A Walk in the April Garden

I didn't see the garden for three days this week, since I left for work very early and returned well after dark each day. So this morning was a delight when I finally had a chance to stroll through the garden. April is a beautiful month. Early spring is over, but there are still lovely flowers to enjoy. Bare winter branches are fully covered with attractive foliage. We haven yet been hit by fungus and bugs and swaddling humidity. The air was unusually crisp with cool breezes. I wish I could can it up and then release it in August!

Imagine that breeze and the gentle sun upon your face. Think of a host of birds chirping. Conjure up the fragrance of flowers and fresh pine straw and bark, and breathe in all the sweet aromas of the good earth. Now you can enjoy, as I did, a walk in the April garden.

Beside the patio, 'Anthony Waterer' spirea is blooming. I love this shrub for its feathery leaves and lacy blooms:

Here are more flowers blooming around the garden:Top row: Another spirea, 'Goldmound'; A daisy, beautifully simple in a vase on the patio table. 2nd row: Purple salvia; foxglove. 3rd row: Confederate jasmine; Knockout rose. 4th row: A few pansies still bloom. Some I have tucked in the vegetable garden, others are in the front garden near my very old rubber lizard.

I am not a rosarian. All of my roses are simple, low maintenance types. One of the prettiest is 'Penelope':

More photos of roses blooming in April:Top row: More images of "Penelope'. 2nd row: 'Mutabilis', flower and bud. 3rd row: Species rose 'Agnes', bud and bloom. 4th row: 'Zephirine drouhin'; Rosa rugosa 'Alba'.

Heliotrope is a marvelously fragrant annual:

In the woodland garden:Top: Indigofera tinctoria grows as a ground cover in the woodland garden. 2nd row: A close-up of Indigofera blooms; Viburnum dentatum. 3rd row:Tiny blooms of Hearts-a-burstin; The very last camellia bloom of the season, 'Gunsmoke'.

As much as I love flowers, my garden is held together by its foliage. Here are four plants that in different seasons have beautiful flowers, but I also admire their distintive leaves:Clockwise from top left: Hydrangea "Lady in Red'; 'Dogwood 'Cherokee Sunset'; A variegated hosta, a seedling that sprouted in the woodland garden; A gold leaf heuchera - sorry, I have forgotten its name!

I recently purchased a fern that is not hardy, so it will remain in a pot. The big box store helpfully labeled it as: Houseplant, Fern. I laughed, but I think it will enjoy a shady spot in the garden. I really like its leaf:

Here are four hardy ferns that are growing well after several years in my garden:Clockwise from top left: Golden new growth of Autumn fern; Silvery Lady fern; Arborvitae fern; Holly fern

Finally, I came across a Japanese maple leaf, fallen too soon, bright against the pine straw:

It is a reminder to take time to enjoy the garden often, for it is ever changing and today's beauty is fleeting. (But tomorrow also has its own charms to reveal!)

A Hawk Tale and the February Garden

A peek into a wild part of Deb's Garden, February 2012:

I have a question for those whose children have left the nest: Do you expect them to someday provide for you? Sort of as repayment for all those years of feeding, clothing, providing shelter, mentoring, and encouragement? If the answer is yes or maybe, then don't judge too harshly when I tell you the following story.

Lou recently watched as a young female hawk caught a mouse and carried it to a limb in a tree near our patio. The bird had just begun to enjoy her meal when another, larger hawk flew up and landed beside her. This larger hawk was also female, and Lou supposed them to be mother/daughter. Well, no sooner had Mom landed when she knocked against the younger hawk, then reached with her beak and grabbed the mouse for herself. Daughter glared at Mom for a moment, then flew off, no doubt to find herself another lunch!

When Lou told me about it, at first I was offended that a mother bird would treat her offspring that way. But then, maybe she thinks she deserves it after all she did to incubate and then care for her daughter when she was just a nestling!Hawk flying high

Soon spring will be here and Mom and Dad Hawk, who mate for life, will be preparing for a new family, and I suppose daughter will be looking for her own mate. There's a lot going on in the garden! Spring is leaking though the seams of winter and is about to burst through with full force. However, February is still winter, and we had some of our coldest temperatures this past week. But the subfreezing temperatures didn't last long, and I was relieved that most of the blooms in my garden came through OK. Here's a quick look at some things in my February garden:

Some recent scenes in the Front Garden:

This little rabbit stays in a pot by the front parking court:

Some random flowers and foliage:

Some woodland scenes:

I will end with moss and lichen, for winter is always a good time to appreciate these often overlooked denizens of the garden:

 Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you all have a great week!  Deborah