In My Gardens This Week

Today I am linking up with Fishtail Cottage for Cottage Flora Thursdays and with Tootsie at Tootsie Time. You can go to their links here http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com/2011/03/cottage-flora-thursdays-12.html

and http://www.tootsietime.com/.

Things are popping here on the Gulf Coast as spring has arrived. The bridal wreath (spirea) is still putting on a show. I love their delicate blooms.

This is my twice a year blooming azalea. Soon they will be open all over the area.

Daffodils are slow to bloom and only giving a bloom at a time. Don't know why they aren't busting out like last year. But I'm loving the double bloom on this one. As you can see it is small.

 Nemesia.

Snaps are in their prime right now but they will be blooming all summer long and into the fall. They love it here.

Dianthus are putting on blooms but they are leggy. I didn't do the fertilizer yet so it is my fault. I'm lazy sometime - what can I say. But the Miracle Gro is on my counter in the kitchen.

Azaleas are so hard to photograph.

Purchased a few new additions to the gardens this past weekend. Loving this fire red here. So hard to photograph.

I fotgot the names of some of the plants I bought since I stupidly removed the ID tags. Shame on me.

This is a new dianthus. It will be different than the other I have. I'm looking forward to what these will look like.

This a very different verbena. Loving the soft colors. 

My Sarah Bernhardt peony is coming back and looking good. I'm so hoping for a bloom this year. I planted this two years ago and it hasn't bloomed yet. 

These shasta plants stayed green all winter long. I planted these last year from seeds I had done early in the year. They didn't bloom last year so I'm hoping for some blooms. If it doesn't do this year I'm pulling them out. 

My one and only hosta. Didn't do much last year so this year should be better. I would so love to have a hosta garden. Maybe soon.

Bought another Butterfly Bush. I'm looking forward to lots of butterflies this year and these awesome blooms.



I've got a lot to do today so I'm gonna keep this short.

Hoping you all have a wonderful day and a great weekend.

Happy Spring

Today I am participating in Fishtail Cottage http://fishtailcottage.blogspot.com/2011/03/cottage-flora-thursdays-11.html Cottage Flora Thursday and Friday with Tootsie at http://www.tootsietime.com/ for Fertilizer Friday. Ya'll go check them out and see who else some blooms to share.

Our weather is outstanding. We have blue skies. The mornings are crisp with temps around 50 and the days are warming to high 70's. Wish I had a few days off work to play in the dirt but I have to earn a living. Having a place to live is more important but the weekend is also stacking up to be beautiful weekend. I hope you are having good weather wherever you are.

The calendar says spring starts on Sunday around 6 in the evening. This is what we gardeners look forward to all winter long. I am happy to see it finally arrive too.

The bridal wreath is so beautiful this time of year. They don't bloom but for a couple of weeks at best but they are so pretty. They also photograph well so that also is plus. Just think if I had a better camera. Just click to enlarge.

Not very many daffodils yet. They have been blooming only a couple at a time. Can't wait for some of the other kinds to bloom.

I hope to have blooms from the daisy's through the summer.

These stunning geraniums just don't photograph well. The color is a dark fushia.

And I love the variegated one with the soft pinks. These don't photgraph well either. They are really a much lighter pink than the photo shows.

The snapdragons are loaded with buds so I am expecting an abundance of snaps.

Maybe if I get the fertilizer out I might get more flowers flowers from the dianthus. I am only getting a single flower on each little plant.

More new growth spotted in the gardens.

The white begonias are coming along. I am one of the lucky gardeners in that my begonia's usually come back for me. I don't do anything different though. I just leave them to die and don't bother them all winter. You have to be sure when cleaning the gardens that you don't disturb the dead looking plant ball. After they begin to grow in the spring I will cut back the dead parts of the plant.

This is my only hydrangea. Shame on me. I plan to add more this year. They certainly a beautiful plant to look forward to.

A light pink begonia coming up.

I put out a bunch of seeds in the gardens and don't know what is where so all of the plants are going to be a mystery till they have a bloom or someone can idenify them. These are about 3 weeks old now.

Newly planted dahlias are coming up. I planted 6 and they all are up. The dahlias from last year are not up yet.

Buddy hates when I have the camera out and point at him.

Hope you all have a wonderful day and a great weekend too.

March 2011 GBBD

I am participating in May Dreams Garden Blogger Bloom Day. Ya'll go over and check out the other blooms from around the world. http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/

I am loving the nemesia more every day. They haven't stopped putting on a show since I put them in the ground. I like the salmon color on this one.

The snapdragon is flowering now. There are tons of buds. I have been anxiously awainting the first blossoms. Click it and check it out. My photo came out so clear and you can see the hairs on the flower.

The bridal wreath is always a treat. The branches get heavy with all these flowers on them. They are just getting started too. Do you see all those buds on the bottom right of the photo?

This is all I have for poppies this year. I guess I messed up by not collecting the seeds last year because there are not any coming up where they were last year. This little patch of poppies are what were left of the seeds in the fall. I thought that they would come back bigger and better than last year. Fooled me.

Our weather is warming up here on the Alabama Gulf Coast. We had a nice rain last night and all the plants were happy this morning. I have lots of seed put out two weeks ago. There are barely some seedlings coming up. I'll just see what's gonna happen with them. Unless I get too impatient and head out to the garden centers for my flower obsession.

Hope you all have a great day.

Today I am thankful for closeness in a family.

PS My little brother is very ill and needs your prayers. We are not sure what all he is dealing with right now. He does have cirosis of the liver but there seems to be some other complications like maybe cerebral palsy is striking back from his childhood.  He lives in Atlanta so it isn't so easy to go to him. Please pray for him. I am worried.

A Few of My Pretties

I've been sick again. Last week and again on Monday. This is getting too regular. I spent most of the day at the hospital yesterday. After running a slew of tests - I have stones in my gallbladder but that was not the root of my illness. Doctors determination was that I am having gastric problems. Had there been infection in my gallbladder they would have removed it yesterday. He has recommended that I go to my doctor at Victory Health (a not for profit facility created and run by doctors and volunteers who provide care to those who are employed but have no insurance). I hate going to the doctor these days. All it means to me is lost time at work that cannot be made up not to mention the cost to go the doctor. I feel like I am digging a hole and it is getting deeper. Sorry guys I hate to whine but that is where I'm at.

On another note I am about to give up on the idea of having a veggie garden. The area is tilled and cleaned. I just can't see me working it and keeping it up this year. I think it is getting to be too much. I am feeling old lately and whining a lot about my problems. I hate that I do that. ENOUGH of that.


Imagine my surprise and what a nice one it was yesterday when I came home from the hospital to step out to this little beauty. I am so happy that they are going to bloom since they were just planted in mid January. It was a good buy - $5 for 55 bulbs.
I was happy to see that this snapdragon was blooming. I love the colors - lavender and white. This one I planted last year and it has come back. yea!

The azaleas are about to burst open. The bushes are full and are beginning to open. The azaleas are on display in nearly everyone's yard here on the coast and along the streets.

The bridal wreath is stunning here. They are blooming everywhere.

Hope you all have a great day and good gardening.