Here Comes the Sun!

One can read only so many garden magazines. The catalogues with their perfect plants are page worn. All the old garden books are memorized. The internet! But one's eyes eventually glaze over, and there is deep longing for fresh air. What's a pent-up gardener to do? Order a new birdhouse. Order a new tree. And pace, pace, watching the weather, hoping for a day of sunshine.

I would definitely be in trouble if I lived in the far reaches of the North, where there are months of winter gloom. I have had to deal with a few weeks, and finally the sun has returned. On Saturday I stumbled out of the house and gulped the warm rays. The temperature went up into the fifties. Spring! Not really, only a tease, but I didn't care.
The front garden, with the sun shining!

I planted this little coral bark tree last fall. I am impressed with its winter color and look forward to the impact it will make when it grows larger.

The dried stems behind the tree trunk is the ground cover indigofera, in the woodland garden. It has fern-like leaves and pink flowers in the spring.
More views around the woodland garden.

I grabbed my unfortunate son who came for a visit and headed for the garden. We planted the new tree, a variegated weeping redbud, Cercis canadensis 'Whitewater'. I have high hopes for it. Because our ground doesn't freeze, winter is a great time for planting new trees, allowing roots to take hold before the stress of summer heat arrives.It's hard to imagine that this old oak tree behind our house was once as small as my newly planted redbud! It has lived through many years of stressful weather. In 1990, its top was ripped away by a tornado, but it continues to survive.

We also transplanted a dozen ferns. My neighbor Betty had told me there were ferns in the valley behind our house, but although this property belongs to us, the hill is steep and the area wild so I rarely go down there. But on Saturday I was in the mood to plant. I wanted to add to the fern glade in the woodland garden, so I dragged my son down into the wilderness and we began digging. Most of the ferns are beautiful evergreen, holly type woodland ferns. My muscular son got to haul them up the steep hill and then dig holes for me in their new location. There are plenty more left in the valley, and I am looking forward to another pleasant day, hopefully when my son will be visiting, so I can continue to enlarge the fern glade. 

Meanwhile, Lou and I have pruned the apple trees and the crepe myrtles, properly — we commit no crepe murder! (This link takes you to a great article published by Southern Living magazine about pruning crepe myrtles.) I also have potted up some pansies. 

The sun is peeking in and out today. Lou is going to install my new birdhouse. We are rushing to take advantage of the nice weather, as rain will be returning tomorrow, or sooner, as already I see storm clouds on the horizon. Soon we will spray the apple trees and many of our shrubs with an ecologically friendly dormant oil. This will reduce insect damage later in the season and also helps to fight some types of fungus. Our season warms up so quickly that this must be done now, before growth starts.

It may be a few days before I can get out to enjoy my garden again. Here are some more images from here and there, photographed while I was taking in the sunshine:

I hope you are enjoying the week!   Deborah

A Snowy Monster and Other Things in My Garden

When I woke up yesterday morning, this is the scene that greeted me outside the front windows:

It was a perfect snow for several reasons:

1. I was off work, so I could stay home to enjoy it.

2. There was enough snow to be beautiful but not enough to block roads; so those who had to get about could do so safely, as long as they drove carefully.

3. It will all be gone soon, as spring-like weather is forecast for this weekend.

I quickly pulled on warm clothes and got my camera. I spent the next hour or so wandering around, snapping photos. I was euphoric over the snow which outlined the tree branches:

The old oak tree behind our house is a survivor. It was once a magnificent, perfectly formed tree, but its top was ripped away by the tornado that came through, exactly twenty-one years ago. I thought it would die, but it has surprised me!

I headed for the front garden, and for a moment a snowy monster gave me pause. Then I recognized an old rubber lizard, who has lived in my garden for about fifteen years. He's rather large, and the older he grows, the more life-like he becomes! Below the lizard are various garden ornaments.

Here's a scene from the lady garden. The snow brings out the lady's true nature: rampant and unruly!

And some views of the woodland garden:The tree with the birdhouse is a trident maple. Winter highlights its lovely peeling bark.

I was feeling artsy with my new camera, so I enjoyed taking shots featuring snowy patterns:

Despite the snow, I saw signs of spring, as well as the last remnants of last year's dried seeds and blossoms:After traipsing around in the snow taking all these photos, my hands were freezing! But no problem. Another nice thing about the snow is that it inspired Lou to build a fire, so this is what was waiting for me when I finally went inside:

Stay warm, and may all your monsters be made of rubber!