Nurseries Caroliniana

OMG!  Spent the day doing a roadtrip to Nurseries Caroliniana in North Augusta, South Carolina, with my friend Carole Simpson (of Ashe-Simpson fame).  Picked up all sorts of very cool plants for the Big House, as well as a couple of things for the garden at home.  More details to follow, but one of the more "regular" things I picked up was a pair of calla lilies which reach 7 feet in height (with 5 foot tall leaves), and are winter hardy!  For the time being, I'm a little zonked from spending so many hours in the car, but it was definitely worth the trip!  Can't wait to go back.

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.

More Signs of Spring

When the days start hitting the 70's, the glass house regularly pushes the 90's, and the tropical plants are loving life!  Only a few more weeks until they're able to be outside for the summer, and they're definitely wanting to get a head start.

Canna "Bengal Tiger" is creeping up through the other plants and catching a few rays.

Clerodendron is now climbing across the ceiling on wires, reaching for the sun. 

Orchids are strutting their stuff. 

Outside, the Maple "Sango kaku" is getting ready for spring, as well, still with its bright red winter bark color. 

More Spring Splendor

Every time I arrive at the Big House, I am reminded again of what an incredibly beautiful garden I get to spend my days in.  That impression is never stronger than in spring.  Here, ajuga creeps out of its bed and onto a stone staircase.

The bald cypresses are starting to show their spring color.  They are, in my mind, one of the most beautiful of trees, incredibly simple and breathtakingly simple in all seasons. 

There is the promise of a great blueberry crop in a couple of months. 

Arborvitae "Berkman's Gold" in bloom. 

Frittilaria in the morning sun. 

Even the most generic of hostas looks beautiful at the end of winter. 

In front of the house, we allow the kale to bolt, those delicate yellow blooms enhancing the pansy beds. 

Creeping phlox at the small pond. 

Redbud, apple, and Yoshino cherry blossoms all fight for attention. 

A stray tulip that comes back each year under one of the maples.  Clearly this bulb didn't read the book that said it shouldn't survive for so many years in Atlanta's heat. 

As always, click on any of the photos if you want to see them in more detail (but please don't lift my photos and call them your own). 

I hope you're enjoying spring in whatever form it takes where you are.

Spring Has Sprung!

Blooms on the Patio Peach called "Bonfire" are followed by dark burgundy foliage

In the walled garden, the cabbages and violas make a pretty combination

                                                  
Unnamed daffodils near the driveway

"Nuccio's Gem," one of my favorite Camellia japonicas

The spirea "Ogon" is putting on quite a show this week! 

Blooms from a weeping (Okame?) cherry 

The buds on a "Texas White" redbud are ready to pop, though they're a few days behind the native redbud.

The Yoshino Cherry blooms are almost at that point of starting to float down through the air

Another angle looking out through the Yoshinos 

Happy Birthday, Vita!

Oh, what a standard she set for future gardeners to uphold!

Spring Comes Early to the Glass House

These guys clearly don't know that it's only in the 50's outside, and is dropping down into the 30's at night...Just give them a little extra daylight and the warmth of the glass house, and they are confident they are back in the tropics!

Early Spring Blooms

This Autumn Cherry was in pretty bad shape, and has been "babied" for the past couple of years.  It is responding beautifully to a little TLC.

Another angle of the same tree, below. 

The Okami cherries are the real "show stoppers" at the moment from the street. 

A container at the pool 

There are hundreds of these daffodils at the Big House, the most notable of which line a long fence at the front of the property. 

Edgeworthia is perfuming the screened porch 

I came upon this hellebore in the wooded garden. 

The pansies are loving the sun! 

"Tete-a-tete" along the creek 

As usual, these are pretty huge files, so click for a better look.