tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25255482684166907692024-03-08T14:30:41.935-08:00Sweet Home and Garden Carolina " I would like to live in the same soil as my ancestors, and walk under their trees, and do what they did, and think their thoughts. " - Elizabeth Lawrence. After 4 decades in Sweet Home Chicago I moved to North Carolina where my first Irish ancestor landed in the early 1700's. I'm an artist, garden designer and grandma blogging about my life in this " Southern part of Heaven " as Chapel HIll is called.Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.comBlogger162125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-78749312186047564752024-02-19T03:34:00.000-08:002024-02-19T03:34:40.328-08:00JANUARY AND BIG DREAMS FOR THE GARDEN YEAR<p style="text-align: center;"><b><i> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333232; font-family: Helvetica, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">He Knows No Winter</span></i></b></p><em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333232; font-family: Helvetica, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b>By Sudie Stuart Hager</b></em></div></em><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333232; font-family: Helvetica, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333232; font-family: Helvetica, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;">He knows no winter, he who loves the soil,</div></span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333232; font-family: Helvetica, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;">For, stormy days, when he is free from toil,</div></span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333232; font-family: Helvetica, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;">He plans his summer crops, selects his seeds</div></span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333232; font-family: Helvetica, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;">From bright-paged catalogues for garden needs.</div></span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333232; font-family: Helvetica, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;">When looking out upon frost-silvered fields,</div></span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333232; font-family: Helvetica, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;">He visualizes autumn's golden yields;</div></span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333232; font-family: Helvetica, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;">He sees in snow and sleet and icy rain</div></span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333232; font-family: Helvetica, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;">Precious moisture for his early grain;</div></span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333232; font-family: Helvetica, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;">He hears spring-heralds in the storm's turmoil</div></span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333232; font-family: Helvetica, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">He knows no winter, he who loves the soil.</div><div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2YjMEn6pcIhEnnsPobIzQAvKqoGQsDJyoPeGGhMyE6BF5QKsrhZ17r2E6BieywYAWLSMREAgx73GRM1tDjb_Tenv1_IdzqvC_SWq1ED1RjIoMkoK2fP_SFaUU-h_98XWDdlF4H_Rtham-AJWWxuVOjfZrJDIIHE2y7_DRCEOYNdSqJXEljDpc6PbXH5s/s5312/20200110_145124%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2YjMEn6pcIhEnnsPobIzQAvKqoGQsDJyoPeGGhMyE6BF5QKsrhZ17r2E6BieywYAWLSMREAgx73GRM1tDjb_Tenv1_IdzqvC_SWq1ED1RjIoMkoK2fP_SFaUU-h_98XWDdlF4H_Rtham-AJWWxuVOjfZrJDIIHE2y7_DRCEOYNdSqJXEljDpc6PbXH5s/w640-h360/20200110_145124%20(1).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;">The sweet smelling blooms of Prunus mume 'peggy clarke ' is the first pollinator that attracts many honey bees and is a welcome sight in the midst of January.</div><div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">January, in keeping with the weatherman's prediction for an El Nino winter, has been very mild. We had a week of freezing temperatures and I worried that my 'Peggy Clarke ' blooms would be nipped in the bud, but it survived.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Another welcome sight in January are the many hellebores that I planted in my frontyard forest.</div><div style="text-align: left;">These are the quick spreading ones but there are new cultivars that are sterile and have more upward facing blooms. I keep mine under control by dividing and giving many away to friends and neighbors. The hellebores are prolific bloomers that last for at least two months and they are evergreen and deer proof.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw38qw3L2nufTZkjDg7l9EssGWWRHk3NKfTvz5GJ-WmdTrjfBNQZ8Gn-JB7xfY80ZJe2bacHWmceSGFHiIAqUrgjeiQBJBiosXncCOey18m4kDNiOsyr19EqIVYRBbOphP568wehn75lOt_bi0jHfASQ-wQusv9mv9Oslk3l2vYdphZzftQsbtnt26i_0/s5312/20220316_140449.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5312" data-original-width="2988" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw38qw3L2nufTZkjDg7l9EssGWWRHk3NKfTvz5GJ-WmdTrjfBNQZ8Gn-JB7xfY80ZJe2bacHWmceSGFHiIAqUrgjeiQBJBiosXncCOey18m4kDNiOsyr19EqIVYRBbOphP568wehn75lOt_bi0jHfASQ-wQusv9mv9Oslk3l2vYdphZzftQsbtnt26i_0/w303-h400/20220316_140449.jpg" width="303" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>The deer will eat tulips but leave daffodils and aliums alone , The cheerful yellow blooms of my early-blooming daffodils are another January delight and I love that they colonize and fill the forest with their golden flowers.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQ4LpJk6UNipRz1ybpLmBBGxZOMKd8ke80UXJHqhTbMWQ9HuPF2gxlfBRx4lqN8XGO_RHh-drJ_1WDFkb_DiT44tS_eZOrkiZ2YnRKFaEK_AgoSqfiNanBofr_hfd1AtbdyyH67EJyFcspyxjrzBSgqR2O73RByzYIDiDZBe41fxAZ0pf669yEQFw1Do/s2048/daffs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1035" data-original-width="2048" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQ4LpJk6UNipRz1ybpLmBBGxZOMKd8ke80UXJHqhTbMWQ9HuPF2gxlfBRx4lqN8XGO_RHh-drJ_1WDFkb_DiT44tS_eZOrkiZ2YnRKFaEK_AgoSqfiNanBofr_hfd1AtbdyyH67EJyFcspyxjrzBSgqR2O73RByzYIDiDZBe41fxAZ0pf669yEQFw1Do/w400-h203/daffs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This first month of the year also inspires plans for adding new additions to the garden. Last year I added coneflowers and some Euphorbias that did very well. For more summer flowering perennials I plan to add a dwarf variety of blackeyed Susans that have a long bloom period as well as 'woods blue ' Asters that bloom from Summer to Fall. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My goal is to continue to add enough perennials to cover the ground so that they shade out weeds and mulch is not needed. The garden gets plenty of natural mulch with the fallen leaves and pine needles .</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrheag0FKPPxJsChaDXRaR8OYCGQoh7zq9vk4qiBlv80U73BM_Cm7TYt1TU9qYdiqZRAV3FbuEpm0Ht1vDGwLkmq-D2xYksh4VRljNR6hbiHnCY0QAjCjSekuojn_6s-iOhVEptmpeQ3-s1lrZ_LcZx4W21OapA_ztbSM9IuH4L91eWEEdvxXvV_6wLM/s640/georgiabluespeedwell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="640" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrheag0FKPPxJsChaDXRaR8OYCGQoh7zq9vk4qiBlv80U73BM_Cm7TYt1TU9qYdiqZRAV3FbuEpm0Ht1vDGwLkmq-D2xYksh4VRljNR6hbiHnCY0QAjCjSekuojn_6s-iOhVEptmpeQ3-s1lrZ_LcZx4W21OapA_ztbSM9IuH4L91eWEEdvxXvV_6wLM/w400-h274/georgiabluespeedwell.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Even in January my garden has a lot of interest in both blooming plants and foliage and it makes my heart glad that I transitioned from the long, cold winters of Chicago to the warm sunny South. To be able to garden year round is better than any medicine. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><br /></div></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-22967897384811770002024-01-25T03:48:00.000-08:002024-01-25T03:49:09.303-08:00OLD DECEMBER'S BARENESS<div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>"How like a winter hath my absence been From thee,</i></b></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i> the pleasure of the fleeting year!</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>What old December’s bareness every where!</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>And yet this time remov’d was summer’s time;</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>The teeming autumn, big with rich increase,</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Bearing the wanton burden of the prime,</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Like widow’d wombs after their lords’ decease:</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Yet this abundant issue seem’d to me</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>But hope of orphans and unfather’d fruit;</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>For summer and his pleasures wait on thee,</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>And, thou away, the very birds are mute:</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Or, if they sing, ’tis with so dull a cheer,</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>That leaves look pale, dreading the winter’s near."</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>- William Shakespeare, How Like a Winter Hath my Absence Been (Sonnet 97)</i></b></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">The last month of the year has come so fast. The leaves have all fallen and the trees and shrubs are bare . I spend December going over the garden to check what bare spots need filling come Spring. More Euphorbia is definitely on my list of </div><div style="text-align: left;">" must haves ". The newer colorful varieties are a challenge to grow but as they die I have replaced them with kind, hoping to find a spot they like. So far they have endured the summer heat and Fall chill.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZzMP_ku4D91MsyRVa9qJJ1oF6RMazCiH2Tvcl6PwF_6bv4XYRfR1K3pwD0sObHn-XTzulf6msRqmAnoofr9ZUTVr7sfCv-Ysw3o038kFpU41zIGlZLSPPz6-I6ROi8MAHA9SWXCfnOuxw-oVVb1RsDlOXwWODFMvS6KF1ycY3AykPY3KoL21nkCCsbnU/s5312/oct2020-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZzMP_ku4D91MsyRVa9qJJ1oF6RMazCiH2Tvcl6PwF_6bv4XYRfR1K3pwD0sObHn-XTzulf6msRqmAnoofr9ZUTVr7sfCv-Ysw3o038kFpU41zIGlZLSPPz6-I6ROi8MAHA9SWXCfnOuxw-oVVb1RsDlOXwWODFMvS6KF1ycY3AykPY3KoL21nkCCsbnU/w640-h360/oct2020-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div><b><i>The remains of Autumn -Euphorbia 'ascot rainbow ', Japanese Iris, Autumn sage, and hardy mums are the longest blooming flowers that often survive into early December, depending of course on the weather . </i></b><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I have all but given up on growing Gardenias and Rhododendrons . I thought that my third attempt was charm but alas, it too sucumbed. I have tried all varieties and different spots, soil, etc. to no avail. Meanwhile my neighbor has a 10 year old 10 ' tall gardenia that I'm sure is taunting me.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Although the trees and shrubs are mostly bare there remains a lot of potential in the December garden -Edgeworthia has some buds, Euphorbias its colorful dress, Autumn sage decked out in red, lavender is a beautiful silver and the late flowering Japanese mum has tiny yellow button shaped flowers. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;">Advanced age has not detered me from gardening and as long as I can walk, bend and lift I will continue to do so. I am looking forward to a new year filled with </span>promise and new plants. I'm also excited to seeing the rare appearance of a blooming tree in mid-January ( below ) -Prunus mume 'peggy clarke '. I love it so much I have two. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Farewell December !</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiru2leGbZDuyznWM4jMn_CQshNmmJVLt5eZrk60qnpYjYdzxxEc_zp0EOalZNN8NowB5TsjyMcqvQgaf6dt_hCOHYrc6L1o9a4WtyLykLuffWF46QUK4pdHOVsVL6giJubq1VsxkPHGtMeGpFTKzjlOgm3Nw_gosAnZqqgHceEy00M8iKJmPVdmtPcpw4/s977/peggyclarke%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="977" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiru2leGbZDuyznWM4jMn_CQshNmmJVLt5eZrk60qnpYjYdzxxEc_zp0EOalZNN8NowB5TsjyMcqvQgaf6dt_hCOHYrc6L1o9a4WtyLykLuffWF46QUK4pdHOVsVL6giJubq1VsxkPHGtMeGpFTKzjlOgm3Nw_gosAnZqqgHceEy00M8iKJmPVdmtPcpw4/w640-h486/peggyclarke%20(1).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-17482614905422970112024-01-02T05:29:00.000-08:002024-01-02T05:29:24.506-08:00THE MUSIC OF NOVEMBER<br /><br /><b><i> "The wind that makes music in November corn is in a hurry. The stalks hum,the loose husks whisk skyward in half-playing swirls, and the wind hurries on....<br />A tree tries to argue, bare limbs waving, but there is no detaining the wind."<br /><br />- Aldo Leopold</i></b><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div>November is a busy month both in the garden and in my artists studio and I am behind in my blog posts. The first two weekends I host an open studio that has hundreds of visits from the entire county residents. As visitors walk to the entrance of my studio through the garden they are awed by the view of November's rich colors and blooms.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6nRD8X2zT5ORnm9lmsAK6Yr2V_zFqNv_PHERpGwk89A0suA72dCjfF818KnejHOZMSxnlHK810l6mPCivOOAda7ITKuM-5LhUmH_nwgJEYnv_pxztHvLHbaFpcx_n4wf6ZVBSYCx8gYtcT2CDZb0IkLKwUYRfdeG9MqnXlbVtSEhSsResN0VB1424ZE/s5014/oct.2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="5014" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6nRD8X2zT5ORnm9lmsAK6Yr2V_zFqNv_PHERpGwk89A0suA72dCjfF818KnejHOZMSxnlHK810l6mPCivOOAda7ITKuM-5LhUmH_nwgJEYnv_pxztHvLHbaFpcx_n4wf6ZVBSYCx8gYtcT2CDZb0IkLKwUYRfdeG9MqnXlbVtSEhSsResN0VB1424ZE/w640-h336/oct.2020.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <div><b><i> Above, left to right : Autumn sage, Japanese iris, Hardy mums and Euphorbia grace the November garden.</i></b></div><div><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div>The long-blooming Coneflowers and Asters are gone but the lovely Dianthus is still flowering. I added more Euphorbias and Coreopsis in early Fall and some new varieties of Blackeyed Susan.</div><div><br /></div><div>My favorite 'hana jiman ' Camellia ( below ) was very prolific this year and the blooms lasted a long time. One of the South's favorites, Camellias can be seen around town in so many different colors. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvr8QELV3MLq73F9Kvjik-1Z4O-m2bRE7JA_BOvXG61jKqr5u9AzTHqazCW69j0Pe7c6l3C-vjsluGfw0V-Zp3fB0uHSu_WCL1aPZmZA2fthi4ZOYFIu6n5fwG_SHTNsPDiqNNAkBEK9pbA4UqQF-7srA8wPA3gSHoRK2xh3F96J6-et4Gf0D84t1ZatI/s3872/camellia_hana_jiman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="3872" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvr8QELV3MLq73F9Kvjik-1Z4O-m2bRE7JA_BOvXG61jKqr5u9AzTHqazCW69j0Pe7c6l3C-vjsluGfw0V-Zp3fB0uHSu_WCL1aPZmZA2fthi4ZOYFIu6n5fwG_SHTNsPDiqNNAkBEK9pbA4UqQF-7srA8wPA3gSHoRK2xh3F96J6-et4Gf0D84t1ZatI/w640-h428/camellia_hana_jiman.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>The weather forecast is predicting a warm winter and thus far it seems to be rather mild. A few days of below freezing but daytime temperatures are in the high 50's and 60's .</div><div><br /></div><div>Now onward to the last month of the year. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-3247342235623154082023-11-30T03:43:00.000-08:002023-11-30T03:43:09.952-08:00A HUSHED OCTOBER<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>"O hushed October morning mild, </i></b></span><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Thy leaves have ripened to the fall; </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,</span><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-family: Verdana; font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Should waste them all. </span></p><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;">The crows above the forest call; </div><div style="text-align: center;">Tomorrow they may form and go. </div><div style="text-align: center;">O hushed October morning mild, </div><div style="text-align: center;">Begin the hours of this day slow. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Make the day seem to us less brief. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Hearts not averse to being beguiled, </div><div style="text-align: center;">Beguile us in the way you know. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Release one leaf at break of day; </div><div style="text-align: center;">At noon release another leaf; </div><div style="text-align: center;">One from our trees, one far away."</div></span><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;">- Robert Frost, October</div><div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpbBJ0KGtVIWP9jm1FudLvG_wDmTRiPZuq3IRqc2hinIzFYlTI470fS8tYc7Yggj_tUWS4KD7mjY6mb-Zn6PMJZEFyoX3CTMKGAa_isUWnqs9NVGbZw4FkbjW7GL-jbbXYulpwBIUH1r5sBdN-nvvJnhx2hIscMmt4DlSUDUMRq-TyjHVJSSDFdOCTauQ/s5312/oct2020-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpbBJ0KGtVIWP9jm1FudLvG_wDmTRiPZuq3IRqc2hinIzFYlTI470fS8tYc7Yggj_tUWS4KD7mjY6mb-Zn6PMJZEFyoX3CTMKGAa_isUWnqs9NVGbZw4FkbjW7GL-jbbXYulpwBIUH1r5sBdN-nvvJnhx2hIscMmt4DlSUDUMRq-TyjHVJSSDFdOCTauQ/w640-h402/oct2020-3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;">Left to right , stalwarts in my October garden : Autumn Sage, Japanese roof iris, Hardy mums, euphorbia.</div><div style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After a long hot dry summer the cooler days of October are most welcome. Rainfall has been scarce so my watering tasks have increased.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In pursuit of my strategy to have a living mulch I continued to purchase new perennials to add to the garden. I especially love the various shades of euphorbia -the 'ascot rainbow ' and 'merlot ' colors are my favorites. I've also planted several varieties of hyssop or "hummingbird mint " which has really done well as have the coneflowers which I have in every color. An outstanding perennial, "wood's blue aster " has been in continuous bloom since early summer. I continue to love and plant Dianthus which is sold as an annual but acts like a perennial here in this mild climate.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4VyYd2tsBg33XTPiBkxn4jLhbIgVkmGv4gpBYfOw-D8Et0UEf02BDjNg6-0AQZIr7dWmqTjJoOMqov1BN00D8iD68xf9CdNHea1EPf03dp7e20hbVCp1p2n4BvkPKasHNmKyZfVOYSN18zTGvkcNZEHu0q0ttfsxwLgwYQmwNRIzZPjFGHyxja8dGeew/s4032/20230706_082958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4VyYd2tsBg33XTPiBkxn4jLhbIgVkmGv4gpBYfOw-D8Et0UEf02BDjNg6-0AQZIr7dWmqTjJoOMqov1BN00D8iD68xf9CdNHea1EPf03dp7e20hbVCp1p2n4BvkPKasHNmKyZfVOYSN18zTGvkcNZEHu0q0ttfsxwLgwYQmwNRIzZPjFGHyxja8dGeew/w394-h373/20230706_082958.jpg" width="394" /></a></div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I have failed, for the third time, to grow a gardenia, despite having tried 3 different varieties, 3 different locations and suggested soil preparations. I have given up. The same with Rhododendrons. I just tossed out my third failure and planted an azalea instead.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The days grow shorter and there is definitely a hushed October feeling in the Sweet garden.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-80258201909423790342023-10-08T08:00:00.004-07:002023-10-08T08:00:30.711-07:00A SONG OF SEPTEMBER<p> <span style="color: maroon;"> </span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="color: maroon; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">"Try to remember the kind of September</span></b></span></p><p style="color: maroon; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">When life was slow and oh so mellow</span></b></span></p><p style="color: maroon; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Try to remember the kind of September</span></b></span></p><p style="color: maroon; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">When grass was green and grain so yellow</span></b></span></p><p style="color: maroon; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Try to remember the kind of September</span></b></span></p><p style="color: maroon; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">When you were a young and a callow fellow</span></b></span></p><p style="color: maroon; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Try to remember and if you remember</span></b></span></p><p style="color: maroon; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Then follow--follow, oh-oh." </span></b></span></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL2COh_HEAOgmMD_Itg3Yav6XYxI0L-KjCV4emS4idAbJMaAViRzvIAUDfA7QO1wYX_02rFbP0uVh2YQ3qBZ8tWkufs2yzc2OvjYR5F9aQDjJ5wEOloVY0XS_OUCbOtbZu7eJUqlG7XsKZFecKkY_Djp3QswwCCPeslpv0BO6Gy2bxfNwDdmO-GBsBLIw/s5312/20210922_073446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL2COh_HEAOgmMD_Itg3Yav6XYxI0L-KjCV4emS4idAbJMaAViRzvIAUDfA7QO1wYX_02rFbP0uVh2YQ3qBZ8tWkufs2yzc2OvjYR5F9aQDjJ5wEOloVY0XS_OUCbOtbZu7eJUqlG7XsKZFecKkY_Djp3QswwCCPeslpv0BO6Gy2bxfNwDdmO-GBsBLIw/w640-h360/20210922_073446.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> In Chicago September was the beginning of the end of summer but here in Central N.C. it is still warm although the nights are getting cooler. The ample rainfall of July has long past and it has been a long, dry, hot summer.<p></p><p>I have turned my attention to the neglected vegetable garden to prepare it for the Fall planting. Tomatoes are long gone and all that remain is green peppers. Below are seeds that I'm planting for cool season crops. In addition I have also planted some collard greens. I haven't been able to find my favorite savoy cabbage yet, but its a favorite.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJuMzik7H1zcqajzSQmoSc2bNFnlKhQldr3RzIK6F8edKHx6wpObvvK4u0Iv478IWJiBsVqRpmJU5LVpuHjRVqjqIvJG3aS20seA_7mM-fcXrPgWcz5aZZ9zKDQ3M3d9kvCAm6aTpR4cw5FfCCLExCad9sZnqp1fyvrdySVbrkaFbBLCZw6YuddZaYdDg/s4032/20230921_082914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJuMzik7H1zcqajzSQmoSc2bNFnlKhQldr3RzIK6F8edKHx6wpObvvK4u0Iv478IWJiBsVqRpmJU5LVpuHjRVqjqIvJG3aS20seA_7mM-fcXrPgWcz5aZZ9zKDQ3M3d9kvCAm6aTpR4cw5FfCCLExCad9sZnqp1fyvrdySVbrkaFbBLCZw6YuddZaYdDg/w640-h480/20230921_082914.jpg" width="640" /></a></p>In the perennial garden I've found some unusual flowers to add : 'matchstick' mum, long-blooming pink wood asters to go with my blues, aralia, brazilian verbena, 'goldrush' blackeyed susans, and more dianthus. <div><br /></div><div>I've tried to get coral bells to bloom in a semi-shady area but they just don't seem to like our southern heat. Only one cultivar -'caramel ' has survived and thrived. I love it's color.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm a middle child so giving up is not something I easily do -I'm on my third attempt to grow a gardenia, something that many other gardeners find very simple. My local garden center advised that I try adding a bio-starter when planting and so far, fingers crossed, it seems to be working. Hoping to see some blooms next season.</div><div><br /></div><div>Onward and upward to Fall -the real Fall of the leaves and those of us who rake them !</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><p><br /></p><p> </p><p align="left" style="color: maroon;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-75461706397625422592023-09-10T06:49:00.006-07:002023-10-08T07:33:39.573-07:00THE SILENCE OF AUGUST<p> </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PLZeIMHyEkLQI3Q_DEhJ87q9RF4ppAIRihGTcc-p9185sLnMWXjdxOAeED881qZFYlD2QdZLGBuyn8apdWOBbvXPk-Q3hLCGRv8L8wfmX-LeTPOdtFP1Sn5aNStwfKv3XTaCqgg75QIS7JTLN2beAgBbm-y-t8jSjttXjSaCqfAbsAReDQazWV9tg4o/s5312/20210930_115051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="499" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PLZeIMHyEkLQI3Q_DEhJ87q9RF4ppAIRihGTcc-p9185sLnMWXjdxOAeED881qZFYlD2QdZLGBuyn8apdWOBbvXPk-Q3hLCGRv8L8wfmX-LeTPOdtFP1Sn5aNStwfKv3XTaCqgg75QIS7JTLN2beAgBbm-y-t8jSjttXjSaCqfAbsAReDQazWV9tg4o/w640-h499/20210930_115051.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="d-flex poem__title mb-1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; display: flex; flex-direction: row; font-family: "founders grotesk", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "segoe ui", Roboto, "helvetica neue", Arial, sans-serif, "apple color emoji", "segoe ui emoji", "segoe ui symbol"; font-size: 16px; justify-content: space-between; margin-bottom: 0.3rem;"><h1 style="box-sizing: border-box; flex: 0 0 80%; font-family: "poets electra", Georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 2.5rem; line-height: 3rem; margin-bottom: 0.6rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="field field--title" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i>August</i></span></h1></div><div class="poem-actions poem-actions--vertical" style="box-sizing: border-box; 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list-style: none; padding-right: 0.6rem; position: relative;" tabindex="0" title=""><button class="poem-actions__button" data-add-to-anthology-button="false" data-original-title="Add to an Anthology" data-placement="right" data-target="#add-to-anthology-modal" data-toggle="modal" data-tooltip="true" disabled="" style="appearance: none; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: initial; border-radius: 0px; border-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; pointer-events: none;" title=""><b><i><img alt="Add this poem to an anthology" class="poem-actions__icon" src="https://poets.org/themes/custom/stanza/assets/images/optimized/social/collection.svg" style="border-style: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 6px; vertical-align: middle;" /></i></b></button></li></ul></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; font-family: "founders grotesk", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "segoe ui", Roboto, "helvetica neue", Arial, sans-serif, "apple color emoji", "segoe ui emoji", "segoe ui symbol"; font-size: 16px;"><div class="field field--field_author" itemprop="author" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="field__content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div about="/poet/helen-hunt-jackson" data-byline-author="" role="article" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--black); display: flex; font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: 1.4;"><a data-byline-author-name="" href="https://poets.org/poet/helen-hunt-jackson" rel="bookmark" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #007ab3; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="field field--title" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><b><i>Helen Hunt Jackson</i></b></span></a><div data-byline-author-info="" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; margin-left: 15px;"></div></div></div></div><div class="field field--body" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "poets electra", Georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: 1.1rem; line-height: 1.5; padding-top: 1.25rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><b><i>Silence again. The glorious symphony<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Hath need of pause and interval of peace.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Some subtle signal bids all sweet sounds cease,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Save hum of insects’ aimless industry.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Pathetic summer seeks by blazonry<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Of color to conceal her swift decrease.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Weak subterfuge! Each mocking day doth fleece<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />A blossom, and lay bare her poverty.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Poor middle-agèd summer! Vain this show!<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Whole fields of golden-rod cannot offset<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />One meadow with a single violet;<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />And well the singing thrush and lily know,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Spite of all artifice which her regret<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Can deck in splendid guise, their time to go!</i></b></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTnW7b_-ofTyQKM2Wb85DflK7sH_vNjSUWR0TnLRk6MSnqdBTe4YKKIB31DC8DjnFnfHJLwYQKGFvPL9B4KNbiWBaDFWIk3SKwKk4pLZiwRI-Abz7y2iafVNKuFO6GVpbMaYAw2GtkfwyaknA1XxqYuhbOmdw151w4_1Pf3v6bI3jVhN4Q7boqzKz_FBE/s5312/20210930_115412.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTnW7b_-ofTyQKM2Wb85DflK7sH_vNjSUWR0TnLRk6MSnqdBTe4YKKIB31DC8DjnFnfHJLwYQKGFvPL9B4KNbiWBaDFWIk3SKwKk4pLZiwRI-Abz7y2iafVNKuFO6GVpbMaYAw2GtkfwyaknA1XxqYuhbOmdw151w4_1Pf3v6bI3jVhN4Q7boqzKz_FBE/w640-h360/20210930_115412.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div><span style="font-size: 1.1rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 1.1rem;"> <b><i>August superstars : Korean mums and Autumn Joy sedum. Dianthus has been in continuous bloom since Spring.</i></b></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 1.1rem;">As usual August was hot and dry and the rains of July are a mere memory. Judicious watering of thirsty plants that demanded it occupied much of my time. I have strived to plant drought-tolerant perennials and annuals but even they had much to complain about.</span></p></span><p></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The first one to fold her dropping leaves is the Chinese paperbush Edgeworthia, closely followed by the azaleas and rhododendrons. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The only fruit ripening now is the trusty Japanese persimmon 'fuyu', shown below. This little dwarf tree is full of fruit that will need another month to harvest.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0USDDpUmKcrVfo_Oa3QEDAGGYZoiFw7XwEYlf9ze9NzMzk2uhv2Mj8AdH_Xl5RDtDtANQ9d50bMqSe7OO3anlVEQG9nhG73h2VVRWzodrfuMBwUQoUm7B-Mi1ICzp2Q57Fpva5jKKyOvBennlgYkfgou_Lm91om4_mMvHNEYFL4rjVRfMsU55YV9IeI/s3074/20210922_073621.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2253" data-original-width="3074" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0USDDpUmKcrVfo_Oa3QEDAGGYZoiFw7XwEYlf9ze9NzMzk2uhv2Mj8AdH_Xl5RDtDtANQ9d50bMqSe7OO3anlVEQG9nhG73h2VVRWzodrfuMBwUQoUm7B-Mi1ICzp2Q57Fpva5jKKyOvBennlgYkfgou_Lm91om4_mMvHNEYFL4rjVRfMsU55YV9IeI/w640-h470/20210922_073621.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The perennial Korean mums are starting to bud and the second blooming of the Autumn sage which hummingbirds visit daily.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Soon it will be September and time for adding and subtracting in the garden. I want to add more pollinator's favorites such as Salvias, Goldenrod and Agastache to the roadside garden. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></p></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-33249868631181792772023-08-02T06:19:00.003-07:002023-08-02T06:19:46.993-07:00MUMS IN JULY , OH MY ! <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_HsJHIvp1AcfX31W3Sd4IIeFtoAGEm82GpkWxQsjWsfWKi6epRkFCD5QYJe1ULozQCpGbNb3kIgJ0WNC1i0tLu9vzs3DHde10PCBNnYKTy1-o_QpqWQBNfdRWRchqGFkbdzk_x68HhR7HDhGmO_rlNeSRL4a-mc7v0BsHaRgitvW_KwEIy-m5crDO-SQ/s5312/Fallgarden2022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_HsJHIvp1AcfX31W3Sd4IIeFtoAGEm82GpkWxQsjWsfWKi6epRkFCD5QYJe1ULozQCpGbNb3kIgJ0WNC1i0tLu9vzs3DHde10PCBNnYKTy1-o_QpqWQBNfdRWRchqGFkbdzk_x68HhR7HDhGmO_rlNeSRL4a-mc7v0BsHaRgitvW_KwEIy-m5crDO-SQ/w640-h360/Fallgarden2022.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>The gardening season this year began in February and since then many plants have bloomed much earlier than usual. The asters were very early as were the mums, pictured above. The red autumn sage bloomed in early March and has been in continuous bloom all summer. The hummers, of course, love them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgebw86QNjzlnxNiMB4Z3RP_CgM6PA5Z9eXXjkV7HwmaZU2Mi-wV78EiMkBJVIaupP_LTbrAsQUE1SovHC0ajDnyMRaaxVT6qBe-rTcoMwiz4qYghTjrLr2KvGfLzygRUdMNr78w5iZNDgYeMVgldiFI65bVU28KLxgdS5fkcYy3x9J1tAsqP_8gX3RI6c/s1005/blackeyedsusan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="1005" height="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgebw86QNjzlnxNiMB4Z3RP_CgM6PA5Z9eXXjkV7HwmaZU2Mi-wV78EiMkBJVIaupP_LTbrAsQUE1SovHC0ajDnyMRaaxVT6qBe-rTcoMwiz4qYghTjrLr2KvGfLzygRUdMNr78w5iZNDgYeMVgldiFI65bVU28KLxgdS5fkcYy3x9J1tAsqP_8gX3RI6c/w640-h562/blackeyedsusan.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>I love blackeyed Susans but the variety 'goldstrum' gets too leggy by the time it blooms in July. I found two new varieties -one petite and the other named 'American goldrush ' at the local garden center. I'm going to dig out all the blackeyed Susans and transplant them to the roadside meadow garden this Fall.</p><p>The coneflowers I planted last year are blooming beautifully and need little attention. I have them in pink, yellow and orange.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Aw81REPRxLrpFRS1eEXnZNX9EzDsGTwdPq2aMXJ_aPJgCz93Rfw-WRjBXnnG9od_A45ccqRW9Pza26LD4dyRxbV7Zwu30gvk_enY1UiqiZU4CxHkzGyge7anjVrfTEEuSPl-gFWVPR1-twfCyWQ78dKxbox5elLird6SIgYiipJg3IZ24gvYU59Qpik/s4032/20230719_145424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Aw81REPRxLrpFRS1eEXnZNX9EzDsGTwdPq2aMXJ_aPJgCz93Rfw-WRjBXnnG9od_A45ccqRW9Pza26LD4dyRxbV7Zwu30gvk_enY1UiqiZU4CxHkzGyge7anjVrfTEEuSPl-gFWVPR1-twfCyWQ78dKxbox5elLird6SIgYiipJg3IZ24gvYU59Qpik/w640-h480/20230719_145424.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>When I planted 'sunshine' privet a few years ago it was hardly noticeable. I love the way it has grown rather quickly and the color it keeps year round adds lots of color and cheer all season.</p><p>I'm trying to add more silver accents and the Spanish lavender ( foreground ) seems to like it on my rocky slope as the soil is well -drained.</p><p>For reasons unknown the Japanese beetles seem to be less this year , which is a miracle as I'm usually fighting them for most of the summer.</p><p>July is the rainest month of the year here in central North Carolina but this year not so much. A few days ago we had a deluge of 2 " ! </p><p>I have a lot of birdhouses throughout my front forest and backyard garden and love watching them build their nests and raise their young. Some of the birds are on their 3rd family.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-65210483295000084962023-07-01T06:40:00.003-07:002023-07-01T06:40:34.084-07:00The Flowery Trees and Shrubs of Summer<p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bX4BCdrj70zyOvIReHQLuBcTFmh2jOmJI91VXf9D8LElYBXRPj_ADreHJKmbFU0_30bpxlZx_iOvbU4rKvAkNv4xfMsNXzE1ITXPL04tlGAAQFB4YcMWMQRjs_QWN1r5Eb8jPB_2Pkci8QzHB3Hx0bDTPw19taxUPaV5FlAa7KEskzPe8gNJ2T_hlU8/s3801/20230701_075932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2278" data-original-width="3801" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bX4BCdrj70zyOvIReHQLuBcTFmh2jOmJI91VXf9D8LElYBXRPj_ADreHJKmbFU0_30bpxlZx_iOvbU4rKvAkNv4xfMsNXzE1ITXPL04tlGAAQFB4YcMWMQRjs_QWN1r5Eb8jPB_2Pkci8QzHB3Hx0bDTPw19taxUPaV5FlAa7KEskzPe8gNJ2T_hlU8/w640-h494/20230701_075932.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Looking back on previous June posts, I found one from 2012 that received a large number of visitors so I am repeating it here in case you missed it ! <p></p><p><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2525548268416690769/242940133001247006">https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2525548268416690769/242940133001247006</a></p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-8068212461968807072023-05-10T04:36:00.001-07:002023-05-10T04:36:44.085-07:00THE DARLING BUDS OF MAY<p><b><i><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> <span style="background-color: #fffbf0; color: darkgreen;">"Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May."</span></span></i></b></p><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; color: darkgreen;"><b><i><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">- William Shakespeare</span></i></b></span><div><span style="color: darkgreen; font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">May is one of the busiest of months -my birthday on May 1, followed by Mother's day and then the birthdays of my son and daughter. I'm not hard to buy for and usually receive several gift cards to my local Garden center.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">In the garden so many perennials are popping up and very early too because of our warm Spring . Due to a December freeze I lost a lot of my 'purple heart ' and will have to divide and transplant the overgrown ones. The shrub roses are blooming early this year, along with the Japanese roof iris and woodland phlox.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF2WkR_EwhZjKMRRRdLc7aRID_tW18g8va7LJ6Ij76-cB0ISSNDcIiPiTq0YzGjP9yuTnukU9CEffqNHDxpuRmBxS7bWoI2YAVB2CUZ_TifTT8osir9O7bnNblNnU7owdPH3mLljkRaJzwRmD3eiVMQfCVEoJiQadFMTDfaaoQfL3eyyuHcrWn4gUc/s1571/may72023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="1571" height="437" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF2WkR_EwhZjKMRRRdLc7aRID_tW18g8va7LJ6Ij76-cB0ISSNDcIiPiTq0YzGjP9yuTnukU9CEffqNHDxpuRmBxS7bWoI2YAVB2CUZ_TifTT8osir9O7bnNblNnU7owdPH3mLljkRaJzwRmD3eiVMQfCVEoJiQadFMTDfaaoQfL3eyyuHcrWn4gUc/w640-h437/may72023.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> </div><div> <span style="font-size: large;"> April showers bring lush flowers.</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgldmQPWevHGhct23PdERwUL4ZaR4euXyYmlwF--I4-99fx4sQrTN9is3Q9xhUZ4JMf0ZXTLfAIge12qWXzcbOKA_c1w7kq9yrVsdtZE1kdbqhMX56FoI2niLGLVqpUI_i89p3WNXo6mOA7rqPQG96V13nIpRqpmYMhTAguVcwfOpdNMVAsI4x3DUSQ/s884/apr23garden.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="663" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgldmQPWevHGhct23PdERwUL4ZaR4euXyYmlwF--I4-99fx4sQrTN9is3Q9xhUZ4JMf0ZXTLfAIge12qWXzcbOKA_c1w7kq9yrVsdtZE1kdbqhMX56FoI2niLGLVqpUI_i89p3WNXo6mOA7rqPQG96V13nIpRqpmYMhTAguVcwfOpdNMVAsI4x3DUSQ/w588-h640/apr23garden.jpg" width="588" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-size: large;">My favorite long blooming annual that acts like a perennial -dianthus has spread and I'm adding more this year . </span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPuqFGJ-1x1A_JDT458Zinb1XjrneBc0_3zB_GXwen2L7rHXmdoRK9C6dHwP-KC0E51OZYBJKkKcwTE5BIDexFmlO--F68EWBwVHpUosub39WbjFZCZDhsKyFkCm5cYNVLAxCZXJVXyvxsK-vtIuxLa68XQZBBlD9XHMnKGTqS6kBQMXQamPEvdH6/s1990/roadsidegardenjune2021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1094" data-original-width="1990" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPuqFGJ-1x1A_JDT458Zinb1XjrneBc0_3zB_GXwen2L7rHXmdoRK9C6dHwP-KC0E51OZYBJKkKcwTE5BIDexFmlO--F68EWBwVHpUosub39WbjFZCZDhsKyFkCm5cYNVLAxCZXJVXyvxsK-vtIuxLa68XQZBBlD9XHMnKGTqS6kBQMXQamPEvdH6/w640-h385/roadsidegardenjune2021.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-size: large;">I planted deer and rabbit resistant wildflowers in my roadside pollinator garden. The red yarrow, shasta daisies, Japanese roof iris and catsmint have also bloomed early this season. The pollinator's favorite Lantana will need more hot weather to make its appearance.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">My goal this season is to use living mulch, i.e., plants, instead of wood chips and I think I've achieved that in my boulder garden, below . I've also planted the Oriental Poppy for the first time and various colors of coneflowers for their long bloom.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitu_jkWVQx4-IMMiw9Lj4ECU4QCx6jZw5gTQN7mZRCj7-TcCMjdJ-KZGz2wSjt50PY2xHWG4ir_JYXoObH1T8wecQ-60Cx1AMDCo6hcok4_YXVD-R9UXHPpamquxGcpjqjV2qksQb6lPCFoyxKbS2CugUTh0HPWYnm8H3OiVCXiOQYJ4k6bkhXGd1h/s4888/Spring2023-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2749" data-original-width="4888" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitu_jkWVQx4-IMMiw9Lj4ECU4QCx6jZw5gTQN7mZRCj7-TcCMjdJ-KZGz2wSjt50PY2xHWG4ir_JYXoObH1T8wecQ-60Cx1AMDCo6hcok4_YXVD-R9UXHPpamquxGcpjqjV2qksQb6lPCFoyxKbS2CugUTh0HPWYnm8H3OiVCXiOQYJ4k6bkhXGd1h/w640-h360/Spring2023-6.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I have lots of blues and purples and to that mix I am planting flowers with yellow , red or orange blooms such as Coreopsis Gaura, Monarda and Black Eyed Susan . My favorite early blooming perennial is Autumn Sage ( below ) which puts on a show from early Spring to late Fall and now comes in shades of pink, white and purple .</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngKJRiucK7OsIRuj1nZMthsjIdBs1KaHU-pn9GxnQAnRPwHxJXb4fKpw_txd_lhW7WywblPvXvTMwEk5snSSfCnsdsl9yWcIci3el8_ooHziWthRKyoTzrzE1KIpDRQo7HOyy0Zy3gmEznwDpMeYqDq2EHCagQMPSTmKENvPQNeZnz5ygCMV_g5tD/s816/autumnsage2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="816" height="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngKJRiucK7OsIRuj1nZMthsjIdBs1KaHU-pn9GxnQAnRPwHxJXb4fKpw_txd_lhW7WywblPvXvTMwEk5snSSfCnsdsl9yWcIci3el8_ooHziWthRKyoTzrzE1KIpDRQo7HOyy0Zy3gmEznwDpMeYqDq2EHCagQMPSTmKENvPQNeZnz5ygCMV_g5tD/w640-h534/autumnsage2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">I'm so excited ! This is my fourth try to grow a rhododendron and this Spring I finally succeeded in getting one to bloom. Below is </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #5f6368; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">Rhododendron catawbiense</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> '</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #5f6368; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">Alba</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">' in all her glory !</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS19DQUSzLPmf3dOubskFNvShaVgV-Xxrekuiwu574pWIhMb5a8CHdmY8sAjXXccbEv9xgu0SMZN-bjO1FGzCPHC4v6CR4gYi6eU8hG6qZzqDyPJLjrdIeeODTcAumb1JY5UOAsbiV3N9Ljvi6sMnbIaHalLvOe8Cuu4OCthDla8wB7N6HYBERoovz/s500/Rhododendron-catawbiense--David-Winship--cc-by-nc-2-0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS19DQUSzLPmf3dOubskFNvShaVgV-Xxrekuiwu574pWIhMb5a8CHdmY8sAjXXccbEv9xgu0SMZN-bjO1FGzCPHC4v6CR4gYi6eU8hG6qZzqDyPJLjrdIeeODTcAumb1JY5UOAsbiV3N9Ljvi6sMnbIaHalLvOe8Cuu4OCthDla8wB7N6HYBERoovz/w640-h426/Rhododendron-catawbiense--David-Winship--cc-by-nc-2-0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4d5156; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This cultivar is reputed to be one of the most vigorous and it was highly recommended by my local garden center. Rhododendrons are difficult here to grow here in the South, probably due to our hot summers. I planted this one in a partly sunny nook and on a berm of good soil and compost and I was finally rewarded for my efforts.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNeIEUa0eFrBQp-JxYR-R0pcUzPz0C3z5teHf8EIg38qhy-FcvO0N8eOt3dqiIL8JCf4DGfDMc-YXi3s2xmpVv_ciG4gY_ekWxKyZ1ufT-DB1-lxqitkFz8x67g66W_pzAVCIyOIwC0TMoimTIsByE1LV5kxylQqvJRaE_vjN8TogeztEiTFvUkQQq/s4032/20230424_101419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNeIEUa0eFrBQp-JxYR-R0pcUzPz0C3z5teHf8EIg38qhy-FcvO0N8eOt3dqiIL8JCf4DGfDMc-YXi3s2xmpVv_ciG4gY_ekWxKyZ1ufT-DB1-lxqitkFz8x67g66W_pzAVCIyOIwC0TMoimTIsByE1LV5kxylQqvJRaE_vjN8TogeztEiTFvUkQQq/w531-h626/20230424_101419.jpg" width="531" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The only flower ( above ) from my Chicago garden is now blooming -the antique iris 'Loreley ' and it brings me great joy to see it .</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">And now out to do the task of dividing and conquering some of the more prolific flowers such as the Hellebores and Sedges !</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-35493614964143243852023-04-12T05:39:00.002-07:002023-04-12T05:39:32.218-07:00PROUD PIED APRIL<br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i> "From you have I been absent in the spring,</i></b></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i>When proud-pied April dress'd in all his trim<br />Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing,<br />That heavy Saturn laugh'd and leap'd with him.<br />Yet nor the lays of birds nor the sweet smell<br />Of different flowers in odour and in hue<br />Could make me any summer's story tell,<br />Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew;<br />Nor did I wonder at the lily's white,<br />Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose;<br />They were but sweet, but figures of delight,<br />Drawn after you, you pattern of all those.<br />Yet seem'd it winter still, and, you away,</i></b></span></div><div><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>As with your shadow I with these did play."<br />- William Shakespeare, Sonnet 98</i></b></div><div><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></b></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimML27bO-G5JJrCgUyMvt6udCuA_UPatLa9VdFVCQ25kV9lMozdzKJZsJ-jA9Xmq_tIaPMIYLBZcMVorY1IicdufWD_3nVRivQT-F5qehcN_a5aaEXkiUz7Emnvx1apRhp33Dku8hhx0vWM0R7cbNWh3v3KDVQ9zRYtwBUu7BuFR1aa0X510DX4zeN/s5312/spring2023-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimML27bO-G5JJrCgUyMvt6udCuA_UPatLa9VdFVCQ25kV9lMozdzKJZsJ-jA9Xmq_tIaPMIYLBZcMVorY1IicdufWD_3nVRivQT-F5qehcN_a5aaEXkiUz7Emnvx1apRhp33Dku8hhx0vWM0R7cbNWh3v3KDVQ9zRYtwBUu7BuFR1aa0X510DX4zeN/w640-h360/spring2023-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> My gardening buddy Odie is ready for Spring !</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">We've enjoyed an unusually mild Spring since February and almost everything is early this year.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibX-2ZTQcFR8367lLgmWA-XPJFsvJU9vNjMQ_EN7Bk8e6PlFq8MxAhxGiJSQpO6VVMSgNg1vQIdpzhnF0NiIwrKBq-gXcrOWVN--UWy3UzBbC6PrOAD_DUzSGnIR8HYe2WKWFxQp_i9B8VzwaOtPtrCkTPaNUFzWlXhWWUnymjTqwFM1raNee9nQKq/s4888/Spring2023-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2749" data-original-width="4888" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibX-2ZTQcFR8367lLgmWA-XPJFsvJU9vNjMQ_EN7Bk8e6PlFq8MxAhxGiJSQpO6VVMSgNg1vQIdpzhnF0NiIwrKBq-gXcrOWVN--UWy3UzBbC6PrOAD_DUzSGnIR8HYe2WKWFxQp_i9B8VzwaOtPtrCkTPaNUFzWlXhWWUnymjTqwFM1raNee9nQKq/w640-h360/Spring2023-6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> View of my boulder garden. The Japanese roof iris are blooming, as is the Chinese snowball viburnum.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8EYaOhsiaRqnEpOT5Pg2ERIzbHe2fQxinP2Pq6Amc19hMgq_I0UGukdZfo7ZLHnLwK9dLMuhmPzcEUC_8TmPvbykK8GLfSYhb2wab89zXy_djCspvTPUnGxpwp9j30rECOufXSLQ-FMeRCLdtNRDFerTDxelEXiaH12JZM57X8WVmwoP5FqqjeYx4/s4705/spring2023-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2325" data-original-width="4705" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8EYaOhsiaRqnEpOT5Pg2ERIzbHe2fQxinP2Pq6Amc19hMgq_I0UGukdZfo7ZLHnLwK9dLMuhmPzcEUC_8TmPvbykK8GLfSYhb2wab89zXy_djCspvTPUnGxpwp9j30rECOufXSLQ-FMeRCLdtNRDFerTDxelEXiaH12JZM57X8WVmwoP5FqqjeYx4/w640-h316/spring2023-5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> My favorite annual/perennial is Dianthus which is cold-hardy here. It's a great bargain sold as annual price but it acts like a perennial. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg5vkie38AJFkI9aK4UnV7XpJ98qFxIxDm26Z1J_4NaulffaEW_iwQUQVv_P0zMRVu-VU_N35-EKjQpfrYjPVzRnPAdkrwEjNJW78rzH9jZ9CV5OWURWhMtOLG7qMttu3z2CscrCmS07nNxt5I3vjryhTEwSL3jJkQ8v7fNk16gl4qEwN4vqOeBAsX/s4822/spring2023-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2713" data-original-width="4822" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg5vkie38AJFkI9aK4UnV7XpJ98qFxIxDm26Z1J_4NaulffaEW_iwQUQVv_P0zMRVu-VU_N35-EKjQpfrYjPVzRnPAdkrwEjNJW78rzH9jZ9CV5OWURWhMtOLG7qMttu3z2CscrCmS07nNxt5I3vjryhTEwSL3jJkQ8v7fNk16gl4qEwN4vqOeBAsX/w640-h360/spring2023-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> A touch of red with my early-blooming autumn sage. In the far background the woodland phlox is blooming.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAY4pvUuuL3Ta6Ixm3ifKKnPff3ZFw6YL1ROaebPRLjO7DZUc7xI8Wqy4fbBVxswNqIFBUwIf1JzxmGS6-wqMFOw2CFuqkTfN1FfYAZNO5Fxrq-S7cwKewuNHgvFUmbJQ00fNfbkiipOz9i0nl6ZUk5bcF-1I6jrmKfD5b6gD__tIVTsRp7J6xPNza/s5312/spring2023-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAY4pvUuuL3Ta6Ixm3ifKKnPff3ZFw6YL1ROaebPRLjO7DZUc7xI8Wqy4fbBVxswNqIFBUwIf1JzxmGS6-wqMFOw2CFuqkTfN1FfYAZNO5Fxrq-S7cwKewuNHgvFUmbJQ00fNfbkiipOz9i0nl6ZUk5bcF-1I6jrmKfD5b6gD__tIVTsRp7J6xPNza/w640-h360/spring2023-3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> Odie has spied one of the many lizards that live in the garden. Woodland phlox are beautiful this year .</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmpd9Nr5BEU2KgHj0wBQykEgEYAxUnOobOwmJv32y88IK3IIx3aW51_nq5uPDVACaJTmhrtdA7cwQzdVLynf3lWN2Ikozlg2Ncyw5ZiZx9323cQMfmMj5_zj66ZpbfUemsq6Rsc4cI89AoQ3BlZvjz5GHLAimtE3en4KohWSnETF17NLhuHBwwb3s/s3242/spring2023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2577" data-original-width="3242" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmpd9Nr5BEU2KgHj0wBQykEgEYAxUnOobOwmJv32y88IK3IIx3aW51_nq5uPDVACaJTmhrtdA7cwQzdVLynf3lWN2Ikozlg2Ncyw5ZiZx9323cQMfmMj5_zj66ZpbfUemsq6Rsc4cI89AoQ3BlZvjz5GHLAimtE3en4KohWSnETF17NLhuHBwwb3s/w640-h508/spring2023.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> April showers have been ample this month and as a result everything is lush !</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Now onto the Merry Month of May !</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-52254639234858037942023-03-31T04:39:00.004-07:002023-03-31T04:39:42.746-07:00FEBRUARY BLOOMS IN THE GARDEN<p> <span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fffbf0; color: #000099; font-size: 17.6px;"><b><i>"Probably more pests can be controlled in an armchair in front of a February fire with a garden notebook and a seed catalog that can ever be knocked out in hand-to-hand combat in the garden."</i></b></span></p><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fffbf0; color: #000099; font-size: 17.6px;"><b><i>- Neely Turner</i></b></span><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fffbf0; color: #000099; font-size: 17.6px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #000099;"><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;">One of my gardening goals is to have something in flower or leaf every month of the year. Even here in central North Carolina the winter months of December-March can be challenging.</span></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #000099;"><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #000099;"><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;">This February has been an unusually warm month starting off with 72 degrees on February 8 . </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; color: #000099; font-size: 17.6px;">The hellebores are still in full bloom and I've allowed them to colonize in my woodland garden.</span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #000099;"><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #000099;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7hd0FrNkCn119XjXxclxVlJAKUzk3t4YCAc3TtU9BAaFWjWlzbmbqoqd2X27qDeHfc_-yj7pdomgaAibJzaRo0-kQCi289li6daeV_UGGuqYzBxTbhOn2aSF6a2b-HHH3Ld7lja-6zXRW-JlHaScg1jn6nhItjyi1a0mx7xk4ujhdIYvljFuYL31/s4032/20230325_124406.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7hd0FrNkCn119XjXxclxVlJAKUzk3t4YCAc3TtU9BAaFWjWlzbmbqoqd2X27qDeHfc_-yj7pdomgaAibJzaRo0-kQCi289li6daeV_UGGuqYzBxTbhOn2aSF6a2b-HHH3Ld7lja-6zXRW-JlHaScg1jn6nhItjyi1a0mx7xk4ujhdIYvljFuYL31/w480-h640/20230325_124406.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;">Some gardeners consider Hellebores a nuisance since they spread prolifically but I just remedy that by inviting friends and neighbors to come dig out what they want.</span></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #000099;"><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;">February is also time for the wonderful fragrant Edgeworthia with its attractive blooms. When the blooms are done an attractive tropical looking leaf forms.</span></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #000099;"><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #000099;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5jReAvDb32uOwMU2m1AAryLjSJ1Bn7qXjfS4_vJTnN5t7bpmuNYFMBB7Y0TaQN1a9HLugDv8d6nW6XkpN88d2Vsup1B_Cy6oGM7SRjVg8_XbKDZ14Wl0SkhnIBFrYnP5370oZyyCCY8ZDZIB7lpPr2d6uXY0otbiBuUugWnY5u9vxgdJuyn1XvCJ2/s5312/edgeworthiamarch2021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5jReAvDb32uOwMU2m1AAryLjSJ1Bn7qXjfS4_vJTnN5t7bpmuNYFMBB7Y0TaQN1a9HLugDv8d6nW6XkpN88d2Vsup1B_Cy6oGM7SRjVg8_XbKDZ14Wl0SkhnIBFrYnP5370oZyyCCY8ZDZIB7lpPr2d6uXY0otbiBuUugWnY5u9vxgdJuyn1XvCJ2/w640-h360/edgeworthiamarch2021.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;">Another great February bloomer is the evergreen clematis 'armandii ' that I have drapping over a twig trellis .</span></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #000099;"><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #000099;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatm96bEZk0I8MU5ZZKjJGz2_5HTljRpp24dUTfJAJRKgxpq_ZOBX06YjNMVVZW-Y_CJcd20b9GaIOf-IrFBt7S2ORrKzz6KD6y1bYY1C2mUMteZRT0zVD-66Y-8Zsl3tgo_d5XbcpJKVDZnWGdU9U5HjBcR7lH6jcJJH0jQGFMFOpAhbJfJ9Gbqxn/s2560/Clematis-armandii-var.-hefengensis-Six-Shooter5-scaled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgatm96bEZk0I8MU5ZZKjJGz2_5HTljRpp24dUTfJAJRKgxpq_ZOBX06YjNMVVZW-Y_CJcd20b9GaIOf-IrFBt7S2ORrKzz6KD6y1bYY1C2mUMteZRT0zVD-66Y-8Zsl3tgo_d5XbcpJKVDZnWGdU9U5HjBcR7lH6jcJJH0jQGFMFOpAhbJfJ9Gbqxn/w640-h480/Clematis-armandii-var.-hefengensis-Six-Shooter5-scaled.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;">Rainfall has been ample this month and with the unseasonable warmth many Spring bloomers, including daffodils, have emerged earlier than usual.</span></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #000099;"><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #000099;"><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-22451714429689841522023-02-12T14:11:00.001-08:002023-02-12T14:11:13.522-08:00JANUARY BRINGS NEW YEAR AND GOOD WEATHER<p> </p><p><b><i><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 22px;">"No one ever regarded the First of January with indifference. It is that from which all date their time, and count upon what is left. It is the nativity of our common Adam." </span><br style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-family: verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px;" /><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 22px;">- Charles Lamb </span></i></b></p><p><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 22px;">Unlike the previous January this month brought very mild weather, with the exception of one week of freezing temperatures. My evergreen 'Lady Banks' rose dropped her foliage as did some usually evergreen viburnums. 'Spring bouquet ' viburnum was an exception and was not damaged at all. 'They will however, return next Spring. I will miss its beautiful blooms this year .</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBslbbAxqDni61UPVMVcnC7Gt0ueJEV68KKnw8RjI072xUlFk3fkauTUUY06m9wSoPyeJcq_hceUdoSQHBCMi3XBZpIFSsJK1KM6Ul3Q0xw7PtQr1xWr_CPR4YMRe-AJNqLBsc446qEVD3bP58OJhIou8R_oR-vNaT4mp6poKGYNCVBKAH0b7VuUA/s1000/lady-banks-climbing-rose-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBslbbAxqDni61UPVMVcnC7Gt0ueJEV68KKnw8RjI072xUlFk3fkauTUUY06m9wSoPyeJcq_hceUdoSQHBCMi3XBZpIFSsJK1KM6Ul3Q0xw7PtQr1xWr_CPR4YMRe-AJNqLBsc446qEVD3bP58OJhIou8R_oR-vNaT4mp6poKGYNCVBKAH0b7VuUA/w387-h320/lady-banks-climbing-rose-2.jpg" width="387" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 22px;">Spent a lot of time inside the studio painting when the weather was too cold to go out.</span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 22px;">The cheerful blooms of 'Peggy Clark ' were delightful and not affected by the freeze we had . 'Kobai' ( below ) a more shrub-like cultivar, bloomed even though it was just planted in the Fall .</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaAYTO2obvveCH-q1RSYezmJjQrTJhzai-aq0z6zlV2wJyqJhG41pxtoGLVHvHjDHV_qfapYEIszwilBsJ1MHFgQcqXNIc9At3ETzORk7d3xzLBC1BzuPM4oOlCiEaQZsgQFsIkPwp0GfFcvrQIz6e_k8sePpDOr82U7o0fZaBB8UQqgumshdyUwn7/s760/prunus%20mume%20(kobai%20flowering%20apricot).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="760" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaAYTO2obvveCH-q1RSYezmJjQrTJhzai-aq0z6zlV2wJyqJhG41pxtoGLVHvHjDHV_qfapYEIszwilBsJ1MHFgQcqXNIc9At3ETzORk7d3xzLBC1BzuPM4oOlCiEaQZsgQFsIkPwp0GfFcvrQIz6e_k8sePpDOr82U7o0fZaBB8UQqgumshdyUwn7/w434-h170/prunus%20mume%20(kobai%20flowering%20apricot).jpg" width="434" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 22px;">Buds are forming on the variegated Daphne 'odora ' that I planted last year. Can't wait to smell it !</span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 22px;">I've been doing battle with the voles who seemed to have chosen my garden to set up winter homes in. I've spread castor oil about and coyote urine, as well as destroyed their tunnels.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 22px;">I see buds forming on the evergreen clematis 'armandii ' so its unscathed as well. I'm crossing my fingers that Spring will bring out a lot of new growth on those damaged by the freeze.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 22px;">Time to start thinking about preparing the vegetable garden for Spring. Going to plant kale, chinese broccoli, bok choy, green onions, and spinach soon. They can tolerate some cold temperatures.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 22px;">Also working on two client's garden designs for this Spring. Love that I can garden inside and out all year round in this mild Carolina weather !</span></p><p><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 22px;"><br /></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-19058640777479867022023-01-04T04:50:00.004-08:002023-01-04T04:50:46.226-08:00DEEP IN DECEMBER<p> Yes Virginia even in December there's still flowers blooming ! Below is the very late blooming native mum 'raydon's favorite ' that persists in this the last month of the year.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Zei4LkP14-5Pb8oNn6Bp7NvOfdkcTqzGrRnD08p9rX87rdHqNdC-gxfivJEx9jfkkvT8hozkWtVrG3g6q8HJZypQz88npCrCswCgK89X2mAl6R0tykaxZLiZyh9-jWkaDwJTjWXDzfGrLQ8Ajfu9oDUezcTnwfFj-gaptAAZuj7V3bizCTVz8-Mf/s2048/raydonsfavorite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Zei4LkP14-5Pb8oNn6Bp7NvOfdkcTqzGrRnD08p9rX87rdHqNdC-gxfivJEx9jfkkvT8hozkWtVrG3g6q8HJZypQz88npCrCswCgK89X2mAl6R0tykaxZLiZyh9-jWkaDwJTjWXDzfGrLQ8Ajfu9oDUezcTnwfFj-gaptAAZuj7V3bizCTVz8-Mf/w640-h480/raydonsfavorite.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>December started off mild. I cleared the garden of excess leaves and began to battle an infestation of voles by spraying with a castor oil mixture.</p><p>Because I have a variety of evergreen and deciduous shrubs the garden has a strong structure that looks good even in the deep of December .</p><p>Below, Edgeworthia, aka, Chinese paperbush, shows off her December finery. Her fragrance is very powerful.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVrryeQUCeeP1rapVykxDxgF5gFOvlXvaGdmNT4K3Hz-_MgUs3sXmm4QaNwegFqunwRamZeRg2JJYRGKPY2HRhuNGg7w7pH90YjYRepM5h-tRXmwbqsZ6ZNUNctBYpT_fbq_VycEP26TB79PgWYtBv-JTryiwUfDF0MyZ6Twxyp4h0zMwh54djsWGX/s5312/edgeworthiamarch2021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVrryeQUCeeP1rapVykxDxgF5gFOvlXvaGdmNT4K3Hz-_MgUs3sXmm4QaNwegFqunwRamZeRg2JJYRGKPY2HRhuNGg7w7pH90YjYRepM5h-tRXmwbqsZ6ZNUNctBYpT_fbq_VycEP26TB79PgWYtBv-JTryiwUfDF0MyZ6Twxyp4h0zMwh54djsWGX/w640-h360/edgeworthiamarch2021.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Christmas week brought a deep freeze with temperatures in the teen's. My Lady Banks rose, an evergreen, suffered damage as did other usually sturdy perennials. Overall the good news is that many plants were able to survive. The hellebores are going to be late this season. </p><p>From a daytime high of 15 to 70 degrees is predicted for our New Year's day weather. </p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-22511422887455891492022-12-13T07:06:00.001-08:002022-12-13T07:06:16.619-08:00NOVEMBER IS A BUSY TIME IN THE SWEET HOME AND GARDEN<p> </p><p align="left"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><i>"If it is true that one of the greatest pleasures of gardening lies in looking forward, then the planning of next year's beds and borders must be one of the most agreeable occupations in the gardener's calendar. This should make October and November particularly pleasant months, for then we may begin to clear our borders, to cut down those sodden and untidy stalks, to dig up and increase our plants, and to move them to other positions where they will show up to greater effect. People who are not gardeners always say that the bare beds of winter are uninteresting; gardeners know better, and take even a certain pleasure in the neatness of the newly dug, bare, brown earth."</i></b></span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I always pray for good weather in November because I open my studio to the public the first two weekends to see my paintings. This is a tour of about 100 artists in the area and is very popular with the residents. We had a lot of visitors and sales this year and the weather was good - no heavy rain or snow.</span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The entrance to my studio is through the garden gate and visitors are always pleasantly surprised to see a garden still filled with texture and color. The Japanese mums and Autumn sage are still in bloom and the brilliant Fall color of dogwood and viburnum is stunning.</span></p><p align="left"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBckfJTnuiSRLZ7-WWQ64Bsd-YSbb1iKHmLbV2sIsPRmkmxdsR8pDsiOFeDFvRa75OdDlYNYU1o8c-FpPhZi10D8er_qLsn8Sh-xBPeMT6IniZo4D-nDnztKG_KAklilXvih0DM89_97p9yNbrqJJJG4lAfYkT-E1_-OYQc3wLIXlJH-875n2aHRZ/s300/koreanspiceviburnumfall300x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBckfJTnuiSRLZ7-WWQ64Bsd-YSbb1iKHmLbV2sIsPRmkmxdsR8pDsiOFeDFvRa75OdDlYNYU1o8c-FpPhZi10D8er_qLsn8Sh-xBPeMT6IniZo4D-nDnztKG_KAklilXvih0DM89_97p9yNbrqJJJG4lAfYkT-E1_-OYQc3wLIXlJH-875n2aHRZ/w400-h400/koreanspiceviburnumfall300x300.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> <i>Fall color of the 'Koreanspice ' Viburnum</i></span><p></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Because of our warm Fall the leaves were late in dropping and I have been busy raking them into the forest to compost.</span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">While cleaning up the garden I noticed voles had quite a few tunnels dug and I sprayed them with castor oil and dish detergent mixed together. </span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">After a few chilly days I finally got around to planting the alliums I bought to add to the daffodils for the Spring border.</span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The garden still looks good in November and my plan for Spring is to plant as many evergreen groundcovers I can to fill in bare spots so I won't have to mulch. We call this " living mulch. " I have a lot but I need more.</span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p align="left"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohP71uRDuKJ7w6gs64WrzrSdRHitGW9eCOfaw-h8Ccnx3EHQrhzgvDsYmiHQ-4b_DLXKwIAHUV3PlmRR-f-2pAhzm7gIOKNMwJjExQIRZ3mxHSiVOpjvW9Rj7seOxxEaIAw2RSQvK5SEmOFUfwHS_PgRURN-orcae_tJaIq94PCobjs_86YpfasjG/s5312/oct2020-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohP71uRDuKJ7w6gs64WrzrSdRHitGW9eCOfaw-h8Ccnx3EHQrhzgvDsYmiHQ-4b_DLXKwIAHUV3PlmRR-f-2pAhzm7gIOKNMwJjExQIRZ3mxHSiVOpjvW9Rj7seOxxEaIAw2RSQvK5SEmOFUfwHS_PgRURN-orcae_tJaIq94PCobjs_86YpfasjG/w400-h225/oct2020-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> <i> A corner of my November garden</i>.</span><p></p><p align="left"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-60071056247894977322022-11-22T06:03:00.001-08:002022-11-22T06:03:43.674-08:00OCTOBER IN THE SWEET GARDEN<p><b><i><br /></i></b></p><div class="card-body" data-v-6ee59ef1="" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; box-sizing: border-box; flex: 1 1 auto; line-height: 1.5; padding: 1.25rem;"><div class="poem__body px-md-4 font-serif" data-v-6ee59ef1="" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 0.5rem; padding-right: 0.5rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; font-family: "Poets Electra", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 1.1rem; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><b><i><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;"></span></i></b></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="card-header pb-2 pt-3 bg-white" data-v-6ee59ef1="" style="background-color: white; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; font-family: "Founders Grotesk", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6rem !important; padding-left: 3.25rem; padding-right: 1.25rem; padding-top: 1.2rem !important; padding: 1.2rem 1.25rem 0.6rem 3.25rem; text-align: left;"><div data-v-6ee59ef1="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="d-flex poem__title mb-1" data-v-6ee59ef1="" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-pack: justify; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: space-between; margin-bottom: 0.3rem;"><h1 class="card-title" data-v-6ee59ef1="" itemprop="name" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Poets Electra Roman No 2"; font-size: 2.5rem; line-height: 3rem; margin-bottom: 0.75rem; margin-top: 0px;"><i>October</i></h1></div><span class="card-subtitle" color="var(--black)" data-v-6ee59ef1="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: -0.375rem;"><b><i><a data-v-6ee59ef1="" href="https://poets.org/poet/robert-frost" itemprop="author" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #007ab3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self">Robert Frost</a><span class="dates" data-v-6ee59ef1="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> - 1874-1963</span></i></b></span></div></div><div class="card-body" data-v-6ee59ef1="" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; box-sizing: border-box; flex: 1 1 auto; line-height: 1.5; padding: 1.25rem; text-align: left;"><div class="poem__actions vertical dark" data-v-1e4a20ad="" data-v-6ee59ef1="" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; flex-grow: 1; font-family: "Poets Electra", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 1.25rem; left: -3rem; margin-bottom: 2.4rem; position: absolute; width: 33px;"><ul class="poem__actions__social d-flex flex-wrap" data-v-1e4a20ad="" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-flow: column wrap; flex-wrap: wrap !important; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="pr-2" data-v-1e4a20ad="" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; padding-right: 0.6rem;"><a data-v-1e4a20ad="" href="https://facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fpoets.org%2Fpoem%2Foctober&t=October" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #007ab3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i><img data-v-1e4a20ad="" src="https://poets.org/social/facebook.svg" style="border-style: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 6px; vertical-align: middle;" /></i></b></a></li><li class="pr-2" data-v-1e4a20ad="" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; padding-right: 0.6rem;"><a data-v-1e4a20ad="" href="https://twitter.com/share?text=October&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpoets.org%2Fpoem%2Foctober" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #007ab3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i><img data-v-1e4a20ad="" src="https://poets.org/social/twitter.svg" style="border-style: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 6px; vertical-align: middle;" /></i></b></a></li><li class="pr-2" data-v-1e4a20ad="" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; padding-right: 0.6rem;"><a data-v-1e4a20ad="" href="https://tumblr.com/share/link?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpoets.org%2Fpoem%2Foctober&name=October" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #007ab3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i><img data-v-1e4a20ad="" src="https://poets.org/social/tumblr.svg" style="border-style: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 6px; vertical-align: middle;" /></i></b></a></li><li class="pr-2" data-v-1e4a20ad="" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; padding-right: 0.6rem;"><a data-v-1e4a20ad="" href="https://poets.org/print/poem/3a1a6c29-b7f3-4cd4-92d5-5fe019c27a17" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #007ab3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><b><i><img data-v-1e4a20ad="" src="https://poets.org/social/print.svg" style="border-style: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 6px; vertical-align: middle;" /></i></b></a></li><li class="pr-2" data-v-1e4a20ad="" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; padding-right: 0.6rem;"><a data-v-1e4a20ad="" href="https://poets.org/poem/october#" role="button" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #007ab3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self"><b><i><img data-v-1e4a20ad="" src="https://poets.org/social/embed.svg" style="border-style: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 6px; vertical-align: middle;" /></i></b></a></li><li class="pr-2" data-v-1e4a20ad="" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; padding-right: 0.6rem;"><a data-v-1e4a20ad="" href="https://poets.org/poem/october#" role="button" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #007ab3; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_self"><b><i><img data-v-1e4a20ad="" src="https://poets.org/social/collection.svg" style="border-style: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 6px; vertical-align: middle;" /></i></b></a></li></ul><div data-v-1e4a20ad="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div><div data-v-1e4a20ad="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div><div class="poem__body px-md-4 font-serif" data-v-6ee59ef1="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; font-family: "Poets Electra", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 1.1rem; padding-left: 0.5rem; padding-right: 0.5rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><b><i><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">O hushed October morning mild,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">To-morrow's wind, if it be wild,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">Should waste them all.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">The crows above the forest call;</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">To-morrow they may form and go.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">O hushed October morning mild,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">Begin the hours of this day slow,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">Make the day seem to us less brief.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">Hearts not averse to being beguiled,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">Beguile us in the way you know;</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">Release one leaf at break of day;</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">At noon release another leaf;</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">One from our trees, one far away;</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">Retard the sun with gentle mist;</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">Enchant the land with amethyst.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">Slow, slow!</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">For the grapes' sake, if they were all,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;">For the grapes' sake along the wall.</span></i></b></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><b><i><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;"><br /></span></i></b></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBGsK9Vz7Uv-8YG3RcyxE3R1_wB9_Ujyejw7NhKnJCJAOXNWVMqP4n2jGlxt0j_rXzOu-NN-ZJXZb0Jx2VyaIF7a7wYm-snZL6ztIhh0UkiV4_DR3fPYavJzJPmhiaPQUu7m50FwZQ4O-UxUxsrMRtnO-8Zy-3aaW_TeMp_qb8asb_uH6ZYXP6Cg8Z/s5312/20201004_094847.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="423" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBGsK9Vz7Uv-8YG3RcyxE3R1_wB9_Ujyejw7NhKnJCJAOXNWVMqP4n2jGlxt0j_rXzOu-NN-ZJXZb0Jx2VyaIF7a7wYm-snZL6ztIhh0UkiV4_DR3fPYavJzJPmhiaPQUu7m50FwZQ4O-UxUxsrMRtnO-8Zy-3aaW_TeMp_qb8asb_uH6ZYXP6Cg8Z/w696-h423/20201004_094847.jpg" width="696" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>A few of my October favorites, left to right : Autumn Sage, 'Bolero ' mum, Japanese roof iris, and Euphorbia 'ascot ' . 'Autumn Joy ' Sedum is peeking out from the boulder on the left corner.</div><div class="poem__body px-md-4 font-serif" data-v-6ee59ef1="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; font-family: "Poets Electra", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 1.1rem; padding-left: 0.5rem; padding-right: 0.5rem;">I planted dwarf Fall blooming anemones to add to next year's blooms. This year the asters were a disappointment. I suspect they were affected by an early Spring fungus that also attacked my daylilies. To remedy that in the Spring I'm going to spray with a fungicide.</div><div class="poem__body px-md-4 font-serif" data-v-6ee59ef1="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; font-family: "Poets Electra", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 1.1rem; padding-left: 0.5rem; padding-right: 0.5rem;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNymooae2amKvm5yWXCe9Xjz-cfAlCV2ft5ESQL3UzI6Zeua9wMgbBoAaxHodckYM1RohrdcjgzkDkJLhznok08z6H7wguIbOur-2Ex8odArAofolP4YcKGhdpAWmL_FCyNTUXpHxA4DyYDc1ZdGLkXQxFTIyHNyqCNo5nm_oTJ9A9pdEvg7PNmPZ2/s403/raydonsfavorite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="403" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNymooae2amKvm5yWXCe9Xjz-cfAlCV2ft5ESQL3UzI6Zeua9wMgbBoAaxHodckYM1RohrdcjgzkDkJLhznok08z6H7wguIbOur-2Ex8odArAofolP4YcKGhdpAWmL_FCyNTUXpHxA4DyYDc1ZdGLkXQxFTIyHNyqCNo5nm_oTJ9A9pdEvg7PNmPZ2/w640-h478/raydonsfavorite.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="poem__body px-md-4 font-serif" data-v-6ee59ef1="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; font-family: "Poets Electra", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 1.1rem; padding-left: 0.5rem; padding-right: 0.5rem;">The star of the late Fall garden is the latest blooming aster 'raydon's favorite'. It spreads nicely and I've divided and planted it throughout my roadside garden, a deer resistant pollinator garden that fronts the entrance to my home.</div><div class="poem__body px-md-4 font-serif" data-v-6ee59ef1="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; font-family: "Poets Electra", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 1.1rem; padding-left: 0.5rem; padding-right: 0.5rem;">While it takes the poets to write about the glories of Autumn it takes us gardeners to rake them so it's onward to composting a half acre of fallen leaves and pine needles, some of which I'll leave for mulch but I have to be careful because I've seen signs of voles getting ready to nest for the winter. </div><div class="poem__body px-md-4 font-serif" data-v-6ee59ef1="" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 0.5rem; padding-right: 0.5rem;"><p style="color: #343434; font-family: "Poets Electra", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 1.1rem;"></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; font-family: "Poets Electra", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 1.1rem; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><b><i><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;"><br /></span></i></b></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; font-family: "Poets Electra", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 1.1rem; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><b><i><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;"><br /></span></i></b></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #343434; font-family: "Poets Electra", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 1.1rem; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><b><i><span class="long-line" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-left: 32px; text-indent: -32px;"><br /></span></i></b></p></div></div></div><p style="color: #343434; font-family: "Poets Electra", Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 1.1rem;"></p></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-88161873920412890072022-10-04T07:27:00.000-07:002022-10-04T07:27:04.374-07:00SEPTEMBER IN THE SWEET GARDEN<div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">"By all these lovely tokens</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">September days are here</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">With summer's best of weather</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">And autumn's best of cheer."</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">- Author Unknown</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Summer lingers and the ample rainfall we had in August has disappeared. The mornings are cool and I use them to do my garden chores. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The local garden center has started stocking its Fall plants and I found a few that I couldn't resist. I purchased two dwarf anemones -'pretty lady susan ' and 'pretty lady diana . ' </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSMYw9z0g4tcwwX-xw6TnzzVpOjXlxHeDFbhWqU7ja2uSfsFxYMehDD-rN9dZrEQ1rry8XCS0K1-mN1mmtrhY3KKejD5T2jP_HJJ2mh3sgjrt_9crHhwZzTgDD8vc72G_9usZVTpjCBwzZcqqzlBP-QwJXhdoCqawajpzg6KD49Y4QtTdB2x-mqRz/s600/prettyladysusan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="600" height="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSMYw9z0g4tcwwX-xw6TnzzVpOjXlxHeDFbhWqU7ja2uSfsFxYMehDD-rN9dZrEQ1rry8XCS0K1-mN1mmtrhY3KKejD5T2jP_HJJ2mh3sgjrt_9crHhwZzTgDD8vc72G_9usZVTpjCBwzZcqqzlBP-QwJXhdoCqawajpzg6KD49Y4QtTdB2x-mqRz/w640-h534/prettyladysusan.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Spotted an unusual blue cardinal flower - ' starship blue ' for a partly shady corner of the garden.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho6eHZqmaazxV8aMBj3O0iuNXDcqBdRgpZTZij0ZwPA_ch88Uiv1V-BHdzD4AGjZcdvhFuDH0UEkgTtUpivHWQ5wB7ZTngR0D8G9PVkoZLiuarB-KW6sv7qaWiQDId88YnVEW0tiZQujzInVEoIu8kY6WoLlvB6uM8vv0ud6dtX7t6raKtMYS266eB/s500/starship_blue_lobelia_02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho6eHZqmaazxV8aMBj3O0iuNXDcqBdRgpZTZij0ZwPA_ch88Uiv1V-BHdzD4AGjZcdvhFuDH0UEkgTtUpivHWQ5wB7ZTngR0D8G9PVkoZLiuarB-KW6sv7qaWiQDId88YnVEW0tiZQujzInVEoIu8kY6WoLlvB6uM8vv0ud6dtX7t6raKtMYS266eB/w640-h640/starship_blue_lobelia_02.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I have a lot of yellow, orange and pink among the flowering plants so a touch of blue will help balance the color scheme.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I have fallen in love with coneflowers and have been planting them in every color. I like the way they bloom continuously without much fuss.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">August blessed us with a lot of rain but September was unusually dry so I had to do a lot of supplemental watering for newly planted perennials.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I have started to divide some spreading perennials such as the Japanese roof iris and 'ice dance' carex,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> and giving away excess to neighbors. The lantana has also spread so I'm going to divide it as well.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Much cooler weather is on the way, as is Hurricane Ian which is supposed to impact us here in North Carolina as well. Praying for everyone in its path.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-85391037925205639282022-09-02T13:57:00.004-07:002022-09-02T13:57:55.773-07:00AUGUST GARDEN SUPERSTARS<p><b><i> <span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #5e2605; font-size: 17.6px;">"When summer opens, I see how fast it matures, and fear it will be short; but after the heats of July and August, I am reconciled, like one who has had his swing, to the cool of autumn."</span></i></b></p><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #5e2605; font-size: 17.6px;"><b><i>- Ralph Waldo Emerson </i></b></span><div><span style="color: #5e2605;"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #5e2605;"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #5e2605;"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdOQ-sYvj8-yhEB4wLrNXMVbnMgPHcwY5BVIgcc9-KNPzUKr-vI8wpHTRNPnRLio3eyclGavTi-uFA10g-XFeCnIiDB715Z_YBsVPAK6rLxPWfGwO164_ca4SAdHD1-YrK-Zck6w44_ybnpzBtKHX5HszTjkLoaGDmXzoHtTE9FLlCgapTGicPrROX/s4032/20220710_102955.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdOQ-sYvj8-yhEB4wLrNXMVbnMgPHcwY5BVIgcc9-KNPzUKr-vI8wpHTRNPnRLio3eyclGavTi-uFA10g-XFeCnIiDB715Z_YBsVPAK6rLxPWfGwO164_ca4SAdHD1-YrK-Zck6w44_ybnpzBtKHX5HszTjkLoaGDmXzoHtTE9FLlCgapTGicPrROX/w640-h480/20220710_102955.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></b></span></span><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #5e2605; font-size: 17.6px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;">As expected August was filled with endless days of temperatures in the 90's but lucky us here in central North Carolina we had ample rainfall. I shudder to think what it would be like to have the 67 days of no rainfall and temperatures in the triple digits that Texas gardeners and farmers have had to endure this year. To make matters worse they were then flooded. How do you garden in such extreme conditions ?</span></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;">Despite the heat the Coneflowers continued to brighten the August garden. Coreopsis is another stalwart as is the ever-blooming Lantana and Autumn Sage. I love Blackeyed Susans but forgot to give them a haircut in July and they tended to flop over. </span></span></div></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;">I believe that I have THE tallest banana palm in town -it's at least 15 ' tall and it has a large flower bulb that should turn into bananas.</span></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZhNISg2Fzbz1miY7UoYb-80NlcpOsHxy3SKY65VHkKXa1Qusetf48mEcH_bd1yGvegGEparAN79ZSCzH7fRnY_D-lh7zzDZ6Hm9Fx4wUBoLnwSsbNldQzJuj3aZ-m47OeLoj9D8Bi3P4aiIq1Esb0gImXS7KMQLYE-7DMan_PzoVQc6gr27rMHgb/s4032/20220710_102550.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZhNISg2Fzbz1miY7UoYb-80NlcpOsHxy3SKY65VHkKXa1Qusetf48mEcH_bd1yGvegGEparAN79ZSCzH7fRnY_D-lh7zzDZ6Hm9Fx4wUBoLnwSsbNldQzJuj3aZ-m47OeLoj9D8Bi3P4aiIq1Esb0gImXS7KMQLYE-7DMan_PzoVQc6gr27rMHgb/w640-h480/20220710_102550.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">One of my friends gave me a small clipping of 'purple heart ' a few years ago and as it spread I transplanted it through-out my flower border. I love it's color and the bees love its flower.</span></div><div><br /><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNcajtgS3gs---0Djkv5CP3UCS-i3xCFp-gH1t9Ijj9yqYE6RHhihjnv0ocmCnTB_vKGnq0qGaHRB4gIO71rTeguHeOfNE6xJ6BMHdxK4VpV6Youdltg3fxVYy4Qb9OLdNjBzqcaRPMlzF52QLriXMxS3cX7w1kwrZWpYn-BgmIepoCBeunL7eoly/s5312/20210922_072830.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggNcajtgS3gs---0Djkv5CP3UCS-i3xCFp-gH1t9Ijj9yqYE6RHhihjnv0ocmCnTB_vKGnq0qGaHRB4gIO71rTeguHeOfNE6xJ6BMHdxK4VpV6Youdltg3fxVYy4Qb9OLdNjBzqcaRPMlzF52QLriXMxS3cX7w1kwrZWpYn-BgmIepoCBeunL7eoly/w640-h360/20210922_072830.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">Last year the Asters bloomed very early and were spectacular but this early warm Spring we had caused a fungus that seem to stunt their growth. It also affected my daylilies with ugly yellow streaks on their blades. Going to be diligent in spraying with fungicide this Fall/winter to hopefully avoid fungus this Spring.</span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">Waiting for the cooler days of Autumn to start my Spring flowering bulb garden. I've ordered 500 bulbs of species ( wild ) tulips and while that sounds like a lot, it's not nearly enough ! Since I have a boulder garden the species tulips look much more natural and will colonize quicker than the larger ones. I do love the late lily flowering taller tulip and may use some of them as well. The species tulip will look good with the existing creeping phlox and early blooming Japanese roof iris. </span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif">September can still be warm and sometimes dry. I'll spend it going about the garden and seeing what should be divided and transplanted. </span></div><div><span face="verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-27997971714777544562022-08-04T07:15:00.003-07:002023-03-31T06:04:02.690-07:00A COLD DAY IN JULY<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-uWIBgLjtfAk-pGaJ1JoDtfdpyCvJV_OTVfYyIgD-ti0L-OGmUdsGJ-4SZXazJ2fM0cSsw2nQUYTmStQhhA4Z011s8hJMY2yxrGjbAtZnxR5CYrycKCgfp-tmDWHWMtSdawIqHMuD0MXAlLahBrK0RTWnWyZkP0ckgsqaPWWLK2TRHu_Z4EpczJJ/s470/acolddayinjuly.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="470" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-uWIBgLjtfAk-pGaJ1JoDtfdpyCvJV_OTVfYyIgD-ti0L-OGmUdsGJ-4SZXazJ2fM0cSsw2nQUYTmStQhhA4Z011s8hJMY2yxrGjbAtZnxR5CYrycKCgfp-tmDWHWMtSdawIqHMuD0MXAlLahBrK0RTWnWyZkP0ckgsqaPWWLK2TRHu_Z4EpczJJ/w400-h268/acolddayinjuly.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p> <span style="font-size: large;">July 10, 2022</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> Carrboro, N.C.</span></p><p> <span style="font-size: large;">73 degrees high</span></p><p><br /></p><p> <span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Sometimes the unexpected happens, thus the Southern saying " That'll be a cold day in July ' when it does. I published a blog post a few years ago on this subject and got over 8,000 hits !</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">I'm still amazed that July here in central N.C. is the rainiest month of the year. After days on end of temps in the 90's the thirsty garden certainly welcomes the rain.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">We had a very wet, warm Spring that caused a lot of fungus, aka, Southern blight and it's mostly affected my Ajuga groundcover. It's the first time that my daylilies were affected by the fungus and I had to spray them with Neem oil. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYIwJZZma_CzKylAGNk4Elq6G0r9rpNr2s5R_Z3j7GuOYTpTGUL8SWthdEOUOtRYigWFoVTnIC-pZo2VkRvQP94ybvDqXenmCjogCiOQ3xKWED8dbaKGdHfZ7t126iF-ChQL55mI6nAUv_Hpzk-d9yeyKjs4I_DR14xNyFCSQ5ZKMCQMJLWCpKLhL/s3808/20220804_092349%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1674" data-original-width="3808" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYIwJZZma_CzKylAGNk4Elq6G0r9rpNr2s5R_Z3j7GuOYTpTGUL8SWthdEOUOtRYigWFoVTnIC-pZo2VkRvQP94ybvDqXenmCjogCiOQ3xKWED8dbaKGdHfZ7t126iF-ChQL55mI6nAUv_Hpzk-d9yeyKjs4I_DR14xNyFCSQ5ZKMCQMJLWCpKLhL/w640-h282/20220804_092349%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Started my succulent garden next to the garden path near the back entrance with drought-tolerant plants. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">I'm loving coneflowers and have one in every color except white. I am slowly filling my flower beds with more of them because they seem to love the hot weather and they bloom a long time. My boulder garden, below, in late August, is filled with early blooming Mums, Autumn Sage, Purple Heart, Autumn Joy Sedum and Dianthus. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaCQ0-Zf3mNZzoyEvcBUkwdCvx-Mx2T6LOYcnMUYSAr-MiMOdR_CgYfpF0w4jJlrvVJHAkDzrASkm96b9kOYbsnM75TwDgrGJIN7gBgahBBtLBF4KrcoFuIjwdZ0gXaRQYz_7ubPWg_3cNMzn0urSev2QMT5Ra7sU-NIS9bK04kY-twGg3BtVnFmec/s5312/cornergarden2020.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaCQ0-Zf3mNZzoyEvcBUkwdCvx-Mx2T6LOYcnMUYSAr-MiMOdR_CgYfpF0w4jJlrvVJHAkDzrASkm96b9kOYbsnM75TwDgrGJIN7gBgahBBtLBF4KrcoFuIjwdZ0gXaRQYz_7ubPWg_3cNMzn0urSev2QMT5Ra7sU-NIS9bK04kY-twGg3BtVnFmec/w640-h360/cornergarden2020.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Another drought-tolerant perennial that I love is coreopsis, aka, tickweed. Below is 'moonbeam ' which has been in bloom since late Spring. I gave it a little hair cut last month and it's re-blooming again.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizsU0xl0CEF9qxhY1_aHkAQO6qMFUwWf6FUW1P9fWjq3j2_f9aL6IYbULeRWCeF-pIYs86rtu7DboMs5JoyeFhCODDn6aiBR6qCvVNdrx373ZoHEZv9AuncF2Uzg8qkJTGaAlQyfXQt_OdLF4q9OmxJRL2JL4WaBEFJq7UNvrZzuqtiY3Frvgrkwxh/s4032/20220603_100626.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizsU0xl0CEF9qxhY1_aHkAQO6qMFUwWf6FUW1P9fWjq3j2_f9aL6IYbULeRWCeF-pIYs86rtu7DboMs5JoyeFhCODDn6aiBR6qCvVNdrx373ZoHEZv9AuncF2Uzg8qkJTGaAlQyfXQt_OdLF4q9OmxJRL2JL4WaBEFJq7UNvrZzuqtiY3Frvgrkwxh/w640-h480/20220603_100626.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">By July we gardeners can tell which perennials are heat and drought-tolerant. Another one that I like is Nepeta, or Catmint. It tends to get leggy by late June so a trimming back helps it revive. It is a very long blooming plant that the bees love.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Onward and upward in the garden -August won't give us much relief from this heatwave we're suffering this year but at least it's one more month 'til September !</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-4264799170115140472022-07-03T12:56:00.002-07:002022-07-03T12:56:30.073-07:00JUNE MARKS THE BEGINNING OF SUMMER<br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br />"And since all this loveliness cannot be Heaven, I know in my heart it is June."</i></b></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br />– Abba Woolson</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTBLKHGRbUVp8EzYtKXHJLyeFK1krKRvmJjtAdiRQJ2u7GPKfJhlKcA1BaQZzm8TN4VoyUK3zTOUb5mOGRA70aJZMC0z4kE-bG9_99uJAzgYRWKw-rfRBw0YPdTKas_yjpVdAhlzNDpoX7D7BWIM4OKaovjsNf-bsH2c6QBvK1IMp1l4-BY-MKXh2/s4888/april232022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2749" data-original-width="4888" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTBLKHGRbUVp8EzYtKXHJLyeFK1krKRvmJjtAdiRQJ2u7GPKfJhlKcA1BaQZzm8TN4VoyUK3zTOUb5mOGRA70aJZMC0z4kE-bG9_99uJAzgYRWKw-rfRBw0YPdTKas_yjpVdAhlzNDpoX7D7BWIM4OKaovjsNf-bsH2c6QBvK1IMp1l4-BY-MKXh2/w640-h360/april232022.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i> </i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i> My backyard boulder garden has lots of textures that make it interesting even when not in bloom - the mark of a true garden, IMO.</i></b></span></div><br />The unusually hot weather of May continued into June and with very little rainfall I spent a lot of time weeding and watering. The daylilies suffered from the warm, humid weather in Spring and had an ugly fungus that turned its blades yellow. I have decided to move them to another location and replace them with coneflowers which bloom for a much longer season and don't have problems with fungus.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">June begins with the arrival of the dreaded devastating Japanese beetle. I put out 6 traps and they easily fill up. I also pick them off in the early morning and evening and feed them to my chickens.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFBbXCgR2cCQSGFHhF3N8mXHr3cwjZ-KM4yKEU-aaFoNLM7Qv8sAZMk7GLnonkBn6bweL40oAtVoiLeL4QUyk8oXvVIdFmHOcR6bQucvsQBrcvsQN9sImZanh7wacHPZ5WWMh-D6j6ZyHwJW0j4zXzTXmf8FVFHdqzh-Uh2Y-obiKTwzK-EHuoVq3/s4032/20220603_100626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFBbXCgR2cCQSGFHhF3N8mXHr3cwjZ-KM4yKEU-aaFoNLM7Qv8sAZMk7GLnonkBn6bweL40oAtVoiLeL4QUyk8oXvVIdFmHOcR6bQucvsQBrcvsQN9sImZanh7wacHPZ5WWMh-D6j6ZyHwJW0j4zXzTXmf8FVFHdqzh-Uh2Y-obiKTwzK-EHuoVq3/w640-h480/20220603_100626.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">My 'moonbeam' coreopsis did very well this year and I want to add more of them due to their long bloom season. My favorite color palette is orange/yellow/red and blue/purple . Sometimes pinks and whites sneak in.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnFjdFlm5oWuSxj67x0Ugngmq2rN9q-T7x2vTDebkhXra71rtrqALaQmZZR35CnOwFtp15fCQpO4lmmfuMywpYuqdbo48_SMOvqtwIQYkz8qc7XnYlRq3SESdap7tbgR7SKQVovwx29PDskBFimoYOc62xONAxjxlIcEP7rvmhOwSLzNm8DaqPSeJ/s4356/Sep.2020redo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2249" data-original-width="4356" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnFjdFlm5oWuSxj67x0Ugngmq2rN9q-T7x2vTDebkhXra71rtrqALaQmZZR35CnOwFtp15fCQpO4lmmfuMywpYuqdbo48_SMOvqtwIQYkz8qc7XnYlRq3SESdap7tbgR7SKQVovwx29PDskBFimoYOc62xONAxjxlIcEP7rvmhOwSLzNm8DaqPSeJ/w640-h330/Sep.2020redo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I still find it amazing that I have asters blooming in June ! Also discovered my banana palm has a bunch of small fruits on it. Most unusual.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAnXnnWnRk4FC5759TQtIX5UBCBtw2gY8QADIR5cjlI7bgsZyKEoecLYG6gL55CwjmVCxs0vbYeUIbZDXd6bOjgsyLxgpDgAowwbFhoncJ93CJ_2VRNYaufr7UB2a1g1GvvP48lKgnizO6PLCsC1v0WYhmDdYIHTxhhSZP3IvymoX3Zqzk1MOsg6I/s2893/Bananasjune2022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2312" data-original-width="2893" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAnXnnWnRk4FC5759TQtIX5UBCBtw2gY8QADIR5cjlI7bgsZyKEoecLYG6gL55CwjmVCxs0vbYeUIbZDXd6bOjgsyLxgpDgAowwbFhoncJ93CJ_2VRNYaufr7UB2a1g1GvvP48lKgnizO6PLCsC1v0WYhmDdYIHTxhhSZP3IvymoX3Zqzk1MOsg6I/w640-h512/Bananasjune2022.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Amazingly, and at only 3-4 ' high, this banana palm has fruit.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Alas June is at an end and the hottest and wettest month, July is just around the corner. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-42138447952332270802022-06-03T05:44:00.000-07:002022-06-03T05:44:04.217-07:00ALL THINGS SEEM POSSIBLE IN MAY<b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /> "The world's favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May."<br />- Edwin Way Teale</span></i></b><div><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzp6PJUL3OwwVgjAs54BigwaGUGOV_cFRtaOrfoq68A2sVoQLJpkaRtnwavAioSVBWaiY9usZX0lGYJV6OPe-56Hs3o780rwluIs_mMam05zTlHe5QqLax9qX5UAIIL_LNazfTfCF8saC28GCzwN_SntbURTk2lL_VxN71BxpcMkdd857EOIXCKwFj/s4888/20220423_070533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2749" data-original-width="4888" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzp6PJUL3OwwVgjAs54BigwaGUGOV_cFRtaOrfoq68A2sVoQLJpkaRtnwavAioSVBWaiY9usZX0lGYJV6OPe-56Hs3o780rwluIs_mMam05zTlHe5QqLax9qX5UAIIL_LNazfTfCF8saC28GCzwN_SntbURTk2lL_VxN71BxpcMkdd857EOIXCKwFj/w640-h360/20220423_070533.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">May in the Sweet Garden is very colorful with Japanese roof iris, phlox , daffodils, euphorbia, catmint and dianthus blooms. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The weather has been very pleasant with plenty of rain. A short heatwave was surprising and rare this time of the year. The hard freeze we had earlier in the Spring damaged the 'ice dance ' sedge, the 'sunshine ' privet and the 'Lady Banks ' rose. The good news, however, is that they will recover.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3gE1n9N44oGTFjIgJx2duc1U0OOmb5mCl6C9F2nrkIGQkeWNpYjToGiee2CvRlpbPC0PeCET4W-qKFHdigFtkqdTrdITOheh_avaPPMMU5QGS3wK5QXJB1lVUqlfA6nXCkzfK9Higs-KrcpIScA8peg_ODGpwRB-EJPQNuAMSSrVG_UD3fX5ypVw/s4032/20220504_085412%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3gE1n9N44oGTFjIgJx2duc1U0OOmb5mCl6C9F2nrkIGQkeWNpYjToGiee2CvRlpbPC0PeCET4W-qKFHdigFtkqdTrdITOheh_avaPPMMU5QGS3wK5QXJB1lVUqlfA6nXCkzfK9Higs-KrcpIScA8peg_ODGpwRB-EJPQNuAMSSrVG_UD3fX5ypVw/w640-h480/20220504_085412%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The Hellebores loved the cool wet Spring and have hung on forever. I finally had to trim off the spent blossoms and dead foliage. The snapdragons among them survived the winter.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">May is a major month of celebration as the first day is my birthday, followed by Mother's Day and a son and daughter born this month.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAyMPEUtHK55fWsErtcKi-nF_V2pJYkPCQAc42lKDdmsl-yfpfsC6PwjOhZ36K1QgeIZIJyzuSR1gwJWKvse67H7P5A7GiaJuGH8PizJWl2sDrFFnDdwTb88HsHLoAURrWYJIaqCSm-gczgg6a5THZ9OQQ-mAdbqpfyABOuCGNjjz8pdknMTAqYwz/s5312/20220430_063518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAyMPEUtHK55fWsErtcKi-nF_V2pJYkPCQAc42lKDdmsl-yfpfsC6PwjOhZ36K1QgeIZIJyzuSR1gwJWKvse67H7P5A7GiaJuGH8PizJWl2sDrFFnDdwTb88HsHLoAURrWYJIaqCSm-gczgg6a5THZ9OQQ-mAdbqpfyABOuCGNjjz8pdknMTAqYwz/w640-h360/20220430_063518.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The early blooms of Autumn Sage ( left ) attract many hummingbirds that I enjoy watching from my back porch. I have many bluebird houses throughout my yard and I love watching them fill up.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQq6kcRXPOmzLhKxxi7P9HY4nDMd-ERx9yqeaOQKbbFTqIV5HBUvQ6ZXMsy3H-7Z7fquounRdVAaWieNTWu7j8MJSB108shzBpF012ckIYP-r0XpVKo5BpRdF2NNzMnbgXaipOEvRZ9Yr9GDAJ5lP4YQx5ZLGDeSqHoNJhQkdPZZ4ZWVFuGZn9IqW/s5312/20220430_063616.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQq6kcRXPOmzLhKxxi7P9HY4nDMd-ERx9yqeaOQKbbFTqIV5HBUvQ6ZXMsy3H-7Z7fquounRdVAaWieNTWu7j8MJSB108shzBpF012ckIYP-r0XpVKo5BpRdF2NNzMnbgXaipOEvRZ9Yr9GDAJ5lP4YQx5ZLGDeSqHoNJhQkdPZZ4ZWVFuGZn9IqW/w640-h360/20220430_063616.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Early blooms of the most outstanding clematis -'bee's jubilee ' which re-blooms throughout the summer.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBvwCy-CdwKCO7JXoU2Ke0iGGfR1zZ8fm2mf8IWftNzJtGoLU2BRSFGnPanuHtoGNWA0D82lsXw6nnpBsmY7Tvqd_UhrjpCh0DGftT1NUVU82RRjgphkn-xsjnL8qsbTISnNgAserIf5XNDZmI_hAR0VLGzKJb6iGg4rCRWU3HlHKvJDc5tDNwAoU/s3682/woodland2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2831" data-original-width="3682" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBvwCy-CdwKCO7JXoU2Ke0iGGfR1zZ8fm2mf8IWftNzJtGoLU2BRSFGnPanuHtoGNWA0D82lsXw6nnpBsmY7Tvqd_UhrjpCh0DGftT1NUVU82RRjgphkn-xsjnL8qsbTISnNgAserIf5XNDZmI_hAR0VLGzKJb6iGg4rCRWU3HlHKvJDc5tDNwAoU/w640-h492/woodland2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile in my front woodland garden the Ajuga and viburnums are putting on their Spring blooms. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-60477433770702991142022-05-06T06:48:00.000-07:002022-05-06T06:48:03.361-07:00APRIL SHOWERS <b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /> "The sun was warm but the wind was chill. You know how it is with an April day."- Robert Frost</span></i></b><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrSbF3kL8mk-NshbPYOcofMQ1YlCknX6su8ZydKeRVEnPm5MxX92nwU0ayLjAbaq6AS6re8aPB8TEv4Nt3lRMmPLMK5L2F_xOZ55A_WMqeH0JI5yop2RPLx4DICOV8Tfb4Y_Z-cxKxgdzkCqU1GxL9dbhEdMMFYc7jBC6IvsoyJXLcOVN0kQCCaJj/s5312/20220430_063307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrSbF3kL8mk-NshbPYOcofMQ1YlCknX6su8ZydKeRVEnPm5MxX92nwU0ayLjAbaq6AS6re8aPB8TEv4Nt3lRMmPLMK5L2F_xOZ55A_WMqeH0JI5yop2RPLx4DICOV8Tfb4Y_Z-cxKxgdzkCqU1GxL9dbhEdMMFYc7jBC6IvsoyJXLcOVN0kQCCaJj/w640-h315/20220430_063307.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />This April was rather warm and didn't shower us with a lot of rain as expected. Nevertheless the Spring flowers put forth their cheerful blooms -early blooming phlox, Japanese roof iris, dianthus and a shrub rose ( above ) are some of the earliest to appear.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMFS0DyYLKi5hNFGrVd3QnCwb3yf4ZDkv1WB1jwy8HzSuwRgoGlZUysm1mvNMlhMZH3-imIP_4KGdLA2kmcKoZL1DaPnVmAq_UwqkV3TSYRaYf4LSnsvbtktTf557bbXPJblBBnM_X6LJUUEbg4gDN-SkWkC3Aj2_FxrD-ZMu_VVvdIqXcYkWt2naq/s5312/20210410_144220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMFS0DyYLKi5hNFGrVd3QnCwb3yf4ZDkv1WB1jwy8HzSuwRgoGlZUysm1mvNMlhMZH3-imIP_4KGdLA2kmcKoZL1DaPnVmAq_UwqkV3TSYRaYf4LSnsvbtktTf557bbXPJblBBnM_X6LJUUEbg4gDN-SkWkC3Aj2_FxrD-ZMu_VVvdIqXcYkWt2naq/w640-h360/20210410_144220.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">In my front yard </span><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">forest the 'Prague' and ' Mariesii ' viburnums are blooming and in the foreground the cobalt-blue ajuga. This area is a rain garden since all the run-off collects there. The sedges soak up a lot of the excess.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RcmLYFBhPx1Cp4vV_f08az_Gas5vHctOl4eG8QAiKZA1mQfzMBWIxFCmufMhkVnCJ53MCV57ZxefnMSdM1bbH-Mmz6Je62ZuSLal1hQfRqWpC_hGfGworHcro5ebirA_XqGCpx130rlBQMJI95g_LYnR2UsuZlblb_Xp7FwONYAtQFys-BZo9SNa/s3850/20210410_143837.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: x-large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2065" data-original-width="3850" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RcmLYFBhPx1Cp4vV_f08az_Gas5vHctOl4eG8QAiKZA1mQfzMBWIxFCmufMhkVnCJ53MCV57ZxefnMSdM1bbH-Mmz6Je62ZuSLal1hQfRqWpC_hGfGworHcro5ebirA_XqGCpx130rlBQMJI95g_LYnR2UsuZlblb_Xp7FwONYAtQFys-BZo9SNa/w640-h344/20210410_143837.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;">The boulder garden is coming alive with the tiny yellow 'lady banks ' rose and Chinese snowball viburnum.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yeEdF77OeLdfKvWXTFQGNFc5fR53so9A4R3HYrQVnvh2Qg1FqGRuIHngT-FxyVp7CPUap5q6PzndNcDoEjOK5vTSFYupbMgaK-KUwZX1QrHALSUPGNYiL7f6DLk4jFpPKbu2mxLiHuD8U6t4vMOEGa6VwiutSET4SewCc5FeyYbgEwL2KjuJIw0Z/s5312/20210825_064633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yeEdF77OeLdfKvWXTFQGNFc5fR53so9A4R3HYrQVnvh2Qg1FqGRuIHngT-FxyVp7CPUap5q6PzndNcDoEjOK5vTSFYupbMgaK-KUwZX1QrHALSUPGNYiL7f6DLk4jFpPKbu2mxLiHuD8U6t4vMOEGa6VwiutSET4SewCc5FeyYbgEwL2KjuJIw0Z/w640-h360/20210825_064633.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;">Above, my new moss garden is thriving in this shady nook.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5viJCdsMEQaXaNtYb6n8IE2jCsWXbhOeX0LQjz8eXVkBFzXj8OQhW6uyzFmzxruOkyBfwfGTR-LM4cHn1SVyQ1fYxzmr7hDR3avSqi_s8JflTp1LF2wl_EfEth1lSCdqwpjFR7_tHkoPMrul6NYc1-wFE9aPBrQcS0AzvSRWgsA4QHU1OTfXHBOy4/s4646/20210517_083128%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2023" data-original-width="4646" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5viJCdsMEQaXaNtYb6n8IE2jCsWXbhOeX0LQjz8eXVkBFzXj8OQhW6uyzFmzxruOkyBfwfGTR-LM4cHn1SVyQ1fYxzmr7hDR3avSqi_s8JflTp1LF2wl_EfEth1lSCdqwpjFR7_tHkoPMrul6NYc1-wFE9aPBrQcS0AzvSRWgsA4QHU1OTfXHBOy4/w640-h278/20210517_083128%20(1).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; font-size: 17.6px;">Despite the lack of April showers the boulder garden is coming along nicely. Now for some May rain !</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: #fffbf0; color: darkgreen; font-family: verdana, geneva, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-77854017519215794452022-05-02T07:05:00.002-07:002022-05-02T07:05:36.229-07:00MARCH INTO SPRING<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw4PAYWiKoDJWZMPkI2yrsN-c-iQjk1gVEhHDZHRv1tdE29k5fJ6JYq6Pl3AF38qXJ-qnwR9_7nAaKUCyBroWhjaLOSnuXQYj-0_jiTlYM2Z4L8grkoX-PZHZ6BQaCDKjjBnQZ-FADT0w68iPxAssxMDIhGCRi8pqZ8qjzke_tSq_KrnE3OUn0a-1E/s5312/buckeyered.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw4PAYWiKoDJWZMPkI2yrsN-c-iQjk1gVEhHDZHRv1tdE29k5fJ6JYq6Pl3AF38qXJ-qnwR9_7nAaKUCyBroWhjaLOSnuXQYj-0_jiTlYM2Z4L8grkoX-PZHZ6BQaCDKjjBnQZ-FADT0w68iPxAssxMDIhGCRi8pqZ8qjzke_tSq_KrnE3OUn0a-1E/w640-h360/buckeyered.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> My red Buckeye never fails to put on it's beautiful Spring show !</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLr-r0l_zzVdhXqSd0noSvo-IG_naLuaWNBN_5mzvf4L0F53Hajwn95VTfvoYpc8z9_kW-yIvvN8yJ1SvSSrb1SyUux0Im6US28xgudMjFLb-XBaXY_XTRlaBt1QEr6KopTgKeyRHn9-UKg7EM5TdJnkNu4SbQFvY4SKeenDnuLUUqBQluUolfbPcW/s5312/20210302_103200.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLr-r0l_zzVdhXqSd0noSvo-IG_naLuaWNBN_5mzvf4L0F53Hajwn95VTfvoYpc8z9_kW-yIvvN8yJ1SvSSrb1SyUux0Im6US28xgudMjFLb-XBaXY_XTRlaBt1QEr6KopTgKeyRHn9-UKg7EM5TdJnkNu4SbQFvY4SKeenDnuLUUqBQluUolfbPcW/w568-h312/20210302_103200.jpg" width="568" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Oh how I missed these blooms this year ( above ) on my early-Spring blooming Prunus mume 'Peggy Clarke ' ! The good news however is that my severe pruning off of the black knot fungus that attacked them both last year has resulted in new growth. By luck I also came upon a new cultivar -'kobai' at the local garden center and of course I had to have it. It appears to be more shrub-like than 'peggy clarke . ' I'm expecting quite a show next Spring !<div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64H9s2SLCP49l1PKlSVDXccPdMN1lLQHHCOj6LOGjGNKfwNT9NBPOefXy_WXMepNVai9hyqKopAuOXYrkLzEM089mtU6DashV_CX_fmWxWNhhMWgQJscT-64yYtpL27nxAtJYKoali1FQPHhkNFLoT2DbHrAStfq4zI_cJaJVhYO5kmWq44dv03lK/s5312/20220316_140435.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64H9s2SLCP49l1PKlSVDXccPdMN1lLQHHCOj6LOGjGNKfwNT9NBPOefXy_WXMepNVai9hyqKopAuOXYrkLzEM089mtU6DashV_CX_fmWxWNhhMWgQJscT-64yYtpL27nxAtJYKoali1FQPHhkNFLoT2DbHrAStfq4zI_cJaJVhYO5kmWq44dv03lK/w640-h360/20220316_140435.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>It's not Spring without the charming bell-like flowers of the Hellebores that I have lining my long driveway. Their long blooming white flowers add color to the woodland garden.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0CmmnJkrh7ck2YComYZ3HG2K3V_cDJLkdyaDnMzy6x7AAmBkAtqsvZ_0JeQVpbfX8OOgdnCPDMEA6XTV58us4gkjQaFt0CYhLF2oGIc_a-Rh_UgqUF4HkcEI5uTYwJI1F1Dd8vdCa3z8Sy0KOHARoGoYJD60KR2LE7M-EOgVkwm0NMMp-_9Blh6Ch/s5312/20220430_063315.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0CmmnJkrh7ck2YComYZ3HG2K3V_cDJLkdyaDnMzy6x7AAmBkAtqsvZ_0JeQVpbfX8OOgdnCPDMEA6XTV58us4gkjQaFt0CYhLF2oGIc_a-Rh_UgqUF4HkcEI5uTYwJI1F1Dd8vdCa3z8Sy0KOHARoGoYJD60KR2LE7M-EOgVkwm0NMMp-_9Blh6Ch/w640-h360/20220430_063315.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Early blooming phlox ,Japanese roof iris and dianthus are usually the first perennials to appear after the daffodils and tulips are gone. My Schnoodle Odie is sniffing out one of the many lizards that call my garden home.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsN3dq2QyswG56vCjopehb2zCkT_uvwxW3tPZrVyDiNOv02ELUCCgTE94qb7EaUGYEu7FX5-aymNSwR_CMl3baMkQbdk2J788GjIOlyMOkEMHa1A_k7x7ks3Nz6JGATQerQzlylprA2oFTyBIQRaAZlLmbjyeRlmWSieaC0Y81XYPTS0UwuGghLdNP/s800/Edgeworthia-Flowers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsN3dq2QyswG56vCjopehb2zCkT_uvwxW3tPZrVyDiNOv02ELUCCgTE94qb7EaUGYEu7FX5-aymNSwR_CMl3baMkQbdk2J788GjIOlyMOkEMHa1A_k7x7ks3Nz6JGATQerQzlylprA2oFTyBIQRaAZlLmbjyeRlmWSieaC0Y81XYPTS0UwuGghLdNP/w640-h400/Edgeworthia-Flowers.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Another welcome harbinger of Spring -Edgeworthia, aka, Chinese paper bush. It's fragrance is outstanding as well, which is why I planted it near the pathway.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1-ie17z9rBsZm3QrZQEgy4n6ahlQarAkYO408D284bJBLewGkVVhSTTW7dsBy8XiLsnQoFLWj7dqB__ZgbO2iW28iW9HyijkS9f9_NG-vv69Kh-XB1X4193TPbDoY5fYO3Qk-yfzSy8-UfDQXMXMj03MjwRJAXDNGz9QmB2j_4EisBBTpCvhH3xe/s640/koreanspice.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="640" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1-ie17z9rBsZm3QrZQEgy4n6ahlQarAkYO408D284bJBLewGkVVhSTTW7dsBy8XiLsnQoFLWj7dqB__ZgbO2iW28iW9HyijkS9f9_NG-vv69Kh-XB1X4193TPbDoY5fYO3Qk-yfzSy8-UfDQXMXMj03MjwRJAXDNGz9QmB2j_4EisBBTpCvhH3xe/w640-h430/koreanspice.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>Another outstanding fragrant Spring shrub -Korean Spice Viburnum</div><div><br /></div><div>Did I say how much I love Viburnums ? At last count I had close to 9 . Here's an early Spring bloomer -Chinese Snowball .</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha8y3T2xHiGHvOr9T04jUkFv8qOBNKxAQtKdRQXX1hcot50IAVB-9XUFOOyjv1qF-QWeXnsGkKkl6LHgnzSnHDrCrdK9AduhElB8JJIphb0Stan3tarG2DGynu9jwm5HM3sdOscqxVKtDNHO5oSxlgatCMiJg-9ENmXOh_Yzt9QmptLqA4gT0iBNTB/s1280/Chinese_Snowball_Viburnum_Flower__41456.1615994242.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha8y3T2xHiGHvOr9T04jUkFv8qOBNKxAQtKdRQXX1hcot50IAVB-9XUFOOyjv1qF-QWeXnsGkKkl6LHgnzSnHDrCrdK9AduhElB8JJIphb0Stan3tarG2DGynu9jwm5HM3sdOscqxVKtDNHO5oSxlgatCMiJg-9ENmXOh_Yzt9QmptLqA4gT0iBNTB/w640-h640/Chinese_Snowball_Viburnum_Flower__41456.1615994242.webp" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>And - last but not least - in the darkest corner of my garden -the cheerful yellow blooms of Kerria Japonica .</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWnpXfznq5c0PlDu-Oi2SpMSMKd1jmPb8fsEWWnW8oIbNTfzTUa1sW8Z6N-ZLv2qjj7NF_JTSSe1TJpj0-iTwOrgbDHqQZ0wbhwndu8AwH8FF1B2cFJEcJ_3c2I-BTLcHGIXa3DsJ5hvZnxa-K4pUKAGFz620VfTHDxValEq8IFacBYN_HPf19Wgh/s1600/Kerria-japonica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWnpXfznq5c0PlDu-Oi2SpMSMKd1jmPb8fsEWWnW8oIbNTfzTUa1sW8Z6N-ZLv2qjj7NF_JTSSe1TJpj0-iTwOrgbDHqQZ0wbhwndu8AwH8FF1B2cFJEcJ_3c2I-BTLcHGIXa3DsJ5hvZnxa-K4pUKAGFz620VfTHDxValEq8IFacBYN_HPf19Wgh/w640-h426/Kerria-japonica.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>We had a wonderful Spring this year and it awarded us with an abundance of beautiful blooms.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><div> <p></p></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-27394985661310805982022-03-05T04:50:00.001-08:002022-03-05T04:50:29.966-08:00FROSTY FEBRUARY<br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i> "Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle ... a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl. And the anticipation nurtures our dream."- Barbara Winkler</i></b></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This February was an unusually cold one here in central North Carolina, with many night-time lows below freezing.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Nevertheless, life goes on in the garden. Even though I'm missing the cheerful blooms of my 'peggy clarke ' prunus mume ( flowering Japanese apricot ) due to a severe pruning, I am enjoying the fragrance of the Chinese paperbush ( Edgeworthia ) and it's beautiful yellow blooms, which are very long-lasting.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjuOhVICEGl0DLX9j61_aa7-aGi1nP2hjtjDB7Y5uwywllomAaDId3GPVbgytNmLYh-brxQfEb3ou5cbEHSxP3nsnHdchwS914G_YRJD93VwxpRTnGF9zO2GOsXk8tq1TQPKeAfIskg31xu12AjDY8VuRYAa8ygy84VoKV6GWGgo5ID1O8QsWbPgzqQ=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1371" data-original-width="2048" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjuOhVICEGl0DLX9j61_aa7-aGi1nP2hjtjDB7Y5uwywllomAaDId3GPVbgytNmLYh-brxQfEb3ou5cbEHSxP3nsnHdchwS914G_YRJD93VwxpRTnGF9zO2GOsXk8tq1TQPKeAfIskg31xu12AjDY8VuRYAa8ygy84VoKV6GWGgo5ID1O8QsWbPgzqQ=w511-h298" width="511" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We had a very light dusting of snow with no major accumulations. Below is a view of my back garden in its white dress.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4V7ax7_mSswl_kM48WBGGpeBcAUTE62Q3hfbU-92Z4_6w-LHxSMXIY_iOrrCexe6Ud_T-0BDD-FcdskB-rUCUhpavGqeFVurzmU8yLweZfTj1XOHSu2btqPZJKYUfSptOnlQBJ92M77AMm-ftYbxym9Fmsujxy2TXdhUUJsfqxAmVtpu8o-IUY4hK=s5312" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4V7ax7_mSswl_kM48WBGGpeBcAUTE62Q3hfbU-92Z4_6w-LHxSMXIY_iOrrCexe6Ud_T-0BDD-FcdskB-rUCUhpavGqeFVurzmU8yLweZfTj1XOHSu2btqPZJKYUfSptOnlQBJ92M77AMm-ftYbxym9Fmsujxy2TXdhUUJsfqxAmVtpu8o-IUY4hK=w562-h290" width="562" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Since I couldn't garden I spent most of my time in my studio painting. It took me two months to finish this very large painting titled ' Summer Afternoon .'</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMCdLYxxwCWcqcKsLKcwnrI6zeyU_ZzKzwXhlyAc7QoflY-muxlLqpqRn5JY7JD0YyEH3K-3rh9w8UNh2QScIk0vHqnw3zgCeaAXhTIhZ2NgMDGcjRInvP5lviQp38BXKJ9I7GuCwW2LxD80GeBaqYu90usFX_UvTU0YnycnCh2RnyHbVmTbkoWjuI=s5312" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgMCdLYxxwCWcqcKsLKcwnrI6zeyU_ZzKzwXhlyAc7QoflY-muxlLqpqRn5JY7JD0YyEH3K-3rh9w8UNh2QScIk0vHqnw3zgCeaAXhTIhZ2NgMDGcjRInvP5lviQp38BXKJ9I7GuCwW2LxD80GeBaqYu90usFX_UvTU0YnycnCh2RnyHbVmTbkoWjuI=w549-h340" width="549" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Absence the sight of beautiful flowers in bloom I am happy with the many shades of green in my garden-Chindo Viburnum, 'Little Gem ' magnolia, Japanese cypress, 'Summer gold ' Privet, Hellebores, Lorepetalum, Sedges, and holly and camellias, to name a few.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Getting ready to welcome Spring. Already planning to add more Spring bulbs this Fall-purple alliums to go with my yellow daffodils.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-65006150054326612112022-02-03T08:27:00.001-08:002022-02-03T08:27:54.380-08:00JANUARY AND NEW BEGINNINGS<br /><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br />"Nature has undoubtedly mastered the art of winter gardening and even the most experienced gardener can learn from the unrestrained beauty around them."- Vincent A. Simeone </span></i></b><div><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">We did indeed learn from the " unrestrained beauty " in the garden this first month of the year. For 3 weekends in a row we had below freezing temperatures and a dusting of snow. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Usually I'm cheered by the winter blooms of my Prunus mume 'peggy clarke ' but alas it had to be severely pruned due to a fungus and will take time to recoop.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgq5fyO6RW1TEG8nvH6umxpprTyHdoZPZiG10ioVNTCoTiZAb4e8voob9PbrM6jdQqlmju1-FVkaXYZ8e7OuUUz2Dn0ezwmPqcTOQHF9ZVl9_4fGtxAm4LyuB5jHkR3fSZZC12Aqw9wHNWmRojjgV_jUD8uot9FXGsHK2mF3Hizl-hk-dWb0RaYgmhC=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1633" data-original-width="2048" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgq5fyO6RW1TEG8nvH6umxpprTyHdoZPZiG10ioVNTCoTiZAb4e8voob9PbrM6jdQqlmju1-FVkaXYZ8e7OuUUz2Dn0ezwmPqcTOQHF9ZVl9_4fGtxAm4LyuB5jHkR3fSZZC12Aqw9wHNWmRojjgV_jUD8uot9FXGsHK2mF3Hizl-hk-dWb0RaYgmhC=w558-h325" width="558" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I am going to search for some more Prunus mume in the local garden centers in case my current ones don't survive. I would even love to plant one in the front garden so that I can see it from my window.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This winter's freeze also delayed the blooming of the Hellebores, another flower I love that blooms in the winter. The buds emerged but growth stopped when the temperatures plunged to the low 20's several nights in a row. I'm hopeful they will survive to bloom in February. Below is my favorite -a light lime color that shows up very well in its forest setting.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivcj1De2bsQt9InEJqiXNdsM_y8JcL9WogYmXKDOVitt3cfPYtmiuIgdQuqf550PwCuzBcZBPtICHO4AHNtxcxLOl5u2-3aNtuga7-idM5zeBOKS1YsBMJvG0wuEUuPutCowUdtGG_2qUOq5k6qbKwPJFIlz8u2VEMO_IHh6bDR8oyNb47qGJ5vQTk=s900" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivcj1De2bsQt9InEJqiXNdsM_y8JcL9WogYmXKDOVitt3cfPYtmiuIgdQuqf550PwCuzBcZBPtICHO4AHNtxcxLOl5u2-3aNtuga7-idM5zeBOKS1YsBMJvG0wuEUuPutCowUdtGG_2qUOq5k6qbKwPJFIlz8u2VEMO_IHh6bDR8oyNb47qGJ5vQTk=w486-h305" width="486" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I've also been enjoying another winter bloomer -Edgeworthia ( Chinese paperbush ) and its incredible fragrance.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibqnCU1ZlyZietdsLMvFz9mf-NmCeNHnvP2OoJ8-Si4Ph-zCa8ZmeCcff0Som-RpBu5ZSTpufBkwgWD2q0xBGjuY724j76MgmTqK8-H-b5rhT1wG2TGe961wJkkKM8WEdG4rUCz_FYVGHGyeHudZB_se6RoEMNCLcbduViFBzBLQCSm1LzpzHDVSNx=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1371" data-original-width="2048" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibqnCU1ZlyZietdsLMvFz9mf-NmCeNHnvP2OoJ8-Si4Ph-zCa8ZmeCcff0Som-RpBu5ZSTpufBkwgWD2q0xBGjuY724j76MgmTqK8-H-b5rhT1wG2TGe961wJkkKM8WEdG4rUCz_FYVGHGyeHudZB_se6RoEMNCLcbduViFBzBLQCSm1LzpzHDVSNx=w515-h284" width="515" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile I'm spending winter planning for Spring. I want to add a witch hazel and more dogwood and viburnums this Spring.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Each day now brings earlier sun rise and later sunset, a sure sign of Spring ! My chickens , after a brief rest, are beginning to lay again.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2525548268416690769.post-46300335004395761312022-01-05T05:28:00.002-08:002022-01-05T05:28:27.757-08:00DECEMBER HANGS ON TO SUMMER<p><br /><br /><b><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"> "How like a winter hath my absence been From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!<br />What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!<br />What old December’s bareness every where!<br />And yet this time remov’d was summer’s time;<br />The teeming autumn, big with rich increase,<br />Bearing the wanton burden of the prime,<br />Like widow’d wombs after their lords’ decease:<br />Yet this abundant issue seem’d to me<br />But hope of orphans and unfather’d fruit;<br />For summer and his pleasures wait on thee,<br />And, thou away, the very birds are mute: <br />Or, if they sing, ’tis with so dull a cheer, <br />That leaves look pale, dreading the winter’s near."<br />- William Shakespeare</span></i></b></p><p><b><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">December was the third warmest on record. Many days of 60's and 70's and the garden was yet untouched by a hard freeze.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">The Edgeworthia ( Chinese Paper Bush ) put forth its fragrant blossoms. The dianthus, autumn sage, silver and gold Japanese Mum and some Korean mums still has blooms. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvm-0NhWJ-8ppDkUU1g6bdeuF8K8MWs4l4QeEFVUmPCdfX_URrCZX_4YZLcr-m5jufho1g-o-8zah50J-Yi38aB0g5Fu9rtEImJXF7CRpry9gjp4J8MSkPbacpFm11ratCbKRKTiD-Rdt4TLBLAvNKZX61V2D20LznZNtztHTPGjw4OsscfpXwjVGL=s5312" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2988" data-original-width="5312" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvm-0NhWJ-8ppDkUU1g6bdeuF8K8MWs4l4QeEFVUmPCdfX_URrCZX_4YZLcr-m5jufho1g-o-8zah50J-Yi38aB0g5Fu9rtEImJXF7CRpry9gjp4J8MSkPbacpFm11ratCbKRKTiD-Rdt4TLBLAvNKZX61V2D20LznZNtztHTPGjw4OsscfpXwjVGL=w578-h276" width="578" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Alas, my long-awaited Prunus mume 'peggy clark ' ( ornamental Japanese apricot ) will not bloom this Winter due to the black knot fungus that attacked it this Spring. It is struggling to put forth new branches after I severely pruned it to get rid of the disease. I'm hoping it'll make a full recovery over the coming Summer.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">In the deep of December I am happy to see the Christmas Rose burst forth in bloom. The lime green and whites are my favorite .</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijSVHtLOwFYHQHuN04QHHO8bYpirX4y6V_ZIaWn4klcMoTR_JXlCQbcVBNS6UvCkCWbKJ_Bn0hFUilqtsk3yyIRA44hv7g-0qG6nxA2IkDhgmxhfnd-b2f04eLql3EsxkAAcRb6BtmH_5oOokufvyYKI_mRKVrPCE2cxjE4usYk11rsrt7O1jJ79cT=s900" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijSVHtLOwFYHQHuN04QHHO8bYpirX4y6V_ZIaWn4klcMoTR_JXlCQbcVBNS6UvCkCWbKJ_Bn0hFUilqtsk3yyIRA44hv7g-0qG6nxA2IkDhgmxhfnd-b2f04eLql3EsxkAAcRb6BtmH_5oOokufvyYKI_mRKVrPCE2cxjE4usYk11rsrt7O1jJ79cT=w478-h286" width="478" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><span style="background-color: #fffbf0;"></span><p style="background-color: #fffbf0;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Farewell to this last month of the year in the garden. I'm looking forward to the new year.</span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">Written by Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Carolina</div>Sweet Home and Garden Carolinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08026451200405491815noreply@blogger.com0