Hello again.
You may note that this is a new potpourri. My old one is still available at stevespotpourri.blogspot.com. Alas, I can no longer post to it. My friends at the Google help forum have yet to come up with a solution. So here I am.
The image above is our garden cat. He/she/it has some advantages in that no birds are chased and there is no frivolous digging. However that particular pussy tends to rust.
Our spring flowers are proceeding apace. Therefore, I shall post a few here.
This is the first calla lily of the season. It abides in the front of our home so our visitors can see. There about a dozen sprouting now and we expect them to last most of the summer.
These are some more of the flowers we have this spring. From left to right, they are: Stella de oro daylilies, hardy ice plants and one of the last iris we'll have until next year.
We live in Arkansas and spring has advanced through the crocus, daffodil and tulip stage. Even though we've had a cool, wet spring, even the best of things must end. So, we're looking at the first of our summer flowers.
But wait, there's more!
The flowers that will last all summer have begun to arrive. These welcome guys are, again from left to right: Indian blanket flower, lavender de Provence and Queen Anne's lace.
There are some people who consider both the blanket flower and Queen Anne's lace (also called false carrot) to be weeds. However in my book, these are dependable summer friends. They may be a little overenthusiastic in the matter of propagation. But that just gives me more nice plants to pass along to folks who like them.
We have a number of plants in our garden that are native to Arkansas, and more importantly, able to resist our winters and summer temperatures.
The Oriental lily at the immediate right is a "come back kid." They die back in winter, then sprout in spring to bloom gloriously in May and June. The center plant is a hardy orchid. That's one of the few orchids that thrive here. Next to it, on the far right is the rainbow orchid, another Arkansas native.
These last flowers are a blend. The penstamon on the left is of the Jupiter's beard variety. Although not native, hummingbirds and
butterflies love it. In the center are wave petunias. I was pleasantly surprised this year. I had planted them last summer to replace the pansies that could not stand our summer heat. They are supposed to be annuals here, but they re-seeded and came back for me. The final plant is an Indian pink. Its flowers are short lived, but I love them. They usually replace the snow drops and daffodils that grow in the same bed. My latest experiment is with a transplanted toad wort. If it thrives, photos will be forthcoming. I'm hoping to find some larkspur and gather its seeds. Another lovely thing to grace our rocky slopes.
You can see the rocks. My wife and I have been moving them for years, slowly building beds
where previously, there were only rocks and a few hardy weeds. As you can see from the date, this photo is a sort of "before". If we ever finish, I'll show an "after." But our garden is, as are most, a work in progress.
You can see the rocks. My wife and I have been moving them for years, slowly building beds
where previously, there were only rocks and a few hardy weeds. As you can see from the date, this photo is a sort of "before". If we ever finish, I'll show an "after." But our garden is, as are most, a work in progress.
