Wordless Wednesday :: Gardenia :: Bring Them In!

To be overcome by the fragrance of flowers is a delectable form of defeat.  

                                                                                                                                       Beverly Nichols

Looking Back

Do you ever go through the "stats" on your blog to see where some of your readers are coming from?  It can be really interesting to see how someone has come across your blog and what they are reading.

A lot of hits to my blog come from people looking at images.  Today I clicked through to the posts where the images were found and had a good laugh.  One was called GBBD ~ Ever Hopeful.

To recap, I had transplanted a hydrangea that had somehow managed to survive the previous spring/summer/fall and winter but hadn't thrived.   Imagine that!  A hydrangea that hadn't thrived in Central Texas - go figure!   The hydrangea was handling the move pretty well; I mean, at least it wasn't dead.  Why, I ask myself, do I always insist on pushing limits?  I've always been somewhat of a rebel!

Later while grocery shopping, I had come across some hydrangea blooms and in lofty anticipation of the gorgeous flowers that were surely to come in my garden, I bought them.  Now these were worth buying.  They were so lovely that I'll post them again...

This white pitcher makes any flower/branch arrangement look good.  Or should I say, any flower/branch arrangement makes this white pitcher look good?  Anyway...

This is one of those humbling moments in gardening:

because this is what the hydrangea looks like now...deader than dead can be.

It doesn't thwart my optimism though.  Not in the least.  Because the gardenia that I posted about for which I had no hope of surviving has not only survived but thrived!  The shrub has more than doubled in size this summer. 

And I'm looking forward with crazy, unbridled optimism to more of these fragrant, luscious blooms next spring!

As for the hydrangea?  Fortunately, there are tons of them to be found at the flower market!
 

GBBD ~ Simply Astonishing!

You're probably thinking that I'm astonished by all the flowers blooming this April in my garden and you would be partially right.  My last post highlighted a lot of our spring flowers and I am delighted with them but they aren't what is causing my astonishment. 

In the last couple of days I've seen a bunch of "firsts" of the season and the sightings have left me giddy.  I've seen my first hummingbird, baby toad, damsel flies, inch worms and unfortunately, mosquitoes.  The Swallowtail butterflies have returned and laid eggs on the parsley and they've recently hatched and there are a dozen or so caterpillars

I'm amazed at the life that has returned to the garden with the return of warm weather, plentiful food and water sources. 

 The dove regularly visit the stock tank throughout the day to find refreshment.

A moment of rest on the swing will find your senses swimming in the delight of the star jasmine and gardenia.

The jasmine has filled in nicely over the last couple of years.  While walking up to the house the other day, I could smell the jasmine from the front yard!

Even the birds have an opportunity to enjoy the heady scent.

The pink guara has come into bloom this week and caught my attention.   I like the combination of  the strap-like leaves of guara and fleshy, soft leaves of lambs ear.  The silver foliage of the lambs ear contrasts nicely with the dark green/burgundy foliage of the guara. 

On the other side of the garden there was a surprise waiting; peeking through the Mexican feather grass was a fiery, red daylily.  I had forgotten that there was a red variety in the mix!  Moving them last year has really paid off.

It's a beautiful, fiery shade of red and I really like that it has a bit of yellow at the base of the flower to complement the Stella.  It was such a nice surprise!

And a couple feet behind the daylilies is the truly astonishing moment of the day...is that what I think it is?

Oh. My. Gosh.   All I can think is to recite 'red on yellow, kill a fellow' several times and then tried to calm myself enough to see if it really was red on yellow.  Yep, it is.  A coral snake!

We've lived in our house for 12 years and I've never seen a poisonous snake in our yard.  Lots of  snakes but not poisonous.  Until now.  I have to admit, I was really freaked out.  I don't like snakes.  At. All.

There may be many of you who are not frightened of snakes and the sight of a poisonous snake may be no big deal.  It's a big deal to me.  I did gather my wits and had the presence of mind to get my camera and the shovel. 

I had every intention of killing the snake but then as I calmed down and began to watch it (armed with the shovel of course), I became enthralled with it.  It's quite beautiful and it wasn't anxious at all.  It looked like it was going to hang out for a while so I hit the shovel against the fence which caused him to move along.

I came inside to do some research.  They are highly poisonous but rarely bite humans.  They feed on other snakes, birds, lizards and rodents.  I'm really glad I didn't kill it and I'm praying that we won't cross paths again.  I intend to be a lot more careful about where I stick my hands and feet in the future.

Then a couple of hours later I noticed a shadow in the grass by the Texas betony.  With all my senses heightened from the encounter with the coral snake, I wasn't sure how many more surprises I could take!

Again, I grabbed the camera and as stealthily as possibly made my way over...

It bolted and headed for the fence...

It's just the stray cat that I've occasionally heard and rarely seen.  Thank God.  It's the great circle of life out there!  Insects, birds, lizards, snakes, cats...

and DOG!

Visit May Dreams Gardens to see what's happening in other gardens around the world this month.  You never know what you might find!

Spring Moments Captured

The garden is changing at a rapid pace and there is so much happening that I can't take photos fast enough!

New leaves of the Japanese Aralia - fatsia japonica are opening up.  I love the detail of the new leaves and that they resemble small hands as they unfurl from a tight fist.

The Globemallow - Sphaeralcea ambigua is extending a gracious welcome to spring with lots of cheery orange blossoms on gray foliage.  The foliage is a nice contrast and will cool down this sunny spot later in the season as the temperatures heat up.

One of my gardening resolutions this year is to have less container plantings that need to be protected in the winter.  So I'm adding more hostas.  Unfortunately, I didn't keep the tag so no id on the variety of this one but I'm trying to be more vigilant about keeping track of these details! (Another resolution).   There are so many varieties and their strong textural quality will add a lush feel to the patio with the benefit of not needed to be removed or sheltered in the winter. 

I'm a big fan of Tropical Sage - Salvia Coccinea.  Last season I added white flowering plants to a bed with dappled light and I'm looking forward to them blooming this season.  I'll plant these under some understory trees to brighten the area.  Tropical Sage is a great plant that can handle the sun or shade, reseeds freely and requires little water once established.

The view from the patio through the leafing Japanese Maple toward the brick wall is especially pretty right now with the native Yellow Columbine - Aquilegia hinckleyana in bloom.  The pansies are still going strong but will succumb to our heat soon enough.  It was 90F on Saturday but has since cooled down with highs in the 70's (F) this week.  We have had no significant rain and I fear that our summer is going to be especially brutal. 

The stock tank pond has been cleaned and the plants divided and fertilized.  The Colorado Water Lily - Nymphaea 'Colorado' has been a delightful addition to my garden.  The stock tank pond was added last July so this is my first spring to experience a pond.  The Colorado water lily has been amazing.  It last bloomed in December and showed its first spring bloom about 10 days ago.  It's blooming again today - love it!

The Oakleaf Hydrangea - Hydrangea quercifolia 'Pee Wee' is flourishing under the canopy of Live Oaks and Japanese Maple.  This was on my "gotta have it" list last season and I can't wait to see how it performs.  I'm really hoping that it lives up to it's "pee wee" status and doesn't get huge on me.

This Anole was demonstrating to another nearby brown Anole.  This one was green when I came upon it and as it began demonstrating, it changed from green to brown.  They are fascinating!

I've decided to plant the Gardenia - Gardenia jasminoides 'August Beauty' bushes in containers on the patio so that I can better meet their soil requirements.  The location will also allow better viewing of the flowers and the fragrance will be enjoyed there too.

It's a long story but the gist is that I wasn't able to be where I needed to be to get a shot of the "supermoon" rising, so here it is high in the sky.  It was a beautiful sight!

And to end on a beautiful note, a single Columbine bloom hovering above delicate leaves.  They just seem to float lightly in the air and I'm mesmerized by their ethereal quality.

Spring never fails to fill me with hope and promise!

The Beauty of Spring ~ Gardenia

 

  

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

             Anais Nim