The Dahlias Are Coming, The Dahlias Are Coming!

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My daughter's newly planted dahlias are blooming and they are spectacular.  Okay, so they are not an armful and they are not exactly Carolyne Roehm's magnificent selection, but it's a start.

You are not going to believe where I got the bulbs...Tuesday Morning! and they were an afterthought after I had already checked out.  I gave them to my daughter for her cutting garden and she did the rest.

I had the most gorgeous photos of the dahlias in bloom in the garden but I erased them by mistake.  Don't ask, I was trying to clear the 516 photos in the camera card and poof!

So I took multiple photos of these three, hoping you would be impressed by my photography.

Don't tell anyone but I have a photo editing program for idiots that does a pretty good job.

The dahlias have been a godsend as the hydrangeas, which usually put on quite a how at this time of the year, are a bust.  Some blooms here and there but the frigid weather this winter took quite a toll on them and other plants, like the gardenias.  No blooms from these babies either this year, but they have come back.  Told you...You will see what I mean in a later post.

I would love to add some of the deep burgundy and purple colors as well as pink  and white next year. I love the variegated ones such as the red and white above.   Any suggestions?

All photos Lindaraxa

Moonlight In The Garden

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Around this time last year I picked up a pot of a climbing hydrangea known as Moonlight.  It was to be a housewarming gift for my daughter's new house.  She loves hydrangeas so this was a different and appropriate gift.  Little did I know what I was getting into.

In the Fall of that year I had a lunch for my friends at the Dawson Arts Council who had invited me to do a presentation on the Art of Entertaining and  invited my friend Sandra Jonas and a couple of the members of the Atlanta Hydrangea Society whom I had met on their tour.

After lunch we had a walk around my pitiful garden exchanging ideas on what to do next.  Sandra had brought me a cutting of one of her hydrangeas,  a specimen I had marveled at during the tour, and we were trying to pick out a good spot.

All of a sudden there was a commotion at the gate leading to the garden in back of the house.  Jeepers, did someone see a snake?!  There I found the ladies marvelling at my newly planted baby bush of the climbing hydrangea.  "I have had one for six years and it has never bloomed" one said to the others.  They all looked closely and Sandra, taking one leaf in her hand whispered..."It's the Moonlight".  The WHAT?! Schizophragma hydrangeoides ’Moonlight’, also known as the Japanese climbing hydrangea. Here is an old post from Sandra. 

Well, no matter, if it didn't bloom for them, it wouldn't bloom for me.  Great excuse.  I poured over every book I could find and, sure enough,  they all said the same thing...patience.  It is the most beautiful climber you will ever find and if you are really patient it will reward you with beautiful blooms in..oh about eight years.  But don't give up.  Great, I would probably be dead by then,  although I was consoled by the fact that the leaves were beautiful and we should be so lucky as to have it in our garden. 

Well, dear readers, I didn't have to wait long.  About a couple of months ago, less than a year after my daughter had put it in the ground, this thing went from dead twigs to this:

and then this:

And finally, when I returned from New York I was greeted with this:

Talk about beginners luck! And the smell...to die for!  Goes to show you, its about a plant liking its environment.  The dryer vents a couple of feet away.  Could that be the game changer? Frankly I don't know and I don't care.  It is simply the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and I can't wait until it gets bigger and climbs all over the fence.  Yes, this is better than living in a condo.  Much, much better!

 

All photos Lindaraxa

Our New Southern Garden

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One of the fun things about buying a house in the winter is you have no idea what is in the garden.  Soon after we moved in on Thanksgiving weekend (remember?) we started hearing from some of the neighbors about all the wonderful things we would be finding in the Spring.  They all fell short.  So far here are but a few of the things we have been enjoying this month.

 

The cherry trees in front of the house gave quite a show a couple of weeks ago.  They are over now.  The garden underneath is full of perennials and ground covers just beginning to come on.  I have no idea what they are

They were so lush you couldn't see the house from the street.

The new front door.  The hardware was a gift from my mother and me for Christmas.  The urns are the real thing...they weigh a ton.  Can't wait for the ferns to get bigger! Some of the little pots need to be moved to another part of the yard and replaced with white impatients. And yes, I know, the coach lights need to be larger but they have to wait for the next lottery

This photo doesn't do justice to that white azalea.  White has never been at the top of my list in the azalea category but boy, was I wrong.  The Southern azaleas are just coming on. That's a rhododendron in green next to the fence.  You can't see it from here but there's a brook back there.  There were lots of daffodils in the woods earlier on.

There are over 20 azalea bushes in the back.  Believe it or not, some were lost when the heavy rains came a couple of years ago.

I have no idea what this is called.  Anyone?  It's a ground cover under the bushes in the front.  Again the photo doesn't do justice to the vibrant color of the flowers.

See? It's on both sides.  Beautiful color green.  Don't look at the grass.  It needs work, lots of it!

The shutters are to be painted this week in black.  I wanted a very dark green but my daughter wants black.  So black it is.

Again, the back garden, with a closeup of the southern azaleas.

Was that a white tail I just saw??

The other side of the garden with more southern azaleas

I am like a dog with a bone with these southern azaleas.  I learned about them from my dear friend Sandra Jonas.  If you haven't seen her blog it's a must!

And there's Lily, our champion dock jumper turned warden of the back yard.  She's waiting to catch the deer who visit the woods at least twice a day.  They couldn't care less about her...they just stare and go about their business.  The next door neighbors keep a salt thing in the back and feed them.  You can imagine the crowds this Spring.

This is how she spends her day.  The sous chef, on the other hand, has to be pushed out to do her thing.  Oh, and we have a bunny family too.  Saw the daddy yesterday. He already ate some of the new plantings for the vegetable garden.  My daughter thought it was cute.  Wait 'til they eat all her hard work.

Even though this yard is already beautiful and has great bones,  there's a lot to do to bring it back to it's full potential.  The house was empty for a long time so nothing has been fertilized in awhile.  I am waiting for the blooms to fall off so I can feed the azaleas.  There are about five or six bushes that have no blooms in them.

The grass is another matter.  Lots of weeds.  Has been treated once but we will need to keep on top of it to get it just right.  Needs seeding too.  The backyard was full of dead leaves and we just had them cleared.  Will need truckloads of bark chips.  (That's why the lights in the front have to wait) There's lots to do.  This is a long project but I'm up to the task.. Better than going to the gym.  Later...

Photos Lindaraxa

Hydrangeas...Smythson Blue

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The hydrangeas I stole picked yesterday from my neighbor's garden are the exact same color as my Nile Blue Smythson's stationary

makes me almost forget the fence full of lilacs I had in Connecticut which must now be in bloom

they go well on top of my desk, purchased in Pakistan years ago (it's rosewood)

In 1986, on a trip to London, I purchased my personal business stationary from this venerable stationery shop.  They made a mistake and must have tripled the order for I now have stationary with my old New York business address coming out of my ears.  If I write you a note, you can bank it will be on this stationery.  I'm planning on leaving it to my grandchildren with instruction of keeping it in the family until it runs out. 

Check out My Kitchen By The Lake for more on hydrangeas' color and soil.

Mother's Orchids

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In spite of the fact my mother has been in bed for a couple of months after a bad fall, her orchids took no heed and bloomed just like they do every Spring!

She grows African violets too!

All photos Lindaraxa

It's Mother's Day!

Pin It Happy Mother's Day! I hope you have someone wonderful cooking for you today. Next week, my children have invited me to come visit them in Atlanta. Can't wait to see my granddaughter, Taylor Rose! My posts will be a little sporadic over the next few days, but I will be back full force on May 18th. In the meantime, I am leaving you three great posts which will appear over the next couple of days. Have a wonderful Mother's Day and thank you for subscribing to my blog. The purple vanda orchid on the left belongs to a neighbor here in Miami. It is in full bloom today!

Its Earth Day!...What's in Bloom Around my Garden

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Okay, so you guys in the Northeast are basking around your tulips, azaleas, and cherry blossoms. I'll see you that and raise you Vandas, Dancing Lady orchids, and Frangipanis. Never mind our gardenias and jasminw, which are also in full bloom. So there!