Spring peeking!

#4

#5

Ok...back to your regularly schedule spring peeking....Daffy - finally

And a "fluffy" one that smells yummy

Chantell, Is the first daff Salome ? Can't wait for mine to bloom just love them!

Hmmmm....probably...sadly those were planted when I first bought my TH about 7 years ago and was clueless about documenting what was planted...LOL...ok, except my lavender...I did remember which was Munstead and which was Province.

Chantelle, those red semps look like they have stripes in the leaves. If you have an extra baby one, could you bring it to Holly's swap for me? Thanks.

Judy - which # pic are you referring to?

Chantell, LOL, yes that's Rick's rock garden along the front driveway that he started a couple of years ago. Doesn't look quite as nice now - we've lost a few of the Semps, some from "natural" causes, some from Miss Phoebe - grrrrrr. Last year when she was a playful pup she thought they made the best toys - easy to pull up and toss around :( Plus the grit disappears when you're weeding, with tweezers no less!

Off subject of Spring peeking, but had to show you these two :) Our friends from Stonecrop always have neat plantings of Semps in shoes. Ed visits yard sales, Goodwill, etc. and planted these two pairs of children's shoes. I like these the best...

And these...a great way to get future gardeners growing, use their old shoes and let them help plant them!

rcn, those are really cute you could you post them over on the shoe thread, bet everyone would love to see them. My granddaughter just got the cutest pair of lime green shoes with little flowers at the strap. Bet Jen would let me have them next year. LOL

Chantelle, pix # 1 & 3 but would love a baby from # 2. Thanks.

Debbie - maybe that's what my little ole rock garden needs...ummm a few BIG rocks...LOL - I love the plants I have remaining there but it's really rather an eyesore...nah, I'll be honest it looks horrible - I'm just at a loss as to what to do to make it "prettier" I have the semps, sedums (tall and ground cover types), red yucca, another real yucca (common type - that I've pulled up repeated but obviously not removed all the roots - LOL) an agave 'color guard' (although not sure he's pullin' through this winter) - one of your Euphorbias - the 2 I'd posted pics of how well they were doing died...very sad. Any suggestions b/c I'm sure your bored to tears with nothing else to do - my bad!
LOVE the idea of those little shoes, BTW
Judy - #2 has no pups yet..and I'll peek at #1 & #3 when the time draws closer.

Chantell- think contrast. What size shape is most stuff in there? Small, rosettes, small leaf? All pointy? can you think of round leaf things? or spiky things? softer looking things? OOH, some fuzzy things also like the dry, drainage, right? Lamb's ear, wooly sage...thyme for really tiny foliage and maybe bloom.

Ya know, I have those slag rocks I got from that ore dig that I thought were meteorites. Think I will use them in the garden this summer. I am getting a lot of ideas from you-ins. Thanks so much.

Hmmmm...good ideas Sally...I didn't know the Lambs ear liked the same conditions...I put it up behind...but you're right...I'll move it down. Was also thinking, if nothing else, buying a bunch of the moss rose and filling in "dead" areas...that stuff is amazing...spreads like nobody's business and just covers an area with blooms all summer into the fall. Maybe some more Euphorbias - something lime greenish since I have so many dark leaf (you'd love them) plants in there.

Chantelle---How about some Ice Plants? They bloom all summer too--and thrive in dry, neglected conditions....
Saw them thriving in the median of a busy street here. I KNOW no one waters them there--and they were just blooming away.

BTW--Your Brug is doing great! Growing lots of leaves.....can't say I see any serration...yet....maybe that comes later. if not--then I will have a CG, and be just as happy....

OK! Gotta go watch Dancing With the Stars.....see who gets eliminated tonight...

Be well! Gita

Gita...that's what I meant by Moss Rose...got the names mixed up....thank you though

Chantelle--

You may not have gotten them mixed up! They DO look alike......except the Moss Roses (aka Portulacas)...have a double/triple bloom. The Ice Plants still have the same kind of spiky foliage, a bit more succulent looking--but the blooms are singe, daisy-like....
Also--their stems do not droop as much as the Portulaca's....a bit more upright....

Please check it out on PF....

Gita

I also think one is hardy and the other isn't....I think. SO glad the brugs doing well for you...keep me informed on the leaves. Even if it's a CG you'll absolutely LOVE the scent.

Will do...although hopefully it wont' involve a backhoe....ROTFLOL But feel free to use it on your site with the subtitle "what not to do" UGH

I was outside this afternoon planting my Pansies, My plants are coming up everywhere. Only thing blooming right now are the Crocus and one Heliobore but the plants are just pushing their why out. Here is a shot of my walkway bed, the color you see are the Crocus and Pansies.

These are growing in front of my stone wall.

This astilbe is coming up in the side bed.

Wow - Amazing yellow crocus,Holly!

I've planted gold/yellow crocus in the past, and they just do not survive. They come up the first year, and the cardinals pull the petals - I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!!! - and they just sort of die away. White, purple and purple/white striped all do well.

I've got mostly crocus, hellebores, a few early daffodils, and some forsythia blooming now. Hyacinths and bleeding hearts and tulips are showing some growth.

Here are some photos ...

Hellebore, facing the camera for a change!

This white Hellebore has been blooming for most of the winter, more blooms coming. It's in the same side bed.

Hellebore, in the usual "nodding" position. It's a lot pinker than usual this year, very pretty.

This daffodil was sold as "Slim Whitman", but it also looks like "Ice Follies" - what do y'all think? The cup fades to almost ivory with age.

Whatever it is, I like it.

Cute little Tete-a-Tete... I have clumps of this everywhere - it's great!

This is another miniature, "Jetfire" - it's about 4" tall.

Oh your Hellebore are beautiful. I have quite a few of them but I don't expect much flowering this year. This one looks like it has a flower coming on. Can't wait to see them bloom as I'm not sure what colors I have.

Teeny-tiny squill (scilla) in the wooded area - even though it's perhaps 3" high, the color makes it really stand out. A real true blue.

Thanks Holly - that is the original one - I'm finding them all over the yard now, and they are different shades - was thrilled to see a really dark one in another part of the yard. Will try to get a photo of that if the weather holds out tomorrow.

And here come the crocuses. Some are the type that spread by seeds and pop up in the grass, others are "children" of specific cultivars I planted a long time ago, and they've evolved from the original.

This one's a descendant of some named variety...

I THINK these two white ones were also from bulbs - they're near a border in front.

These are a very dark variety of the ones that come up all over the lawn. Most of the ones we have here in the neighborhood are a pretty pale lavender. Some yards are totally covered - a spectacular early spring display!

Oh, Those Daffs are so pretty. Mine are coming but not ready to bloom yet. I picked up a lot of spring bulbs last fall from the DG Co-op. Really looking forward to seeing how they all look. If you look close you can see the Variegated Sedum just starting to show. They are in the Lamppost bed put in new last summer. Glad to see them coming back so nicely.

Same group, taken from bug's eye view. ;-)

Thanks Holly - yours should be coming along soon - you're probably, what, 2 weeks behind us in the DC metro area? Looking forward to seeing what blooms you get from your co-op! Love the variegated sedum!!!!