and into the woods. I think this is Solidago sp. Goldenrod. The pollinators love it and I don't mind volunteers.

Solidago sp.

Continuing looking at the ground, I see lots of nuts - hickory nuts and acorns are so plentiful that one could fall on the hillside, it is like walking on marbles. 

hickory nut

Some of my daffodils are emerging through the leaves. I moved these out of a container last year in the spring. Narcissus 'Hawera', pretty petit blooms. 

Daffodils 

As I walk through the yard I catch the fragrance of a new bloom. Currently the prevailing fragrance is from my flowering apricot, Prunus mume 'Hokkai bungo'. It has a lovely hint of cinnamon in its fragrance, I really enjoy it. The honey bees enjoy it as well.

Prunus mume 'Hokkai bungo'

No, this wasn't the apricot, the Edgeworthia chrysantha is starting to open! It will bloom now through March. The fragrance is wonderful.  

Edgeworthia chrysantha

Look up and look down, you never know what you will find. We have a lot of fallen branches in the woods, some are covered with lichen and fungus, almost other worldly. 

Jelly fungus mushroom

Jelly fungus and lichen

Also growing low are my Hellebores, this one is Pink Frost. It is one of my earliest ones to bloom. Helleborus x ballardiae HGC 'Pink Frost'- beautiful buds, almost open.

Pink Frost

My last observation for this post is a crazy orange flower, or what is left of a flower on my gardenia. Gardenia jasminoides 'Frostproof'. As you know, the blooms on gardenias are white. This orange coloring caught my eye. Not sure what happened to give off this dark orange color, but will watch for others in future years to see if it happens again.

Gardenia jasminoides 'Frostproof'

What do you see in the garden this time of year? Look closely, you might find something amazing!

©Copyright 2024 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

The Aftermath, The Good, and a Little Cuckoo

This past Monday (two days ago) we had a lot of rain in a very short period of time.  It was 2 1/2 inches in about 45 minutes.  Since it was late in the evening we had to wait until the next morning to see what this gully-washer did.  For those who are new to the blog, I live on a sloped lot.    The top of the street the elevation is 480 feet above sea level, the house is about 465 ft. and the lake is at 440 ft.  Downhill all the way to the lake.   The picture below shows a lot of the washout.  Lost a lot of the leaf litter and a lot of the top layer of soil.   The pathway lost a lot of mulch too.  

 There are a lot of tunnels throughout the hillside.  Who makes them?  Moles? Snakes? Chipmunks? Lizards? Who knows.  I have lost a few Echinacea but not much else, so not 100% sure it is Moles & their little friends the Voles.

This is a Canna  Calla (oops) Lily that is just about to bloom....see all the roots exposed?  There were a lot of roots exposed all through the garden.

 Poor little borage had all its soil washed away, all that was left was the potting mix and the plant laying on top of the soil.   I replanted it quickly.  Crossing my fingers on it.

 The other little babies that got carried away by the rushing water were some small Blackberry Lilies, Belamcanda chinensis.  These little guys got replanted tonight.   I shoveled some washed out soil over the exposed roots as well.  Once I get back from Asheville I will figure out what else I need to do.

As for the Gardenia bush that fell over....I dug it up and replanted it.  There was no root damage.  It was just top heavy.  I pruned it back a good bit and anchored it with a couple heavy rocks from the driveway.  Will have to keep it pruned lower until the root system is larger and stronger.

Now for the good....a quick overview of the goodies in the garden.

Physocarpus opulifolius 'Coppertina'

Astilbe 

Callirhoe involucrata Winecups

Knockout Rose

 The red roses are blooming and really pretty...but I have to show you, it is a small shrub.   At this point I am just glad the deer haven't eaten it!

 Catmint, Nepeta racemosa Walker's Low is truly a pollinator magnet.  The activity was amazing!  

Lots of bumblebees, nary a honey bee. 

Lucky for me, the Yorktown Onion didn't get washed away, it was right next to the water's pathway.  

The Edgeworthia chrysantha are super happy.  Love their large leaves.  

And finally, a little Cuckoo...made an ID on a bird that we have heard in the trees, and finally today, I SAW IT!!  To top it off...I got a picture too.  This is a Yellow Billed Cuckoo.  Here is the sound he makes.

Tomorrow I leave for Asheville for the Garden Bloggers Spring Fling.  Stay tuned for updates!!


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

Who Is Knocking Over My Shrubs??

This past weekend after doing some other yard work I walked around the yard to see what was blooming and how everything was growing.  Imagine my surprise when I saw this---

Not sure what you are looking at?  It is a Gardenia 'Frostproof' shrub, about 3 feet tall and wide.....falling out of the ground.  There are no broken stems, the soil around the rootball is not loose, it is a total mystery.
Here is a closer view--

The Gardenia up the hill from it has a parting of the center of the bush, but this one is over on its side.

These are almost two years old shrubs and have been very happy in this spot in the garden.  You may remember when  I had to replace another one closer to the front door.  The comparison from newly planted to first year's growth is here.
I am not sure about how to go about fixing this planting.   I am hoping to try on Wednesday to dig around it and settle the shrub back into the ground.   After I saw the falling over shrub we have had a couple days of rain, so  I don't want to get into the mud.  I will let it dry out a little.  My first thought is to dig up the one side and see if I can straighten it without displacing all of the root ball.  If that doesn't work, I will have to dig up the whole  shrub, make a good hole, and replant it.  Since this is on the hillside it will be tricky doing this.  Just standing in the bed behind the gardenias to see if I could figure out how to go about correcting it, I had anole jump on me while trying to get away from me.  I stepped right into his leap.  auggh.  Stay tuned for updates.

 Near one of my newer azalea plantings in the front woods is one of my little native finds.  Striped wintergreen or Striped Pipsissewa, Chimaphila maculata is blooming.  Such a cute little bloom.
When this was first discovered in my yard, I posted it, asking for help with an ID.  Daricia from A Charlotte Garden, was quick with an answer.   This week is the Garden Blogger's Spring Fling.  I will not only get to meet Daricia face to face, we will be roommates!  It is going to be a great weekend.

I do want to update you all on the septic field wildflowers....some are finally coming up and showing their pretty colors.   The Gaillardia is in the front part of our property and the septic field is across the street.

Blue cornflower Centaurea cyanus

 A close up of the few Blue cornflowers in the 'meadow'

 And the true view....we are having lots of rain, so hopefully more will pop in the coming weeks.

And my newest addition to the garden is blooming-- my Yorktown Onion.

For those who will be in Asheville, see you there!  

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

Fantastic Foliage Follow Up

First time for me to participate in the foliage postings that are hosted by Pam at Digging.  I love foliage variation in the garden.
The walkway to the front door is lined with Acorus gramineus 'Ogon', Sweet Flag Grass.   It is in bloom right now.

Many of the shrubs around the house are Gardenia 'Frost Proof'.  The deer leave them alone and I love the blooms.  Hoping it blooms a lot more this year.

 Many of the plants along the lower side of our property have color and foliage interest.    We have no neighbors now, but I imagine there will be someone in the future.  It is my intent to have as many mature evergreen shrubs and trees along the property line as I can.    One of the newest additions is Callitropsis glabra 'Blue Ice'.  Great blue foliage and red stems, gorgeous!   At maturity should be about 25 feet tall and 10 feet wide.

 Nicely complementing the Blue Ice is Loropetalum 'Ever Red'.  I shared the flowers in the last post, check out this burgundy foliage!  Such a win win plant. It should be about 6 x 6 feet. So far the deer have left it alone, hope that continues.

Another blue foliage tree flanks the other side of the Loropetalum.  This one is Cupressus Arizonica var. glabra 'Carolina Sapphire'.  A small tree now, but will be a light feathery blue pyramid.  It will grow 30- 40 feet tall and about 6- 10 feet wide.  Both blue trees are about 4 feet tall right now and kind of thinly branched, but give them a few years.

Another colorful plant is the Chameacyparis pisifera 'Vintage Gold'. Similar to Gold Mop cypress but this one is supposed to stay about 3-5 feet tall.  The foliage is more finely cut than Gold Mop.  Since this is along the open side, if it grows taller, it is fine, there is plenty of room.

Another yellow hued shrub is Thuja plicata 'Goldy'. It is supposed to get 15- 20 feet tall and 8-10 feet wide.  When all these plants are young, the line of them looks a little sparse.  I am giving them all the room they need to be a full glorious specimen.  Goldy has had a bit of burn (winter? or dogs?) but am hoping it will take off this year.

Looking from 'Goldy' back along the line you see lots of color.  Most of the color is foliage.  Gotta love it!

Our property line is at the edge of the 'wild' on the right.  The more these trees and shrubs grow, the better defined our side yard will be.

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

Growth, Buds, and Sparkles

I had to share this tiny bit of growth, this little bud, this emerging leaf from my tiny crabapple tree.  This is one of the watercolor brush sized trees planted last month.   It is alive!  It is growing!    I had been hauling water up the driveway to take care of all these little babies.  Thank goodness we have had some good rains to help as well. 

Also growing nicely is the Quince...I am not asking for gangbusters right now, just growth.   It feels like spring here in South Carolina.  I am enjoying working outside as much as possilbe.  What a change from last winter when we were buried in snow.  I will take spring awakening anytime! 

Right next to the Quince is this fun little mushroom.  Looks like someone has been eating the edges of it.  The gills are so neat.

Winter's sweet fragrances are in the breeze.  My Edgeworthia chrysantha is just starting to open.  I love its fragrance and the bright sunny little blooms on the bare stems are just super.  Isn't this great against the clear blue sky? 

 While in the backyard I checked the Hellebores....still waiting to open, the buds getting larger and taller.  I can't wait for them to open.  Last year they were kind of late too.....it might be the variety, though last year I thought it was late because I had moved them. 

 Just down the hill a little is my one Witch hazel.  She is starting to open, I really like the shape of the bloom and this variety is more pink-ish orange.  It is Hamamelis x intermedia  'Feuerzauber'.  I hope to find a good native to put in the edge of the woods out front.  Would love to have that clove scent wafting on the wind. 

 After some good thunderstorms, yes I know, in January! I found a lot of limbs in the garden.  This one was especially interesting.    There are so many fungi and lichen on the trees in our area.  Wonder why?

 These brown specimen are kind of gooey looking aren't they?

A walk around the backyard is like a treasure hunt.  So many treasures... look at how sparkly the Muhly grass is in the sunshine.   It is hard to capture the twinkling of the seedheads in the breeze.  So happy I have this grass in my garden.

Another great find in the walk around was all these great berries on my Wax myrtles.  Well, one of my Wax myrtles...Myrica cerifera is dioecious, meaning male and female plants.  Thankfully I have at least one female.  The bayberries are a good food source for the birds.  *Fun fact- Myrica californica is monoecious.  It has both male and female flowers on one plant.

Also getting ready to open to its full glory is my Blue Leaf Isu, Distylium myricoides.  It is an evergreen Chinese Witch hazel.  This was a great happenstance --- I came upon this plant at the nursery while in bloom....had to have it.  Stay tuned for more photos as it opens.

Finally a little rearranging in the landscape.  I have had a section in my front garden that nothing has done well.  Could the soil be bad there?   Maybe this is where paintbrushes were cleaned?  Who knows.  I have had three Gardenias 'Frostproof' die in this area.  Finally have one replacement gardenia that is doing well, but it is off center.  The Nandina domestica 'Blush Pink' was another gardenia replacement.  Well, I got some new garden soil and dug out the soil that was there.  I moved the remaining gardenia and added two Loropetalum 'Daruma' from the back slope by the lake.  The Loropetalum wasn't blooming where it was, so moving it should be a good idea. 

See how large the other Gardenia 'Frostproof' are?  They are happy......

BEFORE

AFTER

The Loropetalum will grow to about 3- 4 feet tall and about the same width.  With the reddish purples in the stonework on the front of the house, I think the summer colors of the Loropetalum will be a nice repeat of color. 
Tomorrow?  Mulch hauling..... I am switching out the pinestraw mulch in the beds around the house to hardwood mulch.  As the hardwood breaks down it will help amend  the clay soil.  It won't be done in one day...but it will be a start. 


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