Here are how things are looking now:
I've been working on cleaning this bed up. I recently removed the dead flowers on the Hydrangeas and they've leafed out quite a bit more. I've been on the look out for just the right grass for in front of the tree. I'm still deciding between a Carex or Acorus and if I want variegated or gold foliage.
While looking for any surprises here I found the first Crocus has begun to bloom. These are the first I've ever planted in my yard. I'm not sure what took me so long, but I have them coming up all over now and just love them. I think I'll add some white ones this fall.
And these are some very big surprises. There had been a large Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectablilis) years ago that I transplanted to the backyard because it was in a bad spot. These are just two of the most recent babies that have come up here.
These are two others that came from the original plant a couple of years ago. Is this unusual? I can't figure out if they came up from pieces of root left behind or how they got here. I'm going to transplant the two newest to my backyard when they get a little bigger.
And the Camellia japonica 'Kumasaka' is already blooming. It does have a light fragrance but not until the blooms are fully opened. Right now the scent of the Winter Daphne (Daphne odora) is so strong I wouldn't be able to smell it anyway.By the end of April I'm hoping to have made a few changes here. I know there are a couple of perennials that will be moved out. The Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium) will probably be blooming as will some of the Heucheras and the Bleeding Hearts.
The Camellia is absolutely breathtaking!
ReplyDeleteMan it looks like spring at your house!! How many times am I going to type that to you I wonder...who cares how the volunteer plants got there, free plants! I just bought some new grasses and sedges...how tall and big do you want them to grow? I have fallen in love with low clumping Blue Fesuce Grass that I started from seed too!
ReplyDeleteDear Catherine, Your garden always looks immaculate as a result of all the hard work and effort which you put into it.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that the new Dicentra plants that you have are, as you say, the result of small pieces of root having been left in the ground when you transplanted the original. Certainly that has happened with me.
Hi Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI have an area like yours under my Chanticleer Pear tree. I have Lirope Grass under mine. I wish I had the stonework you have because every once in a while some creeps into my lawn. It would do well in your area, spreads quickly and gets a little purple flower. It would probably stay green all year for you.
The roots of bleeding heart are very brittle so some may have broken off and rooted. Your yard looks beautiful already!
Eileen
Hard to believe you are zone 8A and I am 7b and it seems as though you are more than a month ahead of me. Just wonderful to see.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the name of the Bleeding Heart that you have that blooms for so long?
Catherine, wonderful time of the year and your garden is really coming to life. I love the bleeding hearts but they are like a weed in our garden... pop up everywhere ;) What about putting some hostas near the hydrangea in addition to the grass you select... would add another dimension. Have a wonderful week Catherine... I'm heading for the potting shed. :)
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Darla. I just can't believe how it looks like spring at your home. My hydrangea looks like a wad of sticks right now.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it so exciting waiting for everything to bloom? I can't believe how early things are happening this year....or is it my imagination? I so need to get a bleeding heart....I have always wanted one & have just never gotten around to it. Your garden pics on your sidebar are fabulous!
ReplyDeleteShellagh
p.s.
is that a rose? the creamy peachy pink one?
Hi Catherine. That camellia bloom is soooo pretty. I am really enjoying your garden until I can get out in mine.
ReplyDeleteSince I just planted my Bleeding Hearts last Fall i do not know how they grow. Free is good though LOL! Wonder if they are pink or white? Surprise! As fast as everything is growing it will not be long until you find out.
The camellia is spectacular and Spring looks as if it has already arrived for you :)
ReplyDeleteI love Dicentra spectablilis! We had it all over the shade gardens at our first house. I missed it so much, that I just bought 6 plants last week to tuck into some of the shady areas here. I think you got a better deal on yours though :P
ReplyDeleteI do like the green against your lovely blue house. And it is cheering to see spring growth. There's still very little to see over here in this part of England.
ReplyDeleteThings are looling wonderful in your garden... my garden is finally starting to wake up too... how sweet!
ReplyDeletecielo
Hi - thanks again for participating in the end of month view. You can propogate Bleeding Heartfrom root cuttings so I suspect that when you moved the original plant you left some of the root behind
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine, It certainly looks wonderful over your way! We're still covered by snow, here. That's okay... it's way too early to expect anything else yet. (But watching your garden will be fun!) :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you Edith Hope, Eileen and Helen - I must have left just enough root behind for new plants. I'm sure if I had planned it that way it would've never happened so easily :)
ReplyDeleteDarla - I would like the grasses to be a clumping type that stayed around 1 foot tall. I just don't want it is to take over too much.
Janet - The Bleeding Hearts I have are just regular Dicentra spectabilis. One of the plants was here when I moved in and that's the one that has sent new plants up from the broken roots.
Di - I do have a few Hostas there, but would love to add a few different types as well. I love the ones with the big blue-green leaves.
Shellagh - Thanks! If you are meaning the flower in the sideshow, it's a rose 'Abraham Darby', I love it!
The camellia is beautiful! I love the dark green foliage.
ReplyDeleteLooks like things are coming along nicely! I LOVE your crocus...one of my faves that I can't grow here in SE Florida!
ReplyDeleteI love that vivid green against the blue of your house! I'd give anything to have my house a bright colour lol. Apparently we have rules in my subdivision. We don't have to pay any fees or anything, but there are some clauses that you have to keep with the look of the neighbourhood. The neighbour across the street got sued by another neighbour for having a pretty white fence put in the front yard. O_O
ReplyDeleteHere in the north...seeing crocus every early spring is such a blessing!
ReplyDeleteLoved seeing this one that you posted today...gives me hope!
I must be the only one without crocus in my garden. If I have luck with the daffys from last year’s planting, I may plant crocus next. I dont seem to have luck with bulbs but maybe I am to blame and not our mild winters. Although, no mild winter this year. Suprise plants are the best...
ReplyDeleteYes, your region is way ahead of ours this year. I'm just so surprised at our cold weather here. I have never planted crocus. Actually I've only been planting bulbs a few years. I'll get there!
ReplyDeleteBrenda
It really looks like spring there! Love the ruffly camellia.
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful already :)
ReplyDeleteYour bleeding hearts look so healthy. The foliage is beautiful. I have been thinking of planting some in my Woodland Garden. You have inspired me!
ReplyDeleteI just can't believe all that you have blooming there. It's just amazing when I look at my posts this time last year I was waiting for anything to show. Just so early but I'm loving it. My Azalea is now blooming and last year I posted that it opened around April 13 - is that amazing or what? And your Peony Poppy is showing here along with Dianas and maybe mine that I planted in jugs. Hooray!!! Everyone is going to name me the springtime idiot I just get so excited!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your gardening book will be there if they had it here - good luck!
Catherine, my bleeding heart here in southern england, is only just peeping its head through the soil, so you are much more forward in the season there. I think everything is quite behind here because of all the bad weather, worst winter for 31 years the meteological centre are saying. It was beautiful here yesterday and spent all day in garden,but frost again this morning... betty xxx
ReplyDeletelooking very good! the bleeding heart thing has happened on other things with me before and either the plant took awhile to come back or I just missed it when it was super small.
ReplyDeleteCatherine, I luv how the yellow of the daffodils looks against the blue of your house. You should plant a lot more daffodils in that bed. Hey, I sound kind of bossy, don't I?
ReplyDeletedonna
Donna makes a good point Catherine.
ReplyDeleteImagine say masses of yellow against the blue of your house.
I can't see any of my 'bleeding heart' at the moment. Give me your secret!
I love the camellias. I decided to do a camellia week!
ReplyDeleteYour bleeding hearts are doing so much better then mine, your weather must be a tad warmer then where I am.
Love you photos. Your blog is one of my favorite places to visit.
It looks like your garden is two months ahead of mine! I don't think my bleeding hearts will be that big until the first of May. I have had them seed around and grow too. Often in my gravel pathway. I might have a crocus in the next two weeks tho. Yay. Glad you planted some ~ I love having them but we definitely need the color (since there isn't much else blooming when they start). Your garden is alive with blooms. :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat color and it looks like that front garden is in great shape ready for the year.
ReplyDeleteI'd say you're off to a great start for spring! Wasn't today lovely? I got some serious planting in, despite desperately wanting to nap ;0) Would you like some Mexican Feather Grass for in front of the tree? I have oodles of "babies" that I must rid myself of. It has great golden color and stands about 2-3 feet tall. The catch being it makes lots of babies, but I've only noticed this after a few years. Let me know and I'll put some aside for you.
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine~~ Everything looks great in your front garden. Interesting about the Dicentra. The camellia is just stunning.
ReplyDeleteNice! In a few weeks we'll actually have something "real" to show in our garden also!
ReplyDeleteIt's shaping up! I've never had bleeding hearts reseed. It probably has to do with where I live, or maybe the kinds I have planted. I sure like yours.
ReplyDelete