April at a Glance

~  Notes on the April Garden ~

As April draws to a close...and spring along with it, I'm sorry to see it go. I love the cooler morning temps and the lower humidity but summer is impatient and seems determined to arrive early this year.

Hopefully, the heat and humidty will get the thunderstorms fired up soon as April was our driest month so far this year with a stingy .69 inches of rain...bringing us to 9.8 inches for the year.

As I stroll around the garden I'm surprised to see that a couple of cool-season plants are still going strong despite the hot afternoons. In January I planted 3 delphinium plants (colors unknown) and now the third plant has produced a HUGE spike of lavender blooms. This bloom is larger than the previous two and is a real beauty. The other two plants (a dark blue and a white) still look healthy and are producing smaller spikes of flowers. It'll be interesting to see how long the plants survive in the heat.

The wave petunias are still...amazingly...going strong, too. I'm sure it won't be for much longer though. I planted this winter annual to pick up the slack for the Mexican Bush Sage when the cold temps damaged its foliage. It did its job but now the bush sage is quickly reclaiming its turf.

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The Alpine stawberries are still producing tiny sweet berries that never seem to make it inside the house :-) and the English dogwood is winding down with just a handful of crisp white blooms left.

The pink and white cleome were  added to the island bed to add a bit of sparkle. And, some Mealy Cup Sage 'Victoria Blue,' some "volunteer" native ferns and a golden-colored Anise 'Florida Sunshine' were added to other spots around the garden.

The Flowering Maple planted last fall has been a most pleasant surprise.

A cold-hardy member of the hibiscus family...I planted her in full sun in the center of the island bed. She sailed through the winter with no problem. Even the frost didn't faze her.

If she passes the summer heat test, I'll be adding more of these plants to my garden. Don't you just love her delicate lantern-like flowers?

Since she has exploded in size the last couple of months I'm assuming that she is VERY happy with her spot, and I'm very happy with her presence in the garden.

The "March Madness" bloom affair continues in the garden with the daylilies determined not to be left out.

The orange (on the left) is a new addition from my late aunt's garden. It dies back during the winter but returns with vigor. The other two daylilies (on the right) are vigorous, old-time varieties from my stepfather's yard. They are fabulous sun-loving perennials!

And, yes, the caladiums want their moment in the spotlight...or in their case the shade.

I especially like the way the pink (sorry I don't know the name) caladium looks with the Louis Philippe rose.

The Dark Side of the Garden

As in life we must take the bad with the good...and, the garden is no different. These innocent looking (at least for now) little black creatures...the Eastern lubber grasshopper looks harmless enough, but they are wreaking havoc on the amaryllis, and soon many other plants will bear witness to their existence in the garden.

I give them a good foot-stomping when I see them, and I'll even go as far as squeezing them between my gloveless fingers, if need be. I know it sounds disgusting...but if I don't dispatch them now, I'll have to deal with them when they're BIG and GROSS!

First-time Bloomers in my Garden...

A couple of new plants added in the past 6 months...Red Shrimp, native Cherokee or Coral Bean, soft yellow bicolor African Iris also known as Peacock flower, deep purple buddleia and Tangerine shrimp.

The Faithful and Reliable in the Garden...

The plants I can count on to bloom year after year...Coreopsis, Indian Blanket flower...a particular favorite of mine, Nandina (Heavenly Bamboo), Texas Sage and Society Garlic.

Gardening by Color

Here's a favorite color combination of mine that I discovered quite by accident a number of years ago...blue/purple along with orange/yellow. I'm not sure why I like it so much...but, I do! It's very bold...even the cool deep purple is bold, and they just look very warm and inviting to me. 

April's Simple Pleasures

A few quiet moments with a cup of hot tea and the annual addition of Victoria's Gardens of Bliss!
A chance to study some beautiful gardens and dream...

As May approaches...the Agapanthus or Lily of the Nile are waking up, and stretching their long-stemmed flower stalks up to the sun. Soon we'll have a bed of these gorgeous bluish lavender spheres of blooms to keep the show going.

And, hopefully some rain will fall on all of our gardens as summer arrives in full force.