Bloomin' Things: May 5, 2013

I can't believe it's already May.  I'm in a state of panic just thinking about all the things that need to get done before it gets too hot.  I definitely need to finish the sod in the next couple of weeks, as well as any transplanting that needs to take place.  I also should probably complete the digging portion for any new flower beds soon, because once it gets hot, I won't feel like doing that kind of exhausting work anymore.

Some of my favorite things are blooming this week.  Still blooming from last week are the irises, some of the azaleas, and the wiegela which is becoming full of hummingbird-attracting blooms now.  Newly blooming are the peonies, blackberries, belladonna lilies (which aren't real lilies; they belong to the amaryllis family instead), and the petunias I used to replace the pansies in the front bed.  The pansies are still blooming, but I know the heat will cause them to become leggy soon.  Instead of throwing them away as most southern gardeners do, I moved them to the back garden to see if I can cut them back this summer and keep them healthy until the fall when they'll be in their element once again.  They have such happy little faces that I can't stand to just toss them into the yard waste.

A lovely peony blossom; they always seem to bloom right before a heavy rain, so I'm very glad I put peony rings around them.

A red belladonna lily (amaryllis) growing in front of the kitchen windows

I planted scabious in front of the lilies last year to give them a blue contrast.  For some reason, this blue doesn't show up well in my photos.  

The shrub roses are continuing their slow and long-lasting show of blossoms; I cut one back in March as an experiment; so far it has the most beautiful red leaves and full, bushy shape, but no sign of flowers yet.  The old-fashioned climbing roses on the back fence are growing long arms which I'll try to weave horizontally across the fence tops once they're long enough; when these canes grow horizontally, you get many more blooms than if they were growing straight up.

A new shrub rose for this year; he's going to live in the front yard next to the bench.  I'll surround it with the rue seedlings I grew indoors this winter.

The foxgloves (digitalis) are also starting to bloom on the back hill; I transplanted a few to grow at the base of the bird feeder earlier this year.  This is the same plant that the heart medicine, Digitalis, is extracted from.  But don't try to make your own rememdy from it; all parts of the plant are toxic, including the roots and seeds.  Some think that the common name, foxgloves, comes from "folk's gloves" as in the gloves of the wee folk, or fairies.  To me, the tubular blossoms look as though they might make perfect little hats for fairies, but I guess they could be gloves too.  Anyway, I love these flowers for their fantastical qualities; they're perfect for a magical woodland fairy garden.

Foxglove (digitalis)

I know his flowers aren't blooming, but I love the goat pot full of hens and chicks; they become beautifully red-tipped in the sun.  For the past several years, a red wasp of some sort has lived inside the goat's head; you can sometimes see him coming and going from one of the eyeballs.   

In bird news, I've discovered a nest of little wren chicks in a holly shrub at the dining room window.  The parents have been very busy popping food into their open mouths.  I don't want to disturb them, but I will try to get a photo soon.  The chickadees in the back yard may also have hatchlings; Sunny keeps standing up, trying to look inside the birdhouse.  If the parents catch her doing this, she'll most likely be chased across the yard (and believe me, the poodle will run; she ran from a moth once).

Of course it's been raining all weekend with temperatures in the forties and fifties, so I haven't been able to do much in the garden.  Instead I've been indoors having tea and biscuits and plotting and scheming for when the rain finally stops.  And it has to stop at some point, right?  Right?

Wishing you happiness in spades,

M.R.S.