Thursday, April 22, 2010

Fertilizer Friday

Hope you all have had a good week. It's that time again when we gather over at Tootsie Time and celebrate Fertilizer Friday. Ya'll come on over and check out the other gardeners flaunting their stuff. Click on the title and you are on your way.



We have been in a drought. No rain since the middle of March and the gardens are a slow go right now. I have been watering nearly everyday now for 2 weeks. We are expecting some thunderstorms and possible severe weather on Saturday. I am thankful for the rain coming and hope it doesn't get too severe. I am hoping to move around some things I have planted and want to put some more seedlings into the beds but that would kill them till I have some moister soil to work with. I have a REAL problem with putting plants too close together. I am seeking a fuller look to my gardens and realize that some plants don't like to be jumbled up but me and my gardens are always a work in progress. They all need a shot of fertilizer after the rain.

Had to share this little beauty that I found yesterday upon arriving home from work. The orange center was speaking to me when I walked up. How nice that the flowers talk to me. I bet you hear them sometime too.



This is the fountain in front of Mr and Mrs Bellingrath home. You can barely see it to the right. There was a lot of growth in the front of the home this time and could not get a good photo. I sure hope they trim some of it back in the coming months. The trees have grown so much since I was last there.

This is my prize azalea. I do not know it's name but I am in love with it. She looks like a rose to me. I don't see this one very often.



I wanted to share a couple more shots of the pretty daffodil. This particular daffodil doesn't hang around too long either. Only a day or two before it wants to hang its head down. I have a couple of daffodils that have maintained the same bloom for 9-13 days. Betsy at Joyful Reflections has identified this one as White Lion. She is so pretty.





I am seeing that this snapdragon is drought tolerant.





I was wondering if you could recommend a good book to identify flowers and a book about birds.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

24 comments:

Avalon's Garden and Mewsings of Garden Cottage Cats said...

Your azalea is beautiful and it does look like a rose. So pretty!! Everything is !! Gardens are ever changing and always a work in progress ..... A gardeners work is never done .... hahaha :) Scratch and sniff was a good one! lol:)You are right too bad it's not!
We haven't had much rain since March either ..., I celebrated Mothers Day for Mother Earth(Day) doing what Mother Nature should be doing WATERING!! lol ...:) Have a great weekend!!

Bonnie said...

The color of your snapdragons is amazing!

Debbie said...

Oh what beauties even if there is a drought. We are receiving inches of rain the past 3 days breaking our dry spell. Thank goodness but it keeps me in the house instead of the garden. Did you see the special on Martha Stewart Gardening about drying pansies? I need some to give it a try.

Unknown said...

You're right your dafodills are very beautiful and so is your Azalea. Love the pond!
Your snapdragons are the same color as one of mine - my favorite, they are so beautifully 2 toned in 'my' colors. Spring is finally here isn't it?

Lona said...

Hi Becca. Wow! That is a beautiful azalea. I know why you love those blooms. They are just so pretty. And you violas are so sunny and cheery looking.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Lona

Lemon Lane Studio said...

You are right, that is a gorgeous azalea. We have several but our peak in California is late March early April. They are such a treat while they last. You are not alone in planting things closer than they probably should be. Patience to let things fill in is not my strong point. Your garden is just beautiful.

Paula said...

I am amazed your flowers look so great with a drought ! You must give them lots of TLC. Thanks for sharing these beautiful pictures! Paula in IDaho

Alea Milham said...

Your flowers look beautiful for being in a drought! Snap dragons are amazingly tough little flowers - they even do well here in the high desert!

I like the Stokes guides for bird ID. I am also looking for a good flower ID book, if you find one you like please let me know and I will do the same (or I guess we could just blog about it because we can't be the only ones at a loss for iding some of the things growing in the yard).

Connie said...

Your flowers are all so pretty, Becca. I really love the azalea. Hope you have a nice weekend. :)

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

The daffodils are so pretty, and so is that Azalea. I haven't seen many double Azaleas before.
I saw the severe weather alert on the weather map today. I wondered if you and the other bloggers I know in that area were going to be affected. Hope it's not too bad.

A good type of bird id book is one that is specific to your area or state. I find they are the easiest to help me identify birds.
I've also noticed that if there are any garden magazines that are for your part of the country they often have gardening books too, and are usually full of flowers and plants that you would be able to grow where you live.

Carol Murdock said...

Your flowers are gorgeous Becca!
We have over 2 inches of rain so far, it sure will make things jump!

Dirt Princess said...

For me the Southern Living book is the BEST for our area! Every gardener I know here has it! It is like my garden Bible

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?r=1&ISBN=9780376039101&ourl=Southern%2DLiving%2DGarden%2DBook%2FEditors%2Dof%2DSouthern%2DLiving%2DMagazine&cm_mmc=Google%20Product%20Listing%20Ads-_-k232270-_-j12871747k232270-_-Primary&IF=N

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Hi Becca,
What pretty blooms you have! The daffodil is so dainty. I looked back at the photo when I first read that the pink flowers were azaleas, because they looked like roses to me, then I read on to what you said about them looking like roses. LOL

I hope you've gotten some rain. It's been raining here off and on for a few days. I got chased in from my gardening by the rain today.

Diary From Africa said...

The flowers are all lovely .... only wish I could send some of our torrential, constant African rain your way :)

Far Side of Fifty said...

Oh I love that azalea that looks like a rose! It is just beautiful!
The snapdragons are lovely..they are doing well!
I have a Peterson Field Guide for Birds. I have oodles of guides for flowers..wildflowers, perennials and annuals, trees..sometimes I think and internet search does the same thing..:)

Diane said...

Hi Becca, we have been dry ever since Nigel left (13 April), he seems to bring the rain with him and then take it away again! That is until today when under a blue sky I went around the road and the drive with the weed killer. 30 mins later we had a shower, followed by blue sky! Guess I will have to do the weed killer again. Your photos are excellent.

Green Iris said...

Such a beautiful azalea! It really looks like a rose. I have a great book--The Southern Gardener's Book of Lists--just a very practical book which lists flowers, vines, shrubs, etc. for just about any type of situation in the garden. Check it out at Amazon!

Chicken Boys said...

Hi Becca. I hope you were spared from the nasty weather that hit down your way this weekend. I was certainly thinking about you. They said it was gonna hit us, but we barely go a quarter of an inch of rain. It was pretty windy yesterday, but that was about all we got. Hope you are okay.
~Randy

Deb said...

thanks for stopping by today...glad you enjoyed the post...I'm trying not to be stale...find new adventures...LOL..

Kimba said...

Your azalea is gorgeous! What beautiful flowers.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Becca: That is a wonderful garden with great flowers.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Becca, Love that Daffodil... AND your azalea is gorgeous... Love that color!!! Yours is different from most Azaleas. The White Lion Daffodil is so pretty...

Snapdragons were one of my mother's favorite flowers. I've never had one. Maybe next year!!!

I don't know about flowers, but I have some good bird books. One is "Common Birds and their Songs". (it has a CD with it--identifying their songs.)

Another good one is the Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds --Eastern Region...

Hope you got some rain over the weekend --but no horrible storms.
Hugs,
Betsy

Deb said...

your flowers are so pretty...love the colors...I've never had snap dragons may have to give them a whirl...

Tootsie said...

it is all just gorgeous girl...I love visiting and seeing what's blooming around the blog community...azalea is hard to grow here and I envy the beauty you have growing!
thanks for linking in this week. I am sorry it took so long to get over here and see...I just can't seem to get to the end of the busy around here these days! I do hope you will link in again...I have enjoyed my visit!

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