spring is here!

It's such a joy to have a garden. I've been walking through my garden noticing the little and not-so-little changes that happen as the season changes. Working at home means that my day has been little affected by shelter-in-place, so it's hard to keep up.

The Texas redbuds are finishing up. They are getting so big now, and in full bloom, the color of the light in the courtyard is magenta, as it filters down through the flowers.

Ipheion 'Rolf Fiedler' is also finishing. It's one of the plants that is getting shaded out by the redbuds.

My tree peony, too, is getting too much shade. Only two flowers this year. I'm not sure if I should drastically thin out the redbuds, or to just accept that the understory is going to change. Even the hellebores this year are less prolific than usual.

In a tough spot under the maple tree, I transplanted some of the Anemone nemerosa from another part of the garden. The heucheras failed in this spot. But these Anemones seem to be doing well. Yay! Success! Finally! Some people describe these as invasive since they can spread, but I hope they do spread. The original plants that came with the house really have not spread much in the last 7 years.

In the sunnier parts of the garden, the spring crocuses are done. I find these very disappointing, the flowers only lasting about 3 days. But the miniature irises are coming out. I divided most of these last year.

'Riveting'

'Gemstar'

'Alpine Lake'

I planted these Amsonia jonesii in June 2017, and this is the first time they are blooming. Pretty, yes. Contributing much to garden color, no.

I planted this blue flax Linum perenne 'Appar' last year, having appreciated a blue flax it in a friend's garden. This version is a deeper blue, and I must admit I am enchanted. It isn't that impressive in the garden right now, but with the number of buds on it, I expect more drama to come. The impressive thing about the plant is its ability to happily grow in this climate. I think I barely watered it after planting it. The stem ends where the flower buds are, hang dramatically downward like the plant is wilting, but it's not.

Another plant that I put in last year that barely got any water is Oenothera caespitosa, the tufted evening primrose. This native plant didn't shrug by the lack of care, and in fact has grown quite happily. The flowers are as large as tulips, and as impressively sized. They have a sweet fragrance, and grow an attractive rosette of ruffled leaves. Although the flowers will fade in the sun, the wild ones at least have a very long blooming season. We shall see how they perform in the garden, but I think I need a lot more of these.

I also planted a new cherry tree last year. 'Montmorency' has replaced the 'Ashmead's Kernal' apple that grew nicely but produced only a few small dry apples in the years I had it. Since my doctor says I'm not to eat apples any more, I replaced it. I'm getting a few flowers this year, even though the tree is still quite tiny.

I've also removed the plum tree that was being killed by borers. I'm not supposed to eat plums either, so I replaced it with a 'Juliet' sour cherry a few weeks ago. This is a bit of a gamble, since this cherry was developed in Saskatchewan. I don't know how it will tolerate our dry heat. But it's said to be a sweet tart cherry (an oxymoron, yes), that is sweeter than sweet cherries. It is also a natural dwarf, more of a large shrub than a tree really, only growing to 10-12 feet tall. It's a gamble, but I'm hopeful.