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.

Photos for Monica and "Missus"

These were on the morning of April 9, which was ridiculously cold, but really beautiful with the condensation still on all of the blossoms and leaves.

From top to bottom: The Vegetable Garden Ready for Planting (Blueberries, Asaragus and Some Lettuces Already Showing); An Azalea that's "way too bright" so early in the morning; Kwanzan Cherry blossoms up close; a Foxtail Lily that doesn't know how early it is; and the Bridal Wreath Spirea I can never get enough of.

Wretched Excess and Bramble Ferns

An acquaintance of mine from college days (about 200 years ago), always subscribed to Queen Victoria's idea that "nothing succeeds like wretched excess" In fact, Travis believed this so much that he later developed a very successful party business from that notion. I think the older I get, the more I'm agreeing with him, particularly with reference to the wooded garden area behind my house. This is the same area that Frank regularly looks at and remarks, "What a great place for a swimming pool!"

Since I'm never going to clean a swimming pool, and only mow our little section of lawn because it was already there when we bought the place, the area behind the house is slowly becoming known as the wooded garden. I've cleared out many of the really nasty trees that were threatening to fall down anyway, and I've slowly been adding more things in. Most casual observers would probably call that part of my garden messy, but that's because I'm the only one who knows where the baby treasures are lurking!

At this moment it is raining and gray, but the forsythia is blooming its heart out at the base of the ancient sweetgum tree. Across the yard, the native azalea is getting ready to open soon, the witchhazel is covered with lemon yellow fringe, and the yellow twig dogwoods are positively glowing. I discovered the other day that one of them is the cultivar "Winter Flame (Cornus sanguinea 'Winter Flame'), but I can't tell Cricket, since she is wanting one!

So the point of all of this is that there are lots of great things in my back garden, and their ambundance is adding to my need for STRUCTURE this year. I've had some success controlling myself in the front garden, so now I'm trying to do the same in the back. That's where the Bramble Ferns (Hypolepsis grandulifera) come in! Last night at the GPPA meeting, I picked up twelve of these babies, and can't wait to put them into the ground and watch them take off!

If you're not familiar with Bramble Ferns, go to the website, http://www.fernridgefarms.com/, and check them out! They'll grow up to five feet tall, spread themselves out, and just fill huge spaces with their fluffy green fronds. I'm hoping that it's going to create a consistent backdrop for some of the specimens in the wooded area....if not, it's going to be my own little version of invasive bamboo!

I'm already excited to discover that they prefer ditches and slopes....now I don't have to fill in that old ditch in the back! I'm going to call it my "ravine garden"