Gardening

Gardening.  There are so many things to say.  It is rewarding and hard work, requires commitment and patience and diligence.  There is luck and timing involved. In my case, it is a bloody miracle anything survives, grows or blooms.  I think I have killed more plants than post people have planted.  I love gardening, so I struggle on, doing some things right, falling asleep with gardening books on my head, searching through Google and consulting with gardening friends.

Music City had a cold snap this week, causing gardeners to scurry to cover plants to protect them from the low temps and wind.  In my walk through Next Year the only thing which suffered cold damage was the foliage on the knock out roses.

Here is Next Year April 2012

 This is Anthony Waters Spirea.

This is Oak Leaf Hydrangea. This is one of my favorite plants--those green blooms will mature into chartreuse then white.  The blooms stay on the plant and in the fall they are a beautiful cinnamon and the birds love them.

This is a Mophead hydrangea.  Am hoping it will produce a range of colors from pink to purple to blue to white.  I fed both the hydrangea's this spring and they seem to be thriving.  Whew!  Maybe I can put this one in the good gardener column.

These are the knock out roses.  I gave them a hard pruning in the fall and was hoping I had not killed them.  A good spring feeding seemed to have helped them.  There is some leaf damage due to the cold.  Love me some knock outs--they are hardy!

This is the Ballerina rose from the Antique Rose Emporium.  She has performed well this year.  I was hoping jackmanii clematis was going to bloom with Miss Ballerina but Jack had his own plans.

This clematis is Comtesse de Bouchaud!  With a name like that she should be a beauty!  Come on Comtesse don't disappoint me.

This is a late blooming Iris which came from my Uncle's garden.

If the weather cooperates and my back holds out, I have more gardening plans in store for the weekend.  Planting ground cover working with the Japanese Maple, maybe a trip to the Gardening Center for annuals, planting tomatoes and . . .  a gardeners work is never finished.