Monday, May 12, 2008

My, How You've Grown (and other garden things)

After nearly 2" of rain yesterday and early this morning it seems as though things are growing so fast you can almost see it happen before your eyes!


The ferns that were just barely starting to unfurl from their winter sleep have shot up to a foot tall! The ornamental grasses are really starting to grow as well.

I love Hosta. All varieties of Hosta. Two of my favorites are in the front of a small garden. The large leaves of the brightly colored Chartreuse Hosta (Sum and Substance variety) are stunning in a flower arrangement or single stems of the hosta leaves alone in individual vases. The smaller bi colored to the left is Summer Joy.

This is a plant that is commonly named 'snow tuft.' It's a fairly early spring bloom that spreads like crazy year after year. It brightens up any spot in the garden. I'm not sure why, but this plant experienced a lot of winter kill this year. It's about half as big as it once was.



There are always creatures in our yard.. rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, and yes, even skunks pay a visit throughout the season. The rabbits have been feasting on some lettuces I planted just for them. (It keeps them out of the other gardens!)

This is my little garden oddity... it's a Japanese Maple that is actually two varieties in one! The lower part of the tree is a weeping variety, with deep purple/maroon leaves. The upper part of the tree has smaller green leaves that do not change color during the course of the season. I don't have a clue.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Candy Tuft!!! (that's what it's called Out West).
It's what I want in my front "curve" - when that get's "curved" correctly. I love the stuff - it blooms again I hear if you cut it back.

Wonderful pictures! It must be nice to have all that garden space to feature so many beautiful plants.

Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

You garden is just going to town! Great pictures! I think you need to plant some more lettuce and perhaps a few carrots for that little rabbit. He looks like he needs to fatten up a bit. That Japanese Maple looks really unusual - love that you get both the red and green leaves at the same time!