Virginia Bluebells Return

Virginia bluebells return, blooming under the magnolia.

A Canna Blooming in my Sun Room

The daffs, a few Lenten Roses, pulmonaria and some early Kaufmanniana tulips--that's about it for color so far this Spring, but the cannas which I retrieved from M's yard waste can last November have come back to bloom again, a happy bit of yellow which I am anxious to get in the ground or a larger pot soon. But freezing night temps are predicted again this week and patience must prevail.

Amaryllis Blooms Again

Once again, the Amaryllis bloomed in April, blooming with one stalk, in triplicate. I did repot it last winter with a slightly larger pot. The first bloom happened while I was in NYC, first seen on April 6. This photo was taken on April 12. No second stalk evident so far, but again the bloom was very tall and striking.

Photo of the Day - Ornamental Kale

Here in zone 5 (5B or even 6A) this ornamental kale returned for a second year, becoming quite monstrous. We had heavy snow cover here in Michigan most of the winter, but I have never seen this kind of regrowth before. I am always pleased to see these kinds of anomalies in the garden. It keeps things interesting!

A second kale also returned (bottom right), out of the three that had been planted the previous fall here in client P's front yard, but remained more modest in size.

Photo of the Day - Pink Hibiscus Hedge

On a street near where I live my eye caught a whole lot of pink blooms today. I turned my car around to take a photo. It was a whole hedge of hibiscus. Wow.

Photo of the Day - Asiatic Lily after the rain

Photo of the Day - Juneberry aka Serviceberry or Amelanchier

Lupine in the Church Garden

Planted in May of 2013, the three lupine plants in the church garden came into their full glory in early June this year. Like over-sized exclamation points, they demand notice. Blooming simultaneously with the iris, they dominated the small annuals, planted the previous week and struggling to establish in the hot sun. The spectacular flowers of the lupines (or lupins) are not to be ignored, but sadly, they soon fade like most perennials. Their foliage usually remains interesting. I hope they survive the heat of summer in this sunny location and return another day.

The Perfect Pink Peony

Photo of the Day - Lupine

Photo of the Day - Branch of Coralburst Crabapple

Amaryllis Blooms for Hubby's Birthday

Okay. I'm actually getting bored with this photographing this amaryllis. I applied some Picassa magic--to hide the exercise bike in the background! However, this is the second stalk, and it also developed 4 flowers, this one opening a few weeks later, about the time of the husband's birthday. He could care less, but this bloom is a little hard to ignore on the dining room table. But 8 spectacular blooms this year! I am a proud mama.

Photo of the Day - Amaryllis Blooms for our Anniversary

So excited that the amaryllis has once again bloomed, this time with 4 blooms and a side shoot yet to open. It usually blooms for me at Easter (rather than Christmas) but Easter is late this year.

March Blooms in Michigan Found Only Indoors

My poinsettias are still holding up. But they represent WINTER.

 This week the sun was out and the massive Michigan snows are beginning to melt. I broke down and purchased a pot of tete-a-tete daffodils. For the first time in months it felt like winter's back had finally been broken.

The mini daffodils I planted last fall at the front of the church garden are buried under mounds of cold snow. Who knows when they will emerge this year?

It will take weeks to melt the near record snows of this winter, but a few sunny days near 30 degrees bring hope that March will indeed end with lambs and bunnies romping through green grass and daffodils.

In the parking lot of the store with the daffodils I found this Michigan snow mountain:

Snow mountain with footprints and melting edges

Photo of the Day - Dahlia

Many dahlias are blooming around the borders of Aunt V's vegetable garden

End of Summer - Stonecrop Sedum and more

Aunt V's Hibiscus

As the last blooms are fading on the hibiscus moscheutos, and the exuberant white hydrangea mopheads are turning fall-ish, the pluming fountain grasses and the stonecrop sedums are coming into their full glory.

The bees are very busy, moving now from the perovskia atriplicifolia to the pink sedum heads.

M's Sedum

The mums are still holding back, as they should, and a few of the hostas are still blooming white. Bold perennial color is a little elusive at this time of the year, but the cannas, the callas, the dahlia bulbs and other tropicals are stealing the glory yet for a little while. The reputedly psychotropic potted brugmansia plant at Aunt V's is in full bloom. The mandevillas are finally twining and full.

I just love the sun-kissed leaves on the canna I bought this year which blooms in yellow, tinged with red. It is growing gloriously tall, with some diamond frost euphorbia at its feet.

Photo of the Day - Canna

Photo of the Day - Last of the Lilies

My Casa Blanca Lily Today

Photo of the Day - 'Drums Along the Mohawk' (Last daylily!)

Hemerocallis 'Drums Along the Mohawk'

Photo of the Day - Just one more daylily

Hemerocallis 'Playing with Sharks'

Photo of the Day - Another Daylily!

Hemerocallis 'Woman at the Well'

Photos of the Day - Two Daylilies

Green Tarantula

El Desperado

Photo of the Day - Perennial in a Pot

When we did a plant shuffle this spring in my daughter's garden we had one plant left over. Not at all sure what it was or what color it would bloom, we potted it. Today it was blooming and it sure looks like a Stoke's Aster. Could this pretty potted perennial under the pergola be Peachie's Pick?

Photo of the Day - Trumpet Lily

This lilium regale is tied to a stake with pantyhose, but is still hanging--over Persicaria polymorpha, or Giant Fleeceflower.

Yucca at Sunset

Yuccas growing in the sand dunes of Lake Michigan