GOING OUT INTO THE GARDEN

It is Friday and that means garden pictures. I am constantly amazed at how popular my garden posts are (over 424 hits on last Friday's) and am delighted to share my botanical garden with all of you. We are fortunate to live in the South. It is a gardener's paradise: lots of sun, short and mild winters, plenteous rainfall (usually), and fertile soil, if a bit acidic. I live midway between Atlanta and Birmingham on the line of zones 7b and 8a but try to choose plants comfortable in 7b. I am able to have some tropicals and some northern plants. For instance, I have two dwarf apple trees near a palm tree. One could not do that far south or north of here.

We continue to enjoy a beautiful springtime across the South. However, it is March and that means fluctuations between warm and cold with some rough weather thrown in. Right now, the stars of the garden are the flowering fruit trees. Let us go out and walk around the garden today:  

 Lady Bank's Rose (Rosa banksiae). Perhaps "Lutea." It seems that every garden wall in Charleston is decorated with Lady Bank's rose and for good reason. This one is not on a support. I have trained it to be a bush and that means pruning the long whips that grow out. This is the yellow form. There is also a white version.

"Adams" Crabapple Tree (Malus 'Adams'). "Adams" is a very good cultivar of crabapple. It has a profusion of dark pink flowers.

The smaller side of the garden. Large tree is elm. Slim evergreens are Italian Cypress. Tall evergreens are Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria). The small sprawling tree on the right is a Corkscrew Willow. Its branches are weirdly contorted.

Yoshino Flowering Cherry (Prunus x yedoensis). The same Japanese cherry that famously grows along the tidal basin in Washington D.C. and in Macon, GA. There is nothing more elegant and beautiful at this time of the year.

An archway trellis on the small side of the garden. Boxwoods flank the trellis. Yellow shrubs on left are Francis Mason Abelia (Abelia x grandiflora 'Francis Mason'). I keep them pruned.

Carolina Cherry Laurel "Cherry Ruffles" (Prunus caroliniana 'Cherry Ruffles'). These shrubs grow large, to 20' and, make a good screen. The leaves are "ruffled." It is in full bloom now.

I hope you have enjoyed this little walk about and I hope you are making the most of this glorious season we are blessed to have. The beauty and comfort of God's grand creation helps us put everything else into perspective. I think we all need that now as much as ever. I know I do.