There is a man here on Peddie Street that has the MOST AWESOME garden. I think he is able to get plants wholesale somehow so his always looks like Eden. A huge pecan tree was blown down right on top of it by Hurrican Ike. At cleanup, the street was piled ten feet high with the debris. Now, you would never know that happened. His little cottage is painted orange, periwinkle blue and olive green and he often finds plants that echo these colors. His Delphiniums are gorgeous in Spring and his Summer poinsettias are 6 feet tall in the fall. He uses all organic materials. He even dutifully dead heads his Petunias to keep them blooming. Just beautiful and one can smell the fragrance before you get there.
We are on the edge of 8b and 9a here in the Heights so our palette is kinda strange. We plant some tropicals so a freeze like we had the past two years can wipe out half our plantings. Some things (if we can get them up to some size before the freeze) will survive. For example, many people have full grown orchid trees (bauhinia) that survived the hard freezes with minimal damage but my young one, 2" diameter, froze to the ground. Im hoping this time it will have several years in a row without a hard freeze so it can get big enough to withstand it. On the other hand, many full sun plants must be planted in the shade to survive our summers. Our tomatoes quit long before yours do, I imagine, and our fall gardens are usually more successful than out spring/summer ones.
February 2012 Blooms
I don't know where Randy lives...but it would be funny if it is the one you are describing! I have seen pictures of his garden and it was a jungle of green lush plants.
I have been to Randy"s home twice. He is in great distress because he has been transferred to Chicago or no job if he doesn't go. He has been giving away most of his rare collection. He has a friend that lives a couple of streets over that has a nursery in his back yard and sells mostly on the internet. Don't know either of the streets.
Another heartbreak result of our economy. That is not a place I would want to move to.
I just saw on drthor's post that I am now in zone 9a vs 8b before. Dont know how they got those numbers since we just had two of the coldest winters on record in the last 3 years. They must throw out outliers.
that's why you have all those flowers while mine are dormant. You are in zone 9a ....
Congrats !
O.K. I am going to attempt loading 5 images, these are blooming in the front yard now, Rose Mock Verbena, Glandularia canadesnsis, Great! it worked.
Hey, can I play? My antique roses are all blooming to some degree. Westerland, Smith's Parrish, Green Rose, even Maggie is starting to bloom. My apple tree is positively gorgeous even though it is a baby. And I had several volunteers, a gomphrea that never died all winter, tulips that I forgot(?) I planted, and several snap dragons that I don't remember planting, ever.
The poinsettias are from Christmas, biding time in my stock tank till they either die or I figure out a place to plant them.
Joy
That looks really neat Joy, thank you for posting.
Josephine.
Morganc, I want camellias SO BADLY. I've planted them (bulbs I bought at Sams'Club) at least 4 times. I put them on the east side, and they get sun until about 1-2 o'clock. They sprout and get 4-6 inches or so high and then they just go kaput.
How do you get them to grow? I know you're in Austin, and that makes a huge difference, but is it impossible to grow them here?
Hellebores
Abram Darby rose ready to bloom
Pansies and Narcisus and Knock Out rose
Now ... WHYYYYY???
Why half of my daffodils blooms are facing the wall, the floor .... and not me???
This is my back yard ... in six years I have been living in Dallas, my back yard has never been so green like this year ... enjoy !
I forgot: also the BERMUDA grass is growing ...
I guess I will need to start earlier to cut the grass this year ...
Plum tree is flowering
Daffodils every day
This bee has full POLLEN BAGS - what a lucky shot !
Different variety of daffodils blooming now
Toadflax self seeded from last year ... they are popping out every where ... I love the pink the best. It is a nice combination with the yellow and white of the daffodils
Peonies are budding
My back yard is so GREEN this year.
Around the fountain the green is PARSLEY.
In the middle circle is ARUGULA ... and some is bolting already ...
OK, this is blooming up in my naturalized front gate way. Small deep yellow spires, can't tell what the leaves look like there is so much going on up there. ???
Very pretty, both of you.
Oops, I meant to post that I have no clue what flower it is. Anyone know?
I think it is Scrambled Eggs, Corydalis ; http://wildflower.org/gallery/result.php?id_image=3476
Josephine.
Thanks, I have never seen it in all the time we have been here. I would love to have it in the yard as well.
Joy
It is not common around here either.
drthor, lovely yard...
wow, all the blooms, so pretty.
I have magnolia s. and salvia 'coral nymph' , violets, and paperwhites blooming.
The spiderworts are up and the bluebonnets are looking great.
Have a couple of things I'd like to share that I found today :)
Huge gardenia on my 'First Love' plant
As for the roses, the variegated red and white is 'Rock n' Roll' the pink outside/cream center is 'Double Delight' the orange one is 'Chris Evert' and the red ones are either 'Oklahoma' or 'Olympiad' (not sure which because I can't remember which is which and I have both right next to each other)
Don't you just love spring :)
woooowwww
Gosh wow, yall are all ahead of us. It's very green here, too, but seems like a lot of shrubs and trees are still on their normal schedule, despite the warm winter.
Are yall seeing bees? I've got tons of prairie verbena which usually would be buzzing by now, but I'm not seeing hardly any.
Great pictures everyone. I love the new 5 photos on one post, sure saves having to start new threads so often.
yes, lots of bees in my garden ...
I love the picture of the bee flying in direction of the flower ... It is called a "BEE LINE"
Wonderful pictures! drthor, tell me about toadflax...I like it!
I tried the parley seeds but they are just sprouting...microgreens anyone?
I throw my Parsley seeds ALWAYS in September ...
OMG Toadflax or Spurred Snapdragon or Linaria maroccana
Buy here: http://shop.wildseedfarms.com/Spurred-Snapdragon/productinfo/3247/
I normally throw my seeds in Novembe-December ...
The flowers start to bloom with or before the daffodils.
Now mine just re-seed themself and wow ... my first one was bloomig in December.
I dunno if it is too late to seed them now ...
In a week I am throwing seeds of ZINNIAS and COSMOS (which will fill all the gaps untill November)
Zinnias: http://shop.wildseedfarms.com/Dahlia-Flowered-Mix/productinfo/3653/
Cosmos: http://shop.wildseedfarms.com/Cosmos/products/3/
Very cheap prices ... with one pound of Zinnia I seed my front back and neigbor and birds !!!
The pictures below are from August and September ...
Can you see how the Zinnias are popping out from every where?
Thanks drthor. You make the most of what annuals and perennials have to offer. How do you keep track of when to plant?
hummm
that is a good question ...
I just feel the air with my index finger ...
If I were you I believe that I would take out an insurance policy on that index finger as it is a very valuable thing to have.