Wordless Wednesday: Mystery Rhody

April Blooms

I accidentally hit the publish button before writing any text. Perhaps that is fitting. There is too much to say. It is the one-year anniversary of my starting this garden blog. Spring has been stunning - at first too fast, then slower with cooler weather. I am struggling with being a gardener whose house is for sale. Do I put in new plants? Or do the minimum effort necessary to keep the garden looking good? It is sad to know I will have to leave a garden that I have created for the past eight-plus years. (Sometimes, however, the stress of not knowing gets to me and I just want to turn my back on the garden and start a new one, this time with more sun.) 

The garden after many years is maturing to that full, more cottagey effect, with serendipity playing a large part in the garden's look. The columbine, below, self-seeded in profusion among flagstones. 

Tiarella (foamflower) is adorable along the path edges and a long bloomer, though photos never do it justice.

The light transforms a mainly green scene.

Tulips fall from the sky. Usually they are broken and faded, and my husband and I have been known to disparage the "mess" created by poplars. But this one was a gift. I now understand why the tree is called a tulip popular.

Iris cristata has taken over a large swath of shady slope in just 2-3 years.

The stunner in my garden the last two weeks has been the grape-purple columbine of an unknown variety purchased from the farmer's market 2 years ago.

Azaleas are now past their peak, but here are a few photos from a week or so ago.

Japanese roof iris spreads beautifully.  

Bugleweed seeds itself around, but I let it.

More of the purple columbine edging the path.

Green and gold is probably my favorite groundcover. Tough, easy, native, pretty.

Japanese kerria has graceful arching branches. It thrives in part shade and fits a woodland aesthetic. It is past its peak now, but was at its prime a few days ago.

Vocation

Credentials

I wish it were possible to state in so

few words my errand in the world; quite simply

forestalling all inquiry, the oak offers his leaves

largehandedly. And in winter his integral magnificent order

decrees, says solemnly who he is

in the great thrusting limbs that are all finally

one: a return, a permanent riverandsea.

So the rose is its own credential, a certain

unattainable effortless form: wearing its heart

visibly, it gives us heart too: bud, fullness and fall.


~ Daniel Berrigan

Pairs

Emerging leaves on redbud 'Forest Pansy'

Mourning doves 

Spring Snapshots

Redbuds are in full bloom around town. The redbud I planted six or seven years ago is finally flowering prolifically. 

Ice Follies daffodil in spring sunlight.

The camera fails to capture the subtle beauty of spring, but I still try.

A view of part of the woodland border at the back of the garden. This area used to be a weedy "lawn."

Narcissus 'Thalia' below. A favorite daffodil.

Ice follies daffodils and hellebores. I didn't plan it this way, but they peak at the same time. 

Bloodroot emerges and blooms quickly. Pay attention, or you miss the flowering.

Sometimes flowers kiss. 

The emerging foliage of Japanese roof iris catches the fading sunlight near the moss-covered boulder. 

Below is one of the many hellebores that grew from seed. It has some pure white flowers amid the more typical pinkish white blooms.

Spring Ephemerals

Spring has arrived along the Piedmont creeks. 

No, you can't tell from the photo below.

But look closely at the ground as you walk. Trout lilies are beginning to bloom. 

I never heard of trout lilies until five or six years ago, when I began volunteering at the North Carolina Botanical Garden. The woman who coordinated our small crew of volunteers was crazy about spring ephemerals. The tinier the flower, the more she liked it. The trout lily flower is not quite as big as in the close-up photo below.

The speckled leaves emerge from the leaf litter in the thousands on slopes along the creeks. They're enchanting. Tiny, subtle, hard to photograph, then gone in a few weeks, leaves and all. 

Spring ephemerals don't have time to grow big blooms. They thrive in the short window between the end of winter and the emergence of leaves, which soon block the light to the forest floor. The sharp growing tip of trout lily, below, punctures a leaf. I can almost see it growing.

Here is what a trout lily looks like from above, growing at the base of a tree among wild ginger. 

Spring ephemerals remind me of fairies. I become a child again, crouching in the leaves to enter their world. Here trout lilies grow among spring beauties, one of the tiniest of tiny flowers.

Spring beauties are about the size they appear in the photo below. They have charming delicate pink stamens. 

Hepatica is hard to find, but well worth looking for. The lavender flowers emerge before the three-lobed leaves. 

Below is a windflower. 

I will join Beth at Plant Postings' meme on Lessons Learned and Donna at Gardens Eye View's meme on Seasonal Celebrations. These little flowers are a celebration. They mark the beginning of spring. 

Winter lessons learned:

1. Do not allow yourself to become so distracted by work and house (even if you have good reasons!) that you don't spend time in the garden and nature.

2. Take more walks in the woods, especially in early spring.

3. Look for the beauty in small signs of life.

4. You can grow seeds indoors under a desk lamp with a compact fluorescent bulb (no need for fancy equipment!)

5. It's a pleasure to see daffodils emerge where you didn't even remember you planted them.

Duke Gardens in February

The first freezing precipitation of this winter is pelting the house. Yesterday, on a cloudy but warm  afternoon, I visited Duke Gardens to see what was in bloom. A few buds were starting to pop on the tulip magnolias. They are very susceptible to frost, so these adventurous buds may not survive the storm.

Fortunately, most of the buds are still neatly enclosed in their furry coats.

Duke Gardens is conscientious about labeling plants, but they neglected to tag the flowering fruit tree below. Japanese apricot? Japanese cherry? I lean toward apricot because it seems far too early for cherry blooms. 

I don't want to give a false impression that spring is here in central N.C. Here is the view from the garden's famous terraces. Note the unlabeled flowering fruit tree in the top left. 

Paperbush was in bloom in several spots in the garden, including in large pots. The flowers are fragrant. I'll add that to the growing list of plants I'd like in my next garden. 

This is one of the most natural-looking water features I've ever seen.

It seems early for hyacinths, but here they are.

An Algerian iris. These small irises are charming, I think. 

A path lined with hellebores (aka Lenten rose). 

A bed of winter jasmine grows alongside the path next to the pond.

Hope you enjoyed the short tour!