I hope you are having a blessed time with family and friends! I haven't posted in awhile but hope to be more active this coming year.
I got a late start on Christmas decorating but finished last week and we are enjoying a quiet holiday at home this year.
In honor and remembrance of those who gave their all for our freedom we proudly display our flag and red white and blue.
May you have a reflective and grateful
Memorial Day!
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One of the new plants I chose is 'Cherry Bell Campanula' and it is supposed to be a perennial in my area and a good spreader. I hope so because it's a gorgeous color and full of blooms.
I strive to have all my annuals planted by the end of April to middle of May. The weather has been so much cooler this spring and we have had more rain than usual so it's taken me a little longer to get everything in the ground. Hopefully weather permitting I'll get my front border spring plantings done by the end of the week.
Our newest flower bed was planted last spring and I love how it has filled in and all the color. Most of the bed is planted in perennials and small shrubs with some begonias and violas for annual color.
My favorite plants have become the coral bells with all the different foilage color and blooms. They have done so well in last summer's heat and the arctic blast we had in January.
I planted up my wire flower baskets with pink impatiens and begonias as they are mostly in the shade.
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My hubbie and sons always give me gift cards or flowers for Mother's Day which I love! My garden is my gift to myself and they enjoy it too! This year a cobalt blue birdbath was my gift.
I'm linking with Marty's Inspire Me Tuesday
I've been busy in the garden cleaning out flower beds, pruning and planting new annuals and perennials.
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| Delphenium |
Our frost date has just passed so it's supposed to be "safe" to plant. My goal is to get everything planted by the end of April however we are supposed to get down to freezing again Wednesday morning so I have stopped planting but still have three flats of assorted annuals and perennials to put in the ground.
I will be dragging out sheets and covering new plants and since it's only going to briefly get down in the low 30's everything should be fine.
Here in Oklahoma we frequently have late freezes in the spring and then before we know it the weather gets very warm.
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| Bloodgood Japanese Maple Here are a few photos of my garden this past week. Tulips are still blooming! |
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| Sherbet Tulip blend |
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| Angelique Tulip |
Columbine 
Snowball viburnum
Mixed border
Variegated Weiglia
Crossing my fingers the weatherman are wrong! Happy Gardening!
Last year I decided I needed to plant more tulips. Every Spring when I see tulips around town I regret not planting more.
I ordered from Colorblends last year and this week the Sherbet blend is in it's full glory! What a beautiful display it has made and brightened my spirits after all the ice and sub zero weather that damaged many of our trees and shrubs throughout Oklahoma!
The colors are so bright and cheerful and even my neighbors have been admiring them.
Amazing how much joy they have given me already.
The Angelique tulips are just starting to bloom and remind me of a peony.
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| Angelique |
I will definitely be ordering again!
I'm linking to Marty's
and
Spring is here and I've been outside in the garden cleaning out flower beds and planting cold hardy perennials and a few spring annuals.
My daffodils and tulips are blooming and they give me such joy. My hubbie and I planted over 200 tulips last fall and don't know if they are going to finish coming up as we had a very bad arctic blast just as they were emerging. The tulips I planted two falls ago are blooming but they aren't as prolific as the first year blooms. Thankfully daffodils multiply and reward me with more each year.
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We completed our first spring chore of resealing our stamped concrete patio. I choose a higher gloss this time and I love how it turned out.
I put a fresh coat of paint on my butterfly bench and found the accent pillow on Amazon.
Spearmint heuchera with red blooms
If you have never grown heuchera or coral bells I highly recommend you try them. Last year I purchased three watermelon, three spearmint and two citornelle varieties. All of them made it through our -14 degree cold blast and handled our 95 plus summer last year and look amazing already this spring. I'm so impressed with how well they have done in my garden I went out and purchased 6 more varieties. They are my new favorite perennials.
Above is the Watermelon heuchera. I love the variation in the color of the leaves and the sweet pale pink blooms are so pretty.
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| Watermelon Heuchera (last summer) |
I went plant shopping and was able to find most of the plants on my wish list. I will have to wait for the warm season bedding plants to arrive at my nursery and I'll make another plant haul or two.
Happy Spring!
Once Christmas has passed I'm ready for Spring! It's still two months until Spring but I do plant a few things in patio pots that help me get through the long gloomy days of winter.
I'm in garden zone 7a and we can enjoy pansies, ornamental kale and some camelias in the middle of winter. My hellebores are just starting to bud and are my favorite winter blooms.
Ornamental kale changes to pure white or dark red and purple when the temperatures get cold. The last couple years they have become my go to plant for containers on my patio. They have done well in flower boxes too. When it gets down in the 20's I do cover them up to keep them looking their best.
My daffodils are peaking through the soil and I can hardly wait for their happy sunshiny blooms.
We had a devastating ice storm in October and had major damage to our trees so I'm anxious to see how our trees will look this Spring. We have had our tree crew out to trim 8 mature oaks and may have to do more pruning.
I guess there is always an upside to losing limbs as my garden will have more sunlight and I'll be able to grow more sun loving plants.
What's on your list for Spring planting?
