Stuck Between A Rock and A Hard Place and GBBD

Well, this isn't really a rock, but it is a hard place. This poor little Columbine grew from a deposited seed a few years ago. I have tried to pull many times. Look at it....it looks like it is looking at me saying---help me



When it was small I thought I could easily slide it out, thinking the root structure was not too large. Well, it couldn't be pulled and I haven't had the heart to kill it. So every year, I have a very pretty Aquilegia growing in the crack of the sidewalk and the house.




Miss Bateman, my bargain Clematis is starting to bloom. I have her behind the mailbox and she seems to be very happy.
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More blooms opening every day



For those who didn't know what we in the South have been talking in reference to the pollen....here are a few examples. This is in front of my garage door....after it rained.


The yellow is the pine pollen from the Loblolly Pine primarily.  The fuzzy 'stuff' is the catkins from the oaks.   It is mostly the oak pollen that people have trouble with, though the pine pollen is more visible.




After a rain is puddles and settles in many places.  With hope another rain will finish off the high volume of pollen that is lingering.


And so for this April Garden Bloggers Bloom Day I welcome the first of the Tradescantia that is already blooming in my garden.  Please visit Carol  at May Dreams Gardens for more GBBD postings.







words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Laissez-faire Isn't French for Lazy Gardener

When Helen visited last week she asked about what kind of gardener I was and I didn't have a concise answer. While posting about the visit I said I had a bit of a laissez faire approach to my garden. I think of it as working WITH Mother Nature instead of trying to grow and manage things that do not do well in my garden. I want less work, not more!

While trying to compose this posting I looked out the door noticing some movement on the deck. At first it was a little Carolina Wren. These little birds are so cute...so I got my camera. ready set.....he flew away. Why? Because someone else was also on the deck!!!! Rotten little bugger!




Back to the epistle on being a laissez faire gardener............hand me a BB gun. (I don't have a BB gun).
The deck garden is the main subject of my posting. I have a large side deck 18 feet by 12 feet (?) and the garden is next to the deck along the house. When we built the addition to the house and replaced the old deck, I redid this garden. That was 1999. In 2003 we had Hurricane Isabel flood the area. There have been numerous Nor'easters that bring in high water as well. Here is a photo from before we had the bulkhead replaced. (that is another story unto itself)

This bed is packed full with blooms...and a few weeds. Here it is lush and full with Echinacea purpurea, Rudbeckia ssp., Tradescantia 'Purple Heart', Kalimeris pinnatifida- Japanese Aster, Belamcanda chinensis- Blackberry lily, and two Crape Myrtle- Chickasaw which is a small one and Peppermint Lace.

After the bulkhead was replaced the Purple Heart disappeared...something about having heavy equipment rolling over it...?
Last summer...you can see the Blackeyed Susans are taking over...

I won a Bluebird box --currently being used by a House Wren. Not super attractive, but the birds don't mind.

Here is what the garden looks like now...with a reluctant Newton sitting next to it for scale.


The Japanese Asters are always first to bloom and will bloom all season, a really nice white filler in any garden.

Way in the back, against the house there are some Elephant Ears that could stand some attention... along with a myriad of weeds. I am only showing you this for educational purposes... not an area one wants people to see.......
but here you go--
lots of weeds with tiny Elephant Ears.
You may ask why there are so many weeds allowed back there?
Once the garden starts growing in April I do not go in there............

Viva the laissez faire approach!! Does anyone see the snake????

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day- May 2009

Hard to believe it is already halfway into the month of May. In the world of garden bloggers, we set aside the 15th of each month to profile what is blooming and share it through Carol at May Dreams Gardens--so head over there to see who else is posting their lovely blooms for the month of May.

Most of my blooms have been posted in the last few days...I have such a crazy schedule right now that I didn't even realize it was the 15th!! Most of my garden is still dominated by the color purple....from the Tradescantia to the Lavandula angustifolia 'Munstead' (a new addition and in a container on the deck)




Some of the showiest plants in the garden are foliage color. Here is an update on the containers from the front porch.... Waiting for the hidden Bronze Fennel to spurt....



In the front garden, under the dining room windows, I have mostly azaleas, hosta, Heuchera, Artemesia 'Silver Queen'. I added a Weigela 'French Lace' that was on the bargain table in the fall. Seems to be happy there. Nestled next to the Weigela is a new Japanese Painted Fern, Athyrium niponicum Pictum.



So Happy Bloom Day to everyone........we are off to another college graduation. Lots of kids to be proud of this spring!!

From One Sea of Purple and Yellow to Another

This past weekend was graduation at James Madison University. We have one daughter who graduated Friday evening with her Masters and our other daughter graduated on Saturday morning with her undergrad degree.
When one starts a special weekend in Harrisonburg the first stop should always be 'The Little Grill'. It is a wonderful co-op grill, very college town atmosphere. We went on Thursday night which is breakfast night. Lots of fun.


Hippies, pay heed to the sign. No trip to Harrisonburg is complete without a trip to Kline's!!!

Flavor of the week this week was Raspberry.

Friday evening graduation ceremony was for those completing Masters and Doctorate degrees. With all the rains that have been gracing the area, luckily it was indoors in the Convocation Center. I see my sweet cherub in this photo.....

Here she is lined up to receive her diploma....

Saturday morning-- still no rain, but now we are outside in Bridgeforth Stadium. And the river of purple begins............


And yes, I can see my second little cherub in this photo......



We were lucky and had no rain for both the big ceremony in the stadium as well as the college ceremony on Hillside field.
It was a wonderful weekend, and a little bittersweet. My babies have both graduated. We are enormously proud of both of them. When we got home it looks as if the garden was celebrating JMU purple and yellow as well.


Lots of Spiderwort, Tradescantia, mixed with Salvia 'Maynight', Stringy stonecrop, Wallflower, and Dusty Miller.


I have both the Tradescantia virginica and Tradescantia 'Sweet Kate' --makes for a nice combination of color.



A nice purple phlox (from a seed mix packet the girls brought back from Ireland) and an Iris pseudacorus.

Will have more photos of garden blooms later in the week.

Getting Ready for Our Plant Sale

Yesterday and today I am in the Learning Garden getting ready for our sale this weekend. We get a lot of donations from folks in the community, so the selection is always varied. In past years I obsessed about whether we had enough plants. Every year, it works out. So I am not getting too worked up this year....am I getting wiser as I get older?!?!
After things were set up yesterday I walked around the garden with the camera. The Rhododendrons are starting to pop like popcorn. Each one is a new favorite as I walk through the Rhododendron section........




From the Rhodie section I went past our trellises that have lots of blooms.




The Chionanthus virginicus is in bloom for the sale...always a bonus!


And one of the Amsonia...


The various Aquilegia are also showing off-


Azaleas are also putting on a great show at this time... Beautiful settings...full of color.


One of my favorite azaleas is Rhododendron 'White Rosebud' ('Kehr's White rosebud')



I finished my walk through the Shade Garden... love the combination of foliage contrasts. Tradescantia 'Sweet Kate' Spider wort and Polygontum odoratum 'Variegatum' Solomon's Seal.



HAPPY MAY!!!!