Things are looking up outside
march blooms
How cute!
How happy!
Here are four pics. Will get some more tomorrow.
bridal wreath, snow drops, pink/yellow lantana and trailing lavender lantana.
pretty
East Cedar Wax Wings are here.
They are starting to eat all the berries from the hollyies ... it is so fascinating to watch them and to hear their whistler ...
I have zone envy. LOL
I saw my first redbud blooming this morning, so spring is definitely on the way!
One of my favorite roses - Mutabilis - earth-kind series.
This is an ever green rose - it is perfect if you want to create a living fence.
This rose is almost always in bloom. The flowers are all different colors.
So beautiful !
Daffodils are still blooming
Violas (self-seeded), Purple cabbages and Dusty Miller, Peony budding up, Iris Earl of Essex, Hydrangeas budding
More blooms
Salvia coccinea, coral nymph
Pansies I grew from seed
geraniums and parthenium
pink knock out rose
butterfly weed + aphids + ladybugs. How many Ladybugs do you count?
Steady your plants are beautiful! I luv the different colors.
Thanks, Lisa. I saved these petunia seed from some I bought at big box store. I thought i had separated the colors carefully and just as carefully planted in the pots according to the color scheme in my head. I planted before any of them had bloomed. Turns out, I was more wrong than right about which plants where which color. Oh, well. Pansies are pretty no matter what. I was surprised at the size of the blooms since I did not think the plants would come true from seed.
steadycam3
that is an amazing picture of the Milky Weed.
Aphids are always on Milky Weed and soon or later the lady bugs will come ...
Great posting!
drthor, I counted 8 ladybugs when I snapped the photo but Im not sure they all show in the photo. Some of the aphids try to run from the lbs when they see them coming. Ladybugs are faster!
steadycam3
is your Milky Weed a perennial in your area?
The milk weed is perennial. Most years it never stops but every few years it may freeze to the ground but always comes back. Our ground never freezes.
Lucky you !
My Milkweed is annual ... b in the past few years I let it go to seed and I have lots of free plants.
Milkweed never look nice in my garden ... because it is eaten by aphids or my Monarch caterpillars ...but it is a "must have plant" for everybody.
The pictures below were taken last November, when the Milkweed went to seeds.
You can see how the cucumber beetle also loves them ...
Thanks for the cucumber beetle ID. I have those too. My milkweed comes back in one location right near my house. I guess it is just warm enough. Love the pics. Looks great! My son just bought a home in Austin and wants to put a shrub along the fence. Maybe those mutabilis roses?
Mutabilis will make a great living fence.
If you go to the Dallas Arboretum they have those roses by the parking lot.
They take the sun, the heat and they don't care much for water ... also they don't have many thorns either !!
Not that I would ever have a rose bush of any kind in my garden, I prefer to look at them in other people's gardens, but I was wondering if there was ever a problem with Mutabilis' and Rose Rosette Disease? Do you know if there are Mutabilis roses in the Farmers Branch, TX rose garden?
I found a RRD growth in my Mutabilis 3 years ago. I did remove the small infected branch and that was it !
It never came back !!
I think they are pretty resistant to the disease.
If you need a "living fence", this is the rose for you.
I planted to cover the satellite and the electric boxes by the garage.
Now I am thinking to propagate them and make a full border by the garage driveway. They are just stunning !
Next time you go to the Dallas Arboretum you will find them by the parking lot. They are huge ... maybe 8'.
I followed my Black Swallowtail butterfly yesterday and I saw it laying eggs on my carrot leaves ... ooohhh
I knew that : parsley, dill and fennel were its hosting plants ... but not the carrots .... oooohhh
One more reason to plant more carrots !
I will let a few carrots on the ground and let them make green leaves ...
Cool, drthor.
Maybe those butterflies know you are their friend! Thanks for the reply. I was also thinking about rosette diesease. I fret over mine often.
I am an expert on RRD ... and I really don't want to be one.
More surprises in the garden today ...
Been so busy with lambing and kidding I haven't looked to see what is coming along. Maggie, Nacadoches, and my gate roses (the name escapes me), are starting their spring show. All are antiques.
Joy- your roses are beautiful. I'll I have left are Lady Bankes and China Blush but I love them.
I really love the gate rose, Joy. So delicately colored. The others are pretty too.
At last my brain kicked in, it is Souvenir de la Malmaison, a climber that smells wonderful and is from the late 1800's. I have it on both sides of the gate and when you step out to unlatch it, the scent wafts over you.
The blooms start pale pink and as they age, they turn white. I have a few cuttings in dirt, Marty, and they are looking good so far.
The Maggie is a heavier scented rose with fuscia flowers that age to red. Unfortunately the Nacadoches doesn't smell, but has glorious huge yellow blooms.
Thanks for the complements
Woot! My first bloom of the 2013 flower gardening season!
White Salvia greggii
yay, for firsts!!! It's really pretty.
Thanks, Marty! I need to trim it up and cut off the dead growth. I know what I'll be doing next week when I'm on vacation!
My azalea is about 50% bloomed now, looking like the wind almost blew it away. Also here is the Euphorbia "diamond dust" that Im offering at the RU. Not a native but really reliable and easy to propagate via cuttings.
The first Louisiana Iris is blooming in my garden.
More bearded Irises are popping out every where.
Also my Arugula is bolting/blooming - I seeded Arugula around a few of my beds every year. It is ever green during the coldest weather of Dallas and in the spring it is one of the first plant to bloom and the bees love the little white Arugula's flowers.
Finally getting a few blooms.
A couple more...
What is the 3rd photo, Cheryl?
A wall flower I got at an RU a couple of years ago, not sure about the name.