Mid-Spring Hues, Early May 2022

Wild yellow oxalis plants have crept into the garden. I will leave them as this is a happy circumstance. The delicate pops of yellow add interest to the purple and pink color theme. This is an easy trick to achieve a naturalized look in your garden beds. If the "weed" looks good, leave it. Eventually, you might have to cull a few, but this is the case with many plants. The pink primroses are taking over this year. I will probably need to remove a few at the end of season. This happens every two to three years. They are wonderful plants, but quite prolific.

May 13th, The blush/white Rose campions are now in bloom.

Meet our new penstemon, Quartz Rose, for a west facing garden near the Beverly Sills irises. This was planted in Fall 2021. It reminds me of a miniature foxglove. The true test will be the summer heat. I think they will be at home here, though. Penstemons tolerate drought and we have given them a good layer of mulch for protection.

We didn't see any self seeding larkspurs in 2021. This year they came back in a big way. Love in a Mist is a beautiful companion plant. (That's the exotic paler blue flower.)

The yellow Flag and purple Louisiana irises are showing off this year. I took this photo on a low light day. The dark purple flowers are hard to capture in bright light.

The setting sun casts an elfin yellow green on the pond garden.

A visit from a rarely seen raven on Friday the 13th! I saw him a few days ago looking at our feeders. Today, I went inside and broke off two pieces of suet for him to eat. He watched me as I did this. I have no doubt that he understood this was meant for him. He seems huge compared to the other birds. Definitely not a crow. I hope he returns so I can take a better photo. This image was taken through the glass door.

Happy gardening everyone!

May 14th, 2022- A few more garden moments after a much needed rain.

Mist rising from the metal roof on the shed. Ahh, the steamy South.

Raindrops are still clinging to the bronze fennel.

Quartz Rose penstemon in situ behind the herb bed.

A closer look at the bronze fennel reveals a future Black Eastern swallowtail.

I'm glad I took photos of the Louisiana irises before the rain.

May 12th, Ian and Maddie spotted a very young possum on the driveway before their morning walk. We are excited! We haven't had a possum sighting in about a year. We used to see them frequently at the squirrel feeder at night.

I'm looking forward to more growth in the garden now that we are having rain.