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

August Images

Today the sky was hot and heavy, like a sultry woman breathing too close to the earth.

There was a sprinkling of rain, just enough to add moisture to the thick air. It is what is expected of August in Alabama. Yet August is different from July. Still hot summer, yes, but a month of transitional images. 

August shows some age. There are signs of things passing, flowers dying or plants heading into dormancy:

I notice the weathered wood:

And rocks that have been here far longer than we:

But the year is not yet old. There are still things growing and green:

And flowers with bright colors:August weeds also grow quickly. The rabbit I have shown in other posts has become a friend, for he has a taste for weeds in my lawn. The rabbit is the most eco friendly way I know to get rid of them, so I don't bother him. He doesn't seem too afraid of me, as long as I keep a respectful distance. These shots were taken with a telephoto lens:

'Tropicana' canna lily leaves are spectacular this month:

'Tropicana' has amazing seed pods, too:
And August holds promise of things to be. Look close to see the ants working in the first photo below:Despite today's heat, tomorrow will have flowers.'Fuyu' persimmons will ripen by November.Burford holly berries will be red by Christmas.

My birthday is this week. I am showing some age, depending on the body part, but life still has a lot going on and plenty of promise of things to come. 

Happy August!