Perennials

Welcome Spring! I always tell newcomers to the Piedmont that they’re in for a treat, that Spring unfolds like a parade. Though we’re in a drought, this year’s parade did not disappoint, revealing one colorful, flowering tree, bush or vine at a time; it’s glorious! First, my overwintered orange pansies, then pink ornamental crab trees, white Bradford pears, then the delicate, floaty, barely pink cherry blossoms, red bud trees in bright red violet my favorite since my grandmother had a massive one, neon yellow forsythia, purple panicles of wisteria, then the flat, upward-facing white, and an occasional pink, dogwood. Wrapping up the parade is the southern favorite, the wonderfully outrageously pink, fuchsia (and white) azaleas. Streets are lined with flowering trees; I sometimes have my mouth open in joy as we drive through the show.

In my flower garden, I’ve been pleased again this year to see the perennials sprouting up with no effort from me. The red orange-flowered geum stayed leafy and green all winter and is building its cells to unfurl a flower soon. Red, and pink dianthus, which we always called Sweet William is abloom. My purple coneflower and maybe the prolific rudbeckia have come back. If the rudbeckia somehow doesn’t make it, it’s such an abundant producer of pretty yellow orange flowers, I’ll definitely replace it. Last year, I bought a special (expensive) magenta salvia that grew beyond my expectations to be almost as tall as me! Though each flower was small, the sun shone through them like stained glass. I thought it would be perennial but the winter was harsh for this area and I don’t see any signs of life in it—yet.

Three varieties of dahlias have several shoots each and will need props early on for their exuberant though sometimes brittle growth. I fell in love with the large colorful flowers when we lived in England and watched BBC’s Gardener’s World. In the US, we call them doll-y-ahs (or dal-y-ahs) but the British call them dale-y-ahs. Since I first grew them in England, I pronounce their name the British way.

I’d planted some spinach and parsley for the winter, in the front part of my flower garden—where I could get to it easily. These now have a home in my new raised vegetable bed. I’ll tell you about it soon.

Do you have a favorite spring-flowering tree or bush? Does something else flower this time of year where you live? What are you planting this Spring? I’d love to hear, in the comments.

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A woodpecker hunts for his lunch in a dead tree in the surrounding woods. The sky is blue again with a few white clouds cooling the warmer weather.

Today, I started my gardening with digging up my rudbeckia/black-eyed Susan from my still weedy vegetable plot. I’d bought it in a pot as a fundraiser at the previous place we lived; though I had no garden there, I looked forward to our next home, which would surely have a garden. Actually it was a non-negotiable for me to have a garden in our next home. Gardening is necessary for my well-being. (The NHS of the UK (National Health Service)increasingly prescribes gardening for good mental health.)

As a young girl, I loved to answer ads for garden catalogs in the back of my mother’s magazines. I’d tape my precious dime to an index card, slide it into a small white envelope, address it to the seed company then ask my mother for a stamp. A clothes pin held my request to an arm of our mailbox for the postman to pick up (yes, our postal worker was a man). I’d eagerly check the mailbox several times every day until the wondrous day my picture book, aka seed catalog, of colorful flowers finally arrived. As I pored over the pages of “dahlias the size of a dinner plate!” and other “exotic” flowers, one plant stood out. I’d never seen a clematis growing in hot, humid Texas but the purple-flowered vine captivated me. Recently, our landlady presented me with a gift of a purple-flowered clematis—my first. I hope I grow it well in the Southern Piedmont. I found a lyrical trellis of black wire and metal leaves, to support it when it does grow.

The other night, the BBC Gardener’s World TV show (I highly recommend it) had a feature on geums, reminding me of how much I enjoyed the orange-flowered perennial I grew in my garden in England (see older posts for the story of that garden). I came across a geum plant at the local big box garden center and of course, I needed to buy one. I have some flower seeds to plant but it’s good to have some already flowering plants to get the garden started.

I also learned on Gardener’s World that when sliding a plant out of its pot for transplanting, it’s good to run a finger over the bare roots to stimulate growth. This plant was definitely ready to be free of its pot and be planted in the ground.

Transplants have to be well watered. I’ve had to water the transplants more than I expected, even when it had rained; it takes a few days for them to get established.

Progress! There’s still a lot to be done, which is a good thing, but I have to remember that the zinnias, and tithonias I have planned, take up a lot of space.

Do you prefer to grow your flowers from plants or seeds? Or both? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Please feel free to share these posts with your gardening—and garden-loving, friends.

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