Garden Tour - May 1, 2012

My ultimate gardening goal is to always have something blooming and/or edible in the garden. Last year, I sacrificed annual color in my garden budget to invest in some perennials and this spring we are all enjoying the fruits of that decision! The gardens are full of color and life and lots of little shoots poking up into the world in search of the sun.

Bearded Iris

Jacob's Ladder

The Jacob's Ladder will flower later, but the new spring leaves are tinged with pink. Beautiful!

Asiatic Lily

Hyacinths poking their heads out.
The hyacinths are not blooming, but they have grown fast! I only planted them last month.

Bunte Forellenschluss Lettuce

Winter Density Lettuce and some Dill

Major Wheeler Honeysuckle

Chives

Amaryllis (Full House or Clown)

Bok Choy
I saw some bok choy starts and thought I'd try them, but it was unseasonably warm (80s in February), so they bolted almost immediately and I decided to just enjoy the flowers!

Hydrangea, with beautiful yellow Creeping Jenny behind.

Mexican Sage/Salvia Leucathna
Can you spot the happy bee? He was hard to catch.

Spiderwort
If you look closely, you'll see several unopened buds near each bloom. Here at Sunnybrook South they bloom for several months, from March-June.

Baby Begonia -- these have come up on their own the last two years!

Purple Queen -- also has perennialized in my beds

Moss Rose/Portulaca -- tiny seedlings sprouting

Geranium cuttings taking root. Two whole new plants here!

This Tennessee gal loves her Volunteers (plants that is...)

Go Big Orange! Scarlet Nantes - beautiful and delicious

Lettuces: Bunte Forellenschluss (my favorite), Winter Density and Grandpa Admire's.

I love peas in the pod.

Sunflower and the bean stalk, inspired by The Three Sisters.
Now how will I ever pick the beans?

Again, I have squash in the flowerbeds. (Did you know that was my inaugural post on this blog?) All of these are volunteer though; they just came up on their own. Beautiful, isn't it? That large broccoli plant is gone now, replaced with marigolds, moss roses and sweet alyssum (also volunteer). I'm amazed at what comes back each year and also at how perfectly one crop fades into the next. As the squashes sputter out in a few months, the moss roses and alyssum will explode into mounds of color that last into fall. I can pick up other flowers here and there on sale to fill in any bare spots. 

I say these are "squash," because that's what I planted in that area last year, but this one is looking much more melon-like to me. With volunteers, you are thankful for whatever you get because it's more than you expected. Not unlike my alma mater's football team, now that I think of it....