Plant Pleasantries and a Giveaway

THIS IS THE TIME OF YEAR when our gardens change dramatically. Here it is the end of April already. When I look back at the photos I took at the beginning of the month, it shocks me how much my plants have grown in a single month. 

I work full time so I sure appreciate my evenings in the garden, looking over my plants, catching a whiff of fragrance or a new blossom opening up. For the next several months I would like to slow down time. I would like to bottle every sunny day and every stroll down the garden path. But since I can't, I'll just do my best to take it all in. And share it with my garden buddies.

I'm excited to show off this unnamed Clemmy my neighbor rooted off of her plant.
I'm psyched to finally see its very first blossoms--pink of course. 

Equally thrilling is my Weigela florida ‘My Monet’. Purchased back in 2008. It has been extremely slow getting established and has put on very little growth. This year, finally it has blossoms.
Could it have been the colder-than-normal winter?

I bought this little species Penstemon at a plant sale last year.
I'm pretty sure it's Penstemon cardwellii. I love the grape-colored blossoms.  

A little pot of Ledebouria cooperi came home with me after seeing them at Dancing Oaks nursery. 
I don't grow very many spring ephemerals, preferring to have my garden
hit its peak in summer. But these guys were so dang cute.

Ledebouria cooperi 

These are Caesalpinia pulcherrima seedlings. Caesalpinia, commonly called "Pride of Barbados"
 or "Peacock Flower" is purported to be a fast grower. It comes in reds and oranges or pink shades.
Bet you can't guess which flower color I chose.
I'm hoping they'll behave like Cosmos, growing quickly, blooming and dropping seed for next year. 

Here is an Internet photo of the flower in bloom. 

Here's another photo.
I'll let you know if my experiment works.
Fingers crossed.

Before saying sayonara, I wanted to let you know that my garden blogging friend Susan Troccolo is featuring me on her awesome blog, Life-Change-Compost. You can read an excerpt of my new book and if you leave a comment with your email, you're eligible to win a free copy of Grace in the Garden. Click here. 

Good luck and happy gardening!

Fishtail Cottage 

Round Two: This Winter Hates Me

BECAUSE, OF COURSE, IT'S all about me, right? To tell you the truth I had a strong suspicion we'd see more cold weather before winter's final farewell so this doesn't really surprise me. I mean, look what the rest of the country has endured. Even my friends in Texas and Florida are seeing colder than normal temps. 

Fortunately my supervisor at work is a very understanding human being, well aware of my propensity to panic if I'm on snowy roads. I'm stay-cationing, watching the snowflakes pile up into heaps and mounds.

Here is my trusty-rusty-under-the-covered-patio thermometer at 10 AM this morning.   

About 25 degrees F

 And my-out-in-the-middle-of-the-garden thermometer.

About 21 degrees F.

The pillar isn't crooked. The photographer was feeling the chill and didn't have the patience
to hold the camera steady. 

However, in the midst of my blubbering about the weather, there is good news to share! It started when Tammy of Casa Mariposa fame alerted me to Oregon blogger Susan Troccolo's Life-Change-Compost blog. Susan was running a contest for the best advice on redesigning her shady front garden bed. Never known for my brevity, I launched right in to all the things I would do if I were undertaking such a challenge in my garden. Well, Susan was apparently pleased because lookie what came in the mail! 

I went a little overboard purchasing seeds this year and was trying to figure out how I was going to get them all going. I already have one heat mat and yippee now I have two. 

Thank you Susan for your generosity. If you've got a few minutes, please hop over and say hi to Susan.