what’s blooming now
These coral bells were planted six weeks ago.
Heuchere villosa ‘Beaujolais’, commonly known as Coral Bells were chosen to replace the purple wandering jew that did not survive its first year in this location. Since the wandering jew did manage to come back this spring in a shadier portion of my garden, I can only guess that this small patch received too much sun. Additionally, I have chosen not to continue planting seasonal annuals. So the Coral Bells have been planted as perennials to replace the annuals and wandering jew.
time for some pretty flower pictures
After today’s tragedy, a garden can offer escape and a little beauty.
Firewitch Dianthus borders my greenhouse and blooms profusely this time of year. Because of a string of dingy days over the past two weeks, the flowers had been too soggy to photograph. Consequently they were a wee past their prime when I was finally able to shoot them this past Saturday. If I deadhead them after this cycle is finished, they’ll bloom again in the fall, but it won’t be as abundant as this springtime show.
what’s blooming now
This photo has the best color with excellent brightness and contrast. Not much adjusting was needed.
My little Texas Whitebud tree has never been a prolific bloomer and never photographs well overall with a regular camera lens. This time I used my macro lens. Even though the breeze kept moving the branches and I’m an amateur with this kind of lens, I did manage to get a few good shots. This little tree looks much better in a detailed close-up. To view more sweet details, click on the link below.
what’s fruiting now
The wildlife has already started to feed on the grape-like fruit clusters.
The Leatherleaf Mahonia (Mahonia japonica ‘Bealei’). Well… It’s still winter officially, that is until tomorrow, but there’s ripe fruit ready for the pickin’ in my front garden. This shrub bloomed in January, but since I photographed and wrote about its blooms last year, I didn’t want to bore you with a repeat of what you’ve seen before. In fact, this year I have not bothered to photograph any of my winter bloomers until now, since their annual cycle has been covered at least twice before on this blog.
what’s blooming now
Ajuga reptans ‘Valfredda’ Chocolate Chip
My Chocolate Chip Ajuga is quite the show right now. It’s planted in both my front and back gardens in and around my stepping stones where there is shade. Eventually the clumps will spread by stolons and weave a tight mat of foliage. Depending on the amount of sunlight, the leaves are a mix of rich chocolate-purple and green, but the color will deepen in more sun. This ground cover was planted less than a year ago and may take at least another year to lose its clump-like look and spread into an uninterrupted blanket of foliage. To see a larger expanse of this plant, click on the link below.