Tra- la la la It's Spring!!

Today after walking the dogs I strolled around the garden, front and back.  Spring is happening so fast it seems you could find hourly changes!

Bright daffodils blooming screams springtime!  These are Narcissus 'Gold Metal' just opening up along the side of the house.   This is a nice bold yellow bloom.

As I ventured out back one of the Dogwoods we planted is starting to open.  Seems like overnight the bracts have started to open.

This Dicentra was just planted about 4 weeks ago and it is ready to bloom.  Very satifying!

Maybe I should have saved this photo for my exciting 'closer' photo.  It is exciting to me, this is one of the Hellebore planted last summer.  I had 5 Hellebore installed by the landscaper and I moved them into a bit more shade. (We thought the first area was going to be shadier, but it turned out there was a lot of afternoon sun)  None of them had bloomed this winter and I was getting concerned.  Well, this morning I found a bud that will soon open.  Gardening teaches you patience, sometimes over and over again if you are like me.

The Dogwood in the front yard is one that Mother Nature provided.  I wanted any and all dogwoods saved, this one is beside the driveway.

The native Carolina Jessamine, Gelsemium sempervirens, is starting to open in the woods in the front yard. 

The Coralbark Maple is putting forth great color.

Even the weeds are pretty.

This is the container by my front door, it has these pink Hyacinths, 'Jan Bos' and pink Snapdragons and an ivy called 'Pink 'n' Very Curly'.  Hoping the snaps rebloom while the Hyacinth is still blooming. 

Last, but not least, the Red Buckeye's progress..... think last spring this was a seed.....

Happy Spring to all--- enjoy!

©Copyright 2011 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Tuesday's Trees- Eastern White Pine, Pinus strobus

You might have guessed I was going to talk about Eastern White Pines this week.  After our trip to Missouri last week and seeing these trees lining the highway, I had to find out more about them. 
This photo is one I cropped a little more for you to see the layers of branching on the Pinus strobus.  As we drove along the highway I kept thinking that this branching structure reminded me of something....what was it?  Sure the tree would lend itself to be a nice Christmas tree. 

Then I remembered the Playmobil Christmas tree that we have in one of the Advent Calendars.   As you can see it has the layered branching structure like the Eastern White Pine.   Another interesting aspect of the White Pine is the layers of branching are arranged in a whorled fashion. 

Just like this.  Kind of funny.  Think the folks at Playmobil used this type of pine to model their tree?

Ok, back to the real world.  The bark on the White Pine is smooth, another thing that stood out to me, yes, as we zipped by along the highway.  The other pines I have profiled have rough deeply ridges blocks of bark. 

 Lucky for me there are Pinus strobus around here so I could get a few more photos.  This is a young specimen but you can see the whorled branch arrangement and the layered stacking of these whorls.

This is a native pine, one of the most valuable trees in the United States.  According to the Silvics Manual the native range includes New England, south through the Appalachian Mountains.  It is a rapid grower and is prized for its lumber as well as being used for Christmas trees!   It is one of the most planted trees in America. 

Pinus strobus is monoecious and female flowers appear when the tree is about 5- 10 years old but the male flowers don't show up until much later.  The female flowers are up in the upper crown of the tree.  Good seed production doesn't really happen until the tree is far more mature, upwards of 20- 30 years.   Even after good production the tree doesn't have good seed years every year.  This occurs about every 3- 5 years.   The VTech web fact sheet has a good photo of the cones.  The seeds are a good food source for many birds and animals.

Eastern White Pines are long lived trees, if left undisturbed.  Ages averaging 200 years is not uncommon though there are some that have been recorded to be 450 years old.   The form of this tree is pyramidal with a strong central leader.   Heights of 150 feet were common in virgin forests of white pine though average heights are 70 - 100 feet.   Two champion trees --one in Michigan is 158 feet tall and one in Maine, 147 feet tall. 

The limbs on this tree live longer than most pines, about  15 years.  Limbs persist on the tree for more than 25 years after they die.

This tree is recognized by its leaves, clustered in bunches of five slender, flexible needles.  According to the VTech sheet they can be 3 to 5 inches long. 

The leaves are arranged tightly along the limbs.   There is a bluish green coloring to the needles.

  There are lots more references on the web if you want to read more about this tree. 
Thanks for visiting another installment of the tree series.  Next week, another  tree.


©Copyright 2011 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Spring is in South Carolina!

Doesn't this piece of land look like it needs a little pizzazz?  This is our 1/2 acre across the street that has our drainage field for the septic.  I will leave most of it alone for that reason.  I still wanted to add some color.  So.....

Out comes the rototiller..

Charlie tilled a curved pathway along the front edge, near the road.  He did a number of passes to make the soil workable.  We left the grasses and other dead material, incorporating it into the soil.  

I recently bought 100+ daffodil bulbs and scattered them along the curved, tilled area.

I planted an early variety, a mid-season, and a later blooming daffodil.  I planted Narcissus 'Glen Cova', N. 'Osiris', N. 'Cheerfulness'.

I held out about 10 or so bulbs to plant on our side of the street near the road between the two newly planted pecan trees.

These are all just barely showing their foliage up through the ground....but give it another couple weeks.  I will have quite a show!

Now, in other parts of the garden many of my spring bloomers are putting on a show.  Here is the Pieris japonica 'Cavatine'.

This bloom is very similar to the Pieris but it is one of the native Vaccinium along the shore line. 

One of the bulbs I brought with me from Virginia and planted last fall is N. 'Cum Laude'.  I love the peachy color. 

'Cum Laude' is planted near of my 'Jane' magnolias.  A great combination that bloom at the same time.

This is one of the two seedling Red Buckeyes, Aesculus pavia, I brought with me.  They both made it through the winter and are putting forth leaves!!!  Right now they both are only about 8 inches tall.  I have faith they will continue to grow and thrive.

Another Virginia transplant was a pot full of N. 'Tete-a-tete'.  These little ones are so sweet. 

There are a mixture of Hyacinths planted, all starting to show their buds.  I planted these really late, hope I get a nice showing.

I try to repeat colors in my landscape.  Planted next to the Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' it a Narcissus 'Tahiti' that has a reddish orange/ yellow color combination.  As you can see 'Tahiti' isn't open yet....but it is getting there!

The Coral Bark Maple is opening nicely.

Aren't these colors wonderful??

And finally, more daffodils planted in between the Deutzia have come up and will be blooming soon.  Theses are N. 'Gold Medal'.  Looking forward to seeing these new (to me) varieties. 

Happy Spring to one and all.  What's blooming in your neighborhood?

©Copyright 2011 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.