I awoke this morning to overcast skies and a little nip in the air. Dressed in my favorite walking boots and a lightweight jacket, I seized the opportunity for a photo walk through the gardens. The cloudy sky created the perfect natural lighting for photos.
Spring is the time of the year where everything is budding and blooming at a rapid pace! In the March gardens, I never know what I will find from one day to the next!
First Things First: What is a Garden Without Gardening Companions?
One of our yellow cats, Kitkat (also known as HC), enjoys climbing in the dogwood tree and posing for me! Rescued from a shopping mall, it took a while for him to trust us. Now he follows me everywhere I go outside. His brother is the long hair that is very photogenic, and you see pictures of him often. Both are beautiful cats who were a challenge to tame but well worth all the effort!
Dogwood Tree
The dogwood tree is full of buds and blooms. One of the photos shows a bud as it is unfolding to look like the other blooms or does it just have its unique personality? It may be normal, but I have never noticed a dogwood bloom like this!
Each year I wonder if our dogwood tree will make it another season. The trunk is hollow, but it is amazing to see all the blooms coming from this unlikely tree. I call it the “Tree of Hope.” If it can bloom and survive, anything can!
Hellebores
Last year, friends gifted me clumps of Hellebores (Lenten Rose) when they divided their plants. The plants from the division are finally blooming! I was impatient, but it was worth the wait. The blooms are beautiful!
Hellebores Lenten Rose
Clematis
The clematis vine is one of the most faithful plants I have! Each year, it shows up overnight and blooms its heart out throughout the spring and summer seasons. This morning, a surprise bloom was waiting on me! It is one of those flowers, like so many, that beauty is also found in the details, up close and personal. When I look at a flower, it is a reminder to me of how much God cares about the details of our life.
Clematis, one of the most faithful of the garden vines.
Banana Shrub
I wish you could smell the scent that fills the air around the beautiful evergreen banana shrub when it is in full bloom. The fragrance is amazing!
The first time I saw the banana shrub was in 2001 at the Eufaula Pilgrimage.  In the lower south, these shrubs grow into what looks like small trees. I planted mine in 2001, and it is now 15 to 20 feet high. With selective pruning through the years, it looks like a tree.
Find one at your local garden shop, and you will enjoy it for years to come. I suggest getting the smallest size available for better success on pruning and shaping. The birds like to nest in its branches and I have never noticed any pests that create problems for this shrub (in my case, tree!).
Roses
Before any of my other roses bloom, the knockout roses will put on a show of beautiful colors.
Roses are a beautiful addition to any garden and landscape, but they keep me on my toes with all the pests that like them too! For the last week, my old-fashioned roses have sprouted leaves and buds, but the sawfly larvae have already found them! I should have sprayed the Neem oil weeks ago! Learn more about Sawfly Larvae here.
The Knockout Rose is not pest free as we have been told. The Japanese Beetles will devour your roses overnight. It is a constant battle!
Knockout rose in the morning dew
Photography and Gardening
I enjoy gardening but also love photography. Combining both is pure joy! What about you? Are you a gardener and have photos you would like to share with us? Leave a comment below, and we will send you information on how to submit your photos for publication on our site.