February--Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

(Apologies for the weird highlighted words. I accidentally deleted this post and had to recreate it from a cached Google version.)

February--Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

As part of Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, here's a run-down of what's blooming in my garden right now. We've had a few hard freezes since my January post, so there isn't as much blooming now.

Initiated by May Dreams Gardens, countless bloggers now participate in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. They simply create a post on their blog to showcase what's blooming in their gardens and then link it to the current GBBD post at May Dreams Gardens. No rules. No requirements. Just good garden fun.

Camellia

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My two camellia bushes are in the back corner of the yard so I have to remind myself to go check for blooms when the weather starts getting springlike. I headed out recently and lo and behold, the white camellia had started blooming. I brought a few blooms into the house so I could better enjoy them.

'Louis Phillippe' Rose

(click photo for larger image)

My 'Louis Philippe' rose is still blooming its heart out, despite the recent freezes. You gotta love a tough yet beautiful old garden rose like this. 

Azalea

(click photo for larger image)

You may remember that my azaleas started blooming last month. The existing blooms got a bit burned byt he recent freezes. However, new blooms have opened and the plant is looking pretty good. 

Well, that's all that's blooming in my yard for now. The redbud trees are starting to pop around town, but I don't have one in my yard. Yet. I've been coveting the 'Forest Pansy' and 'Hearts of Gold' cultivars. I think I'll add one of these two within the next several years since I'm so ga-ga for them.

Other plants blooming around town include dogwood and Walter's viburnum. You can see photos of Walter's viburnum on Tom's latest blog post. 

January -- Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

As I said in my last post, it's the quiet season in my garden. That being said, there are a surprising number of things blooming. We had some cold snaps back in October and November (kind of early for us), so I didn't really expect much to be blooming until spring hit. However, we did have some warmer temperatures in recent weeks so perhaps the plants all think that spring is here. At any rate, here's what's blooming.

Fragrant olive

Ah, this has got to be one of my favorite plants in the garden. Sure, it's not the most attractive -- it's tall, and spindly, reminding me of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. But boy, does it smell wonderful. It's amazing that such tiny flowers can pump out so much sweet, intoxicating aroma. If you live in Zones 7B-9B and don't have one in your yard, I highly recommend putting one in--especially by a front door or walkway where you'll catch a whiff of it when you pass by. 

Beach sunflower

I transplanted a few scrawny plants from the office into this bed back in March. They've really filled in and have been blooming non-stop ever since. In fact, I might have to thin them out if the predicted freezes don't take care of this for me.

'Louis Phillippe' Rose

Sigh. What can I say about this rose? I do nothing to it and it rewards me by blooming yearround with its spicy blooms. Amazing.

Saucer magnolia

This pretty magnolia is tucked into the back corner of my yard, so some years I hardly notice its blooms. Thankfully, I spotted it this year. It bloomed last year around the same time. It's also sometimes called a Japanese magnolia.

Glorybower

This vine is still going strong. It usually gets fried by cold temperatures, but I guess my yard has somehow been spared from the colder temperatures that Tom has had at his house.

Sandanqua Viburnum

I'm not particularly fond of this bush, but it's a respectable foundation plant in my front yard so I'll leave it there for now. Interestingly, it emits a skunky smell when pruned.

Azalea

These poor little blooms will likely get zapped later this week if the temperature drops into the upper 20s for two consecutive nights, as predicted.