And So It Goes

Weather-wise, winter and spring kept changing places and now all of a sudden the bulbous Asiatic lilies are blooming.

What a joy to find this lovely lily waiting in the garden this morning. Its name escapes me, but it is a miniature one. Short, that is. The flower is large.

Clematis ‘Etoile Violette’

Can it be more floriferous?  Yes, this clematis has  even more flowers now and the way it is planted in the open there are flowers on the other side of the fence as well.

However, only a few red flowers can capture your attention as hardy amaryllis/Amaryllis johnsonii. They have multiplied well since we moved them here.

A red, red rose whispers secrets in the lamb’s ear.

 Freshest of the fresh. Step outside your kitchen and gather a few snipets from the edible container  to spice up a salad. A blade or two of green onion in the potato salad is so good.

Maybe the birds haven’t eaten all the strawberries. Coat the strawberries with white Karo syrup before adding them to a salad. They glisten with sweetness. 

Caladiums are getting off to a good start but are wanting warmer temperatures. They just sit there until warmer days when you can almost see them grow.

Now this box turtle is easier to capture than the bunny I keep seeing but can’t get a photo.

Biltmore, Orton, and Brookgreen Gardens

Roses and hostas are featured at a North Carolina rest stop garden.

I have visited Biltmore several times but it is always a treat whenever one visits. It was time for roses, mountain laurel, and rhododendrons while we were there.

The photos do not convey how magnificent the rose garden was that day. We were enveloped in the scent of roses and the bloom was splendid. We were too busy sniffing and looking.

Islander Inn is situated on a narrow strip of land

on a big wide beach

on the North Carolina coast at Ocean Isle.

Dennis, a fishing tourist,  pulled a sand shark and a speckled sea trout from the net while we were taking a walk on the beach.

Orton Plantation Garden south of  Wilmington, NC 

 

in addition to its lovely gardens has a beautiful chapel.

 

Just south of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina is the fabulous Brookgreen Gardens, an expansive sculpture garden in a setting of live oaks so old their resurrection fern encrusted limbs rest on the ground.

More water features than you can imagine highlight statues of every size and description. This above ground reservoir supplies the garden’s water as well as houses some giant koi.

Some bronzes are cloistered in an outdoor gallery.

Brick Lattice Walls

I don’t know what it is but the hummingbirds and I like it.

Update: Thanks to Janet of The Queen of Seaford the plant is coral bean/Erythrina herbacea.

 Decorative Iron Gates

The air was fragrant with Confederate jasmine.

Come along and zip through the gardens with me.

 

We can celebrate in joyous ways because of the service of others 

IN HONOR OF MEMORIAL DAY.

 

Photos courtesy of FlashBlack

Clematis

Rhododendron

Overgrown against the house, this rhodie is destined to be moved. I wasn’t so successful in moving a similar one. It’s alive but just a remnant of itself. Not exactly what I intended. I realize now, I should have staked something so top heavy. Every time the wind blew it was ripping its new roots from the ground and it really couldn’t sustain itself and get established. Duh!

Clematis ‘Etoile Violette’

looks pretty good although it was not pruned back in the fall.

Clematis ‘Hagley Hybrid’

I understand Hagley Hybrid/Pink Chiffon can take more sun. Perhaps it is why mine blooms but not profusely.

White Calibrachoa

I never liked petunias much because the flowers mostly collapsed when it rained or they were watered. I really like the Calibrachoas, however, and plant them every year. There are many colors but this year, I am doing white.

Happy Mother’s Day

As I am writing this post, the thunder is rumbling and I can hear the rain. Let it rain, I got some things planted yesterday, the one blue sky day of the recent Tennessee monsoon season. Sigh! At least I don’t have to worry about watering and the few hours the sun was shining, the lawn was mowed. All is good.

We planted Sum and Substance. It can reach 3′ high and 5′ across. After all this rain, it will be well set and sparkling clean. Seersucker texture is a sign of a more mature plant. Interestingly, hostas grow in areas most gardeners consider difficult such as under walnut trees.

A happy has arrived. Now that is getting the weekend off to a good start.

Happy Mother’s Day

Hostas

Green Ones

Gold Ones

Blue Ones/Hosta ‘Powder Blue’

Variegated Ones

Splotched Ones

Edged Ones/Hosta ‘Sagae’

A Little Artemesia And Lamb’s Ear

A Few Ferns

It is strawberry time in Tennessee. These were purchased from a roadside truck farmer who picked them this morning. It has been raining all day. He said to spread them out to dry on paper towels at home. Wanna bite? After eating as many as possible with whipped cream, the rest were sliced, covered in sugar, then refrigerated. There will be strawberry pancakes in the morning.

This video will make you want to get out and go for a drive.