By the way, I know there are a few aphids on there but hopefully the ladybugs and their babies will be along momentarily to take care of them.   (If they don’t show up soon I’ll just knock the aphids down with some soapy water before they can do too much damage).

Also the broccoli is coming along nicely.

Although I have to admit that I am concerned that it is going to get too hot for them in the near future and they will bolt.  If that looks like it is going to happen I will just harvest them as they are bound for my husband’s nightly salad anyway.   I can’t wait to go out there in the evenings and graze on the goodies growing.  It is my favorite kind of dinner, picked and eaten right out there in the garden.

First up the containers are filling in nicely.  First up Purple and Gold

Next Red, White and Blue

Next front bird bath bed

The shade bed

The bed on the far edge of the patio

A couple of small beds in the patio

Finally the bed the other side of the patio

Flowers, flowers and more flowers if this doesn’t keep the bees and butterflies happy then I don’t know what will.

This beauty actually began life as a white tree rose, but the root stock was having none of that namby pamby tree rose business and quickly escaped from the ground and is now a delightful specimen that surrounds my bird feeders on the patio and keeps the birds safe from the cats.

This one is actually a species that also does very well here, a delightful pink bloomer that is called “Nearly Wild”.   This one sits in the bed at the edge of the patio, I also have one in a pot on the driveway which I have been meaning to plant for years but haven’t quite got round to it.

Soon the Carpet Roses and Fairy Roses out front will be a riot of blooms which will continue throughout the summer.   I have a couple of hybrids that have managed to hang on but I have found that as far as roses go in this climate your best bet is with the carpet varieties.   I have heard from other gardeners that Knock Out roses also do well here but I have to admit that the one sample that I do have in my landscape has not proven that theory as yet.

In any event, should you be growing roses in this area and you notice bright red flowers on a rose that is supposed to be any other color, don’t worry about it, let the root stock rose do its thing, and go with the flow.  Sometimes it doesn’t do any good to fight Mother Nature.

When I first moved to this house I found a lovely patch of pink Oxalis growing in the woods at the bottom of the garden and all of the plants that now grace my landscape originated from this one plant.

This photograph was taken after a heavy rain and the flower stalks have fallen over due to the weight of the rain drops.

The plant forms bulbs underground and these can easily be divided and transplanted pretty much any time of the year.  I now have plants all over the landscape, some in full shade, some in full sun and they reliably form tidy mounds of four-leaf clover like leaves with jaunty pink flower heads on delicate stalks that sit above the leaf mound.

This one is in my front flower bed underneath the living room window sharing the bed with some daylilies.

They are a very hardy perennial and remain green over the winter even under a heavy blanket of snow.   Another of its delightful attributes is it does not have a narrow bloom time and will reliably bloom from Spring and all through the Summer and into the Autumn.  To say that it is a carefree plant is an understatement.  I have never had a problem with it doing anything other than being a little treasure and I cannot think of a single pest that pays attention to it.    You can buy a version of the plant (generally white ones) and there are hybrid types with purple leaves and flowers, but I have found that these are nowhere near as vigorous as their wild cousins.

So there you go, if you happen to live in the woods and come across some pink Oxalis on your property divide it and use it all over your landscape.  You will be glad you did I promise.

The Gazania that overwintered has just put out its first bloom.

And while the Angelonia did not fare as well, having almost completely died back there are some heartwarming green shoots to be seen at the base of the stalk.

My hanging basket ferns also survived as did the tender patio Hibiscus trees that I kept warm all winter.  The Hibiscus  are right now putting on buds.

I believe that with the cost of the plants saved as well as the savings in starting things from seed rather than having to buy plants from the garden center the greenhouse has already paid for itself.

Of course there are many times where the “I don’t remember planting that” theme is because you actually didn’t plant it, but Mother Nature has gifted you with one of her native plants in this case the Cross Vine which is this week coming into bloom,  just in time for the arrival of the Humming Birds.

These trumpet like blooms must be full of nectar because I have also noticed many ant species traveling up the vines and deep into the flowers to collect its sweet treasure, I am not sure what the nectar tastes like because the blooms have an almost spicy, curry like scent, perhaps the ants like Indian food?

Of course  in my case the things that I am more than likely to forget about are the bulbs that I buy on sale as Winter approaches.  Generally in the big box stores at 50-75% off to get them off their hands I usually end up filling a cart with goodies and then having to get them in the ground before it gets too cold.  This invariably results in me wandering the yard with a bag of bulbs in one hand and a trowel in the other muttering to myself while seizing upon any scrap of dirt that doesn’t already have something planted in it.    This led me last year to having a full on argument with myself in front of the heavily discounted bulb section of Lowes.  Me “but they’re 75% off!, I can’t pass up that bargain!”  Me “but you don’t have anywhere to put them, remember last year you ended up having to put them in containers?”  As it turned out the “sensible” me won out over the “can’t pass up a bargain” me and I walked away bulb free and saved myself the weeks of angst trying to find somewhere to put them.  Still it is nice to be surprised as I was this weekend when this particular Dutch Iris greeted me one morning.

Once I saw it I even remembered it’s name, Lion King (that is a rare occurrence to be sure, unless I keep bags or labels I rarely remember the name of a plant other than it’s general species) and with it’s colors it was even in keeping with my purple and gold theme.  Sometimes having a rotten memory has its advantages.

A Goldfinch in full breeding plumage!  I was pleasantly surprised to see him because normally the little ingrates live in my garden all winter, getting fat and happy off my birdseed, and then when it time for them to put on their Sunday clothes and get their pictures took they naff off inland to the Greenville area to breed.  Obviously this little guy didn’t get the memo because he appeared to be quite happy to stick around.  I am thinking that perhaps with the steady supply of food that he knows will be around he decided that there was no need to go to Summer School at ECU.  I look forward to seeing more of him and the missus.