Rain in Louisiana!

After much dividing and transplanting to friend's gardens, labeling plants for the new owners and sad farewells to our Virginia garden, we have moved to Lafayette, Louisiana and a Zone 9 (!!!) garden. The plants here so different. They are just well...errrr...big! I guess that's what a 12 month growing season will do for you. On my morning walks I see camellias that are three times as tall as me and live oaks that are so massive and articulated that they really are "live!" This region has had a serious dry spell, and yesterday was the first rain here since June 2nd. I was so thrilled to walk up the path this morning and see that the limbs of the live oaks are no longer covered in shriveled, dried ferns but in lush green Resurrection fern - resurrected.


The house we are renting has some beautiful plants in the garden, but I've been especially grateful for the burst of color the hibiscus outside our sunroom window provides. When everything else looked so scorched and dry, this just seems to keep blooming.

Naming things

Inspired by Becky and Caroline, I am going to work hard at learning the real names of plants in my old and new gardens! After doing a little sleuthing, I think the tall, nearly blindlingly yellow plant in our garden, a pass-along from Jan, is in the Primrose family: Oenothera pilosella. Not totally sure about this, but it sure bears a strong resemblance! It is certainly categorized as a weed, particularly in this NYT article, but I've never had any trouble controlling its growth.

• The salvia that looks like fireworks in the mid-summer is Salvia greggi "Flame"
  
• the groundcover Spreading Clubmoss is Selaginella kraussiana "Aurea"
• the low-growing sedum with the little yellow flowers is Sedum sexangulare "Watch Chain"
• Deutzia gracilis "Nikko"
• Allium giganticus (pictured below in the Cotswolds with John, Kurt and the Laburnum)

2 Weeks Difference

I've just returned from a wonderful spring weekend in northeast Georgia, which is like fast-forwarding through Virginia spring. They are about two weeks ahead of us, so dogwoods and azaleas (just coming on!), Spanish bluebells and trillium are in bloom now. It was lovely and we went "down-down-down" on Mama's hillside to see all the spring surprises. At the bottom, near the creek, was an incredible stand of Jack in the Pulpits and on the trail going back, Mama pointed out trillium.

Back up at the house, the Japanese maple made a perfect contrast for the Spanish bluebells.


Now, back in Virginia, the redbud were beautiful on my trip home from the airport. I'm checking on the emerging plants, watching their growth which seems nearly hourly! The giant allium I planted in the fall is indeed giant, and still coming. Lilies of the Valley from Grammes's garden that Jean brought me have multiplied like crazy and are shooting up everywhere under the holly tree. The pink epimedium is in full bloom and thanks to Mama, I discovered it does just fine when you cut it and bring it in the house!

It's also fun to see the front bed that we put it in last October. Everything survived and the snowdrops are lovely right now. I think the hosta will love it there now that we've opened up some sunny spaces. They are just starting to come up, too.

Bloodroot in bloom

Ta dah!

I'm giddy!

I spotted the Bloodroot this morning while on the phone with Mama and it drove me out in the yard (in the rain) in my bunny robe and running shoes! I don't think I've ever seen anything as full of promise as the Bloodroot, and it has spread this year! Wish I could have managed a better photo this evening, but isn't it fun to see the spring green of the Sweet Woodruff coming up all around in the background? I'm wondering if Caroline's GA Bloodroot has taken hold...