Sunday, March 27, 2011

Spring in the Stepchild Garden

 The garden at home (AKA The Stepchild) is decidely less formal than that at the Big House or the terraces at the penthouse.  This is where I am free to break the rules and let things run slightly amok.  The native azalea "Frederick O. Douglas" is the most beautiful shell pink and white when it opens amongst the ferns.
Kerria japonica is one of those plants that everyone in greater Atlanta just seems to have, but nobody actually buys.  I just learned that this form is "Plenaflora."  There is also a single form that is beautiful.  The best part is that it thrives in woodsy shade, so it's a great burst of spring happiness when the forsythia stops blooming. 
"Jenny Brook" wallflower must just like being neglected.  At the Big House we dote on it, and it doesn't do all that well.  In my own garden I honestly forgot about it, and look what has happened!
Creeping Jenny and Obedient plant.  Two things that will eventually eat the South (if anything is left when the kudzu and wisteria are done.)
As always, click 'em to make 'em bigger if you want.

8 comments:

  1. That forsythia looks lovely - like cute little marigolds!

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  2. My creeping Jenny has come back with a vengeance this year. I planted a clearance container of the stuff last summer and fully expected it to die off. Through the hot dry summer and fall, it just sat there. Come winter, it disappeared. Now, it's sprouting from under the leaves and is on its way to becoming a groundcover. I was warned.

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  3. Like the contrast between the moneywort and Physostegia. Of course one will eat the other.

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  4. Love the Kerria...so lovely! I have a love/hate relationship with my Erysimum, they look great for a few years, then start to slowly die off...I've finally decided to rip them out...but I sure will miss them :-(

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  5. Kerria is one of those shrubs I really like but have seen only on blogs, never in real life. (Though it is hardy in my zone.)

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  6. How lucky you are to live in a climate zone where it is really spring! Thanks for the terrific photos...
    I love the new header.

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  7. We don't see the kerria around as much here in Charleston, but I do remember visits to Atlanta where it is everywhere. I assume it roots when it touches the ground. Nice passalong plant.

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  8. Love all those plants. A friend gave me a piece of the single kerria too, and I've really enjoyed it also. I've now shared it and my double about. I think that's why no one has to buy it.~~Dee

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