Just Waiting

This Begonia survived a winter in the basement and came out blooming. It didn't even bloom at all last year. Who knew the basement would help a plant to bloom?

The Hydrangeas are about to bloom. This one is "Endless Summer" and the buds are just starting to open. I am most excited about my Oak Leaf Hydrangea. In its 4th year it has finally gotten past the easy deer munching size and is full of blooms. In the past the deer have eaten the new growth that produces the blooms.

Nice Weekend

This azalea is always the last of my azaleas to bloom. Today I noticed that a lily has swollen buds so I sprayed them to keep the deer from devouring the blooms. Wish me luck.

The weather was wonderful this weekend with temperatures in the 70s, low humidity and no mosquitoes yet. I was able to spend a lot of time in the garden. I worked on a new area, divided some plants and weeded.

I Tried

Ok, so the Blue Angels flew by our office yesterday afternoon during their show for the Naval Academy Graduation. I brought my camera and set it to 48x digital zoom and .....whoosh they flew by so fast most of my shots were of the clouds. This was the best I could do. I'll leave the Blue Angel shots to the pros from now on. Blue Angels

The Bonfire Begonia have been happy and growing like crazy. I have to think about whether I will move them while I am in Portugal next month or if I will use one of my timers and hoses to keep them where they seem to be quite happy.

I never have many roses due to lack of sun and deer browsing, but here is a new bloom on my Knock Out Rose.

Rain Delay

At this point, May is the Washington area's fourth wettest in history. It does slow down the garden journal, but after a year suffering from no rain I am grateful. A few years ago my father took a cutting of an "India Frills" Coleus back home to Houston. He has since started about a billion plants. Mine didn't make it through the winter in my basement. I bought another India Frills this year and paired it with some Creeping Jenny but won't go into competition with him for the most plants.

Yesterday the Blue Angels arrived to practice for the annual Naval Academy graduation show. It was so overcast I didn't bother to go outside. I did see two of them pass by my office window, though. I am hoping it will be better today for the real show, but scattered showers are in the forecast.

Sunny Day

The Japanese Iris "Rising Sun" has started to bloom. I started with one plant and now have them all over the garden. I am happy that the ground cover Clematis that Uncle Bill gave me has bloomed and the deer did not beat me to them. The deer have eaten the tops off my Lady Bells so I won't see many of their blooms. Finally, a Blue Jay enjoys the very pricey black sunflower seeds.

A Moment of Zen

The weather forecast calls for more rain tonight and tomorrow. I have much to do in the garden this weekend and I am hoping that it won't be too wet to work. So now it is time to pause for a moment and reflect on the joy I receive from working in the garden. The Buddha sits quietly keeping the Ghost Fern at bay while the Hosta Elegans spreads its enormous leaves.

Sally's Daylily

When I first moved to my home in Annapolis I had a wonderful fellow gardener as a neighbor. Sally was a widow and she and her late husband Bud had created a wonderful garden. She was very generous and gave me some nice plants. This daylily was one of the first plants she shared and it is also the first daylily to bloom each year. Sally sold her home, moved to Florida and has passed on now, but her gifts of plants continue to bloom in her memory. It was nice to come out into the garden after the big storm with debris everywhere and see Sally's daylily in bloom.

Monsoon

What a nightmare. We had another big storm last night - this one with lots of wind and rain. A tree came down and took out the power lines at 5:20am. The battery to the sump pump in my basement was DEAD. First I bailed, then at 7:00am I went to West Marine for a new battery. There are two ways to get out of my neighborhood so I turned around when I saw the tree and power lines on the road and took the long way out. The new battery didn't have a full charge and wouldn't work. I then was able to borrow my brother's generator. Crisis averted.

I later left to get gas for the generator. When I returned (the long way), my street was blocked by another fallen tree. I parked the car at our community beach area and set off with my gas for home. Luckily a neighbor with a chainsaw arrived and we got the tree out of the road. I'm back home and hoping the power is restored before I need more gas. Needless to say, no garden pictures today.

Wet Weekend

We have had very heavy rains so I wasn't able to spend much time in the garden. Unfortunately, that gave me time to shop. I found this Fusion Sunset Impatiens at Ace Hardware! I don't buy Impatiens anymore because they have profusely reseeded in my garden, but I made an exception for this exotic one. By the way, squirrels love me. The White Bleeding Heart is a must for any shade garden. I bought two bare root plants at Home Depot and planted them in the early spring. Success on the cheap!

Big Storm

I am very happy I ran out yesterday morning to snap a picture of my Bearded Iris. Last night a big storm came through and performed an Iris smack down. It is a real drag, but what can you do? No new pictures today except one I took earlier this week of a bloom on the pretty white azalea bush I bought years ago at the National Arboretum Plant Sale.

Full Bloom

Well the Golden Dragon Clivia is now in full bloom. I think waiting 4 years for this show was an acceptable trade off for a $6.50 plant. I had to go out this morning to photograph my Bearded Iris even though it was starting to rain. I have never had this many bloom! I'm thinking that the mild winter must have had something to do with this success.

The Bletilla Striata, commonly know as the hardy orchid, has started to bloom. You really have to get up close to see the pretty flower.

This Way

The other Bearded Iris that Sally, my former neighbor, gave me is starting to bloom. The pink azalea bush doesn't have too many blooms due to deer browsing, but those it has are very pretty. I am so fortunate to have a road sign at the front of my big shade garden. I dolled it up and now have a road sign that is the envy of my community. This year I planted Bonfire Begonia in the basket. It just blooms its head off and will drape down nicely.

Bearded Iris

The Bearded Iris were given to me by a former neighbor. I still have many yet to bloom. I have them out front in a sunny spot. The Spiderwort is a new addition and is just below the Bearded Iris. Tonight I get to re-stain my deck. Lucky me.

Clivia...

I bought this "Yellow Dragon" Clivia for 1/2 price at Behnke's Nursery in Beltsville, MD. It was only $6.50! Of course it took 4 years until it has finally started to bloom. It is well worth the wait.

I have been busy potting up my annuals. Here are some pretty Million Bells that bloom their heads off as long as I find a spot with enough sun.

Young Buck

Every spring I make a trip to Stevensville on the Eastern Shore of Maryland to purchase annuals and some perrenials for my garden. This Tiarella was too pretty to pass up.

The young buck was one of about six deer in the woods behind my house this morning. This picture was taken from just inside my dining room.

Columbine, Azaleas and More

Each year I spread the seeds from the Columbine so that I can enjoy more the next year.

I bought a young Rhododendrum at a Plant Sale in Bucks County, PA while visiting Uncle Bill about 3 years ago. This is the first year that it has bloomed. I had to run out and snap the first bloom to open.

Bleeding Heart is below on the left. My azaleas seem bloom after all my neighbor's bushes put on their shows.