Back in March, when I went to Fort Worth to get Peter for some Spring Break holiday time, I went to a couple of nurseries there. I got sucked into springtime mentality and did quite a bit of shopping. I wandered around, with carts (which just leads to more merchandise, because I don’t have to try to carry several pots), and picked up familiar annuals that I needed to replace, after the winter, and some things I’d never purchased before, thinking I could put this in that spot and put that in this spot . . . One nursery had bougainvilleas, and I love bougainvilleas. They even had the orangey-red kind that I like because they’re the color of the brick on our house. I filled up the trunk with plants.
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- The lovely brick-colored bougainvillea
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- The trio of other brightly-hued bougainvillea
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- Lots of the other plants, some old friends and some brand new
After Peter went back home, I spent time outside (even though the weather was still a little chilly), cleaning up the winter’s leavings. I repainted the plant stakes in the thyme garden, and relabeled everything. I was careful to only do two stakes at a time, otherwise, I’d have had a handful of labeled stakes and some uncertainty about which stake went next to which thyme plant.
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- The thyme garden, all cleaned up and well-organized and labeled
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- Next to the label “Orange Thyme,” you can clearly see two very different kinds of thyme, all nestled together. I have no idea which is actually “Orange Thyme,” and who the other thyme is.
Then, that last Saturday before we were cautioned to (and required to) stay at home, I went to three nurseries here, and bought a bunch more plants.
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- In Fort Worth, I bought some new ferns to add to what I already had.
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- Years and years ago, my dad planted wood ferns on the north side of the house. They come back every year, and have joined their new fern friends. They grow large.
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- Here’s what else has grown large-enormous dandelion plants. Maybe my next door neighbor has been putting fertilizer on something on her side of the fence, which has caused this epic growth.
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- This front bed gets the afternoon sun, which is good for these pansies (in the bed) and violas (in the hanging pots). But they are cool weather plants, and won’t last.
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- These are hot weather plants, which will go into that bed. The flowers in the foreground will go into the bed and the plants back against the wall will go into the hanging pots.
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- Impatiens for the shady part of the back yard.
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- New plants in hanging baskets.
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- The squirrels are doing their part in the planting process, trying to grow some more pecan trees.
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- Herbs are growing pretty well.
I like Caladiums. They’ve grown well in this space. I usually purchase Caladium plants, but this year, at one of those local nurseries, I saw Caladium bulbs. I could do this, I thought. And I bought several, three of each kind, putting them in the brown paper bags provided. I labeled each bag. I dug up a generous space in this bed, put those bulbs in, and covered them up.
It’s been almost three weeks. I don’t know how long it takes for them to come up.
We’ll see.
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- I’ve taken 45 photos of the holly bushes, trying to get a bee buzzing around the holly flowers.
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- Around the corner from me, these are growing. They’re sunflowers. They come up every year and are tall and impressive.
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- Across the street from the sunflowers, this large cactus has buds that will open up into bright, yellow flowers.
I was worried all last year about this tree. It didn’t seem as full, and its leaves seemed smaller and paler. In the fall, it’s always the first tree to change and the first to loose its leaves. The fall leaves are golden and so striking against the other trees which are still green. Last fall, they were paler. I was afraid it was in ill health.
This year, it’s full and green and the leaves are large. Maybe it was just taking a year off.
For you will leave your exile with joy and be led home wrapped in peace. The mountains and hills in front of you will burst into singing and the trees of the field will applaud!
Isaiah 55:12 (The Passion Translation)
I like that in a tree.
Spring!
Your yard is BEAUTIFUL!! E. Bunny will have tons of fun hiding eggs there!
If it will just keep raining!