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| Daffodils have been blooming for weeks now in Middle Tennessee The earliest blooms got felled by nights in the teens, but new flowers have taken their place |
If you’re anything like me, you start looking forward to spring around, oh, January 2nd.
But it’s a long, cold slog from the dawn of the New Year until many plants starting showing signs of life here on the zone 6-7 border in Middle Tennessee. Trees like Crape Myrtle and Vitex may be able to handle our summer heat, but they can take until mid-April to start leafing out. And perennials like Hardy Hibiscus can hide below ground until at least that time.
Since this winter was particularly harsh, I was worried that Spring would come late. But a stretch of temperatures in the 50s and 60s has breathed new life into the garden.
(Note that the forecast over the next few days calls for a cold spell with lows in the lower-20s. I'll post updates of any damage. If I don't show damage, that means the plant seems to have emerged unscathed. No news equals good news in this case.)
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| Fuzzy new growth on an Arrowwood Viburnum These plants sat in the garage all winter with barely any water. I bought them too late last year (via mail order) and the weather turned brutal before I could get them in the ground. Mea culpa. And yet, they survived. Color me impressed. |
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| New leaves on Alleghany Viburnum. Actually, the leaves have looked this way for weeks now. It's my first spring with this plant, so I'm not sure if this is normal or when they'll unfurl. |
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| "Vera Jameson" Sedum |
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| Salvia nemorosa (either May Night or Blue Hill, not sure which) |
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| Red buds on a redbud tree |
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| Phlox paniculata "David", third year in the ground I do like that P. paniculata emerges so early and the young leaves look beautiful. They tend to look tired and tattered later in the summer in Middle TN. I may try thinning out the stems this year to see if that helps improve air circulation and prevent mildew. |
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| Phlox paniculata "Blue Boy" Beautiful foliage |
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| Mock Orange, Philadelphus x virginalis "Natchez" |
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| Hydrangea quercifolia, Oakleaf Hydrangea "Snowflake" |
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| Maple tree flowers |
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| Nigella damascena, Love in a Mist, self-sown seedling |
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| Loads of Love in a Mist (and a little Henbit, which is a weed, but a pretty one) If you grow Love in a Mist, be aware that it can self sow enthusiastically unless seed heads are removed. (The seed heads do stay on the plant a long time without shattering, so it should not be too hard to prevent or limit self-seeding if desired.) |
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| Stachys byzantina, Lamb's Ear "Helene von Stein" Note that I left last year's dead leaves to decay. Most sources advise raking the dead leaves away in the spring, but I wanted to see what would happen if I left them. So far, the Lamb's Ear seems to be doing just fine. I hope the old leaves will decay in warm weather and provide the plant with nutrients. It's a little unsightly at the moment, but I presume the new leaves will soon cover the old foliage. |
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| Close up on the Lamb's Ear. Love the fuzzy foliage. |
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| Geranium x Cantabrigiense, Cambridge Geranium "Biokovo" |
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| Juniperus virginiana "Grey Owl" (I cheated here a little. There are no flowers or new leaves to show here, but this new addition to the garden performed beautifully through the cold weather and deserves a moment in the spotlight.) |
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| Viola tricolor, Johnny Jump Up I had lots of these last year, but this is the only flower I've seen so far this year. Hopefully more will soon appear. |
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| Gaillardia grandiflora “Arizona Apricot” Gaillardias reportedly are susceptible to root rot in heavy clay soils, so I wasn’t sure if this would come back at all, but it seems to have survived. (Plus you can see how poorly the plant was rooted last year. Now that it's taken root more firmly, hopefully it will perform even better in 2014.) |
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| My neighbor's forsythia. All the forsythias in the neighborhood have burst into bloom in the past few days. |
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| Daylilies. As I've mentioned in other blog posts, I'm not a huge fan of daylilies for most of the year. But I do love the exuberant fresh green foliage in early springtime! |
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| Clematis "Crystal Fountain" I'm trying to train this clematis to climb a crape myrtle, so far with limited success. |
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| Echinacea purpurea, Eastern Purple Coneflower I leave the seedheads standing over the winter both to feed the birds and to help the Coneflowers multiply. This strategy seems to be working! |
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| Rubus calycinoides (a.k.a. Rubus pentalobus), Creeping Raspberry I was under the impression that Creeping Raspberry was an evergreen groundcover, instead it seems to be performing like an herbaceous perennial in my zone 6/7 garden. This is a little disappointing. But I'll be patient. Perhaps the old stems will sprout new leaves later in the spring? Anyway, it's nice to see new growth and know the plant is not dead! |
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| Unknown camellia. Several young camellias were severely damaged by our cold winter. You can see that this established camellia suffered some foliage damage too. Still, I'm impressed it did not drop its buds. They seem poised to bloom any day now. |
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| Sedum "Autumn Joy" |
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| Alchemilla mollis, Lady's Mantle As with the Lamb's Ears, I'm experimenting with leaving the old foliage in the hopes it will decay and fertilize the plant. |
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| Aronia arbutifolia "Brilliantissima", Red Chokeberry |
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| Ajuga genevensis, Geneva Ajuga |
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| Agastache foeniculum, Anise Hyssop "Golden Jubilee" Love the coloration on these early leaves. Later, they'll turn bright gold. |
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| Close up on a bunch of tightly-packed cocoons on the old stems of the Golden Jubilee Agastache. I've no idea what species spun these cocoons, but perhaps I'll get to see if/when they hatch! Anyone have any guesses? |
So...how’s spring shaping up in your garden?
