Capricious March
This blog post is lengthy, but I have much to share with you. The weather has been erratic as befits the transition into the warmer part of Spring. I'll start with some photos from the day of our tornado warning March 18th. Fortunately, we had no damage or tornados in our neighborhood.
The hawks portended a coming weather system. About fifteen hawks were flying in small groups ahead of the storm. It's unusual to see so many, in fact it was a first for me. I was able to photograph a group of five, but the field of view was too large to capture all of the groups.
Despite, the threatening weather many plants here are doing great. In particular the weeping cherry tree in the backyard. This tree definitely liked the wet winter that we had.
The blossoms have fallen already, but that process is just as beautiful as the bloom period.
It looks like a dusting of snowfall.
We've had some really beautiful weather, too. One such day my sister, Annette and I enjoyed sangria from Plum while watching Ian install a new rose arbor. (Tee hee) :) It was very fitting as Annette and I installed the original arbor with my friend Bobby and his brother Jason sometime in the late 90s. We were struggling with the last steps and in came the cavalry when Bobby came to mow the lawn. We called it the sisters and brothers arbor. Powerful. This was in my days as a single woman. I always tried hard, but assembly has never been a strong point of mine. I am determined though. Over time one of the legs corroded leaving the arbor a little lopsided. "Puff " the magical dragon was leaning, too.
This photo is reminiscent of the first trip that Annette and I made to London. The Millenial wheel was in pieces on the ground by the Thames before it was erected.
I was very happy to find a larger, but very similar arbor at Garden Artisans online that was Made in England just like my first arbor. It's very appropriate to have an Englishman install it as well. Notice the dragon on the rugby tee shirt, a dragon installing a dragon. A good omen?
The finished installation. We planted two William Baffin roses this fall to replace the ones that died in all of the wetness last Spring.
In memoriam, I don't think our William Baffins will be this beautiful, but hopefully they will be tougher than the Brite Eyes rose. Before Brite Eyes I had New Dawn for several years before they were killed by drought. Doesn't that say alot about changing weather patterns?
More plants that are enjoying the wetness.
Ralph Shugert, vinca minor
Pink Charm (I think) Daffodils
Tete a Tetes and violas from either Lowe's or Home Depot. Potted this year.
It's even Spring in Ft. Wayne, IN! Here's a photo of Julie's gorgeous established Tete a Tetes with blue scilla. Julie says they are expecting some snow this week. The coming of Spring is a bit dicey.
The yellow epimediums are thriving even with Maddie Rose almost crushing them.
The weather has been perfect for the white azaleas with pink freckles. That's our mouse door in the background.
We've kept the hoops up in case we need to cover the azaleas. I think they are decorative as well as functional.
Fickle Spring.... Tomorrow night we will drop into the 20s, so I might bring the plant covers out if it's not raining. We are expecting a cold front to arrive which will bring some storms.
As always, happy gardening!