Spring!

Looks like we made it, to spring that is, and I for one could not be happier. It's so nice to be sliding into the growing season, look around the garden, and see life, not the scorched earth hellscape I've faced the last two years (after bad winter weather).

The Edgeworthia chrysantha 'Nanjing Gold' blooms went on uninterrupted by cold and ice, and have been loved by the hummingbirds.

After I tried to find Helleborus foetidus in a local nursery and kept striking out a friend gave me seedlings from her plant, this is the first year I've got blooms...

The bottom half of this photo shows both Grevillea rivularis (L) and G. x gaudichaudii (R). They were knocked back to nothing after winter 2024, they're looking good now, maybe there are blooms in store there too?

One of my favorite views, looking south along the front of our home.

Euphorbia rigida

Love the acid green/yellow coloring.

This container grouping is on the south side of our front doorsteps.

Helleborus Winter Jewels 'Red Sapphire'

Draba hispanica blooming in the large container.

Now a few things in the back garden...(looks like I need to mow the lawn when we have a couple dry days in a row)...

Rhododendron 'Ebony Pearl' with Arachniodes simplicior 'Variegata'.

Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Akebono’

Ferns and aspidistra (no aspidistra death and destruction this year!).

Those metal grid panels are covered with hanging plants later in the season, it's odd to be able to see from the back to the front of this planting bed.

I fear I need to lift the pyrrosia in this stock tank and divide them, they're just so happy. I'm not normally a divider but when you've got cool plants that are starting to bulk up, you really should make more. Not yet visible (old growth cut down, new growth starting to push) at the rear of the stock tank, Disporum longistylum ‘Night Heron’ is bulking up as well.

One of those happy pyrrosia...

My palms are getting so tall! (the one on the far right is still pushing out fronds in recovery from last winter, the frigid wind did a number on them)

Podophyllum pleianthum 

Bamboo, aspidistra, mahonia...

Mahonia eurybracteata 'Indianola Silver'

Mahonia x media 'Marvel' 

Back when I shared photos from our winter event I called out this agave as a likely casualty. Nope, it's still looking good.

Finally a quick little project I had to jump in and tackle one afternoon. We've had a fair bit of rain the last couple of weeks, thankfully I noticed this container wasn't draining well. See the water on the left?

I noticed it when I couldn't do anything about it, but came back the next afternoon and it hadn't gotten any better.

Since I couldn't budge the container to try and get the water flowing out I decided I needed to pull the plants, unfortunate since they'd started to really grow together nicely and create a small community.

I had a large galvanized tub in the garage I wasn't using, so it worked well for relocation.

Once I had everything but the pyrrosia out (it's planted on a large rock) it was obvious just how bad the water problem is.

Oh and when I say large rock, that thing is over a 12" wide, and at least 10" deep. I didn't plan to ever have to take it back out of the pot.

But it looks like I might have to. At least the pyrrosia is high and dry as the rain continues...

 

Here's an opportunity for a little extra blog reading. Pam Penick, of Digging fame, recently shared a post celebrating that her blog is starting it's 20th (!!!) year. She added a Q&A with a few other long-time bloggers, including me. Read that post here, it's a good one!

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