GardenBook

 There is a lot of spring going on here in my garden at the present, and some rain at last. The rain accommodatingly watered in the new haul from the SF Garden show (a post on that is upcoming) and the numerous plants that were moved last weekend . This week, Rosa banksia lutea is peaking , and gets the nod as my favorite. This is a plant I really should not have, as it gets gargantuan and requires draconian cut backs twice a year to keep it from swallowing the house and anything else in it's path.    A couple of years ago I considered having it removed, but it has over the years become a bird habitat ..you can see how the thatch and sheltering branches mimic a thicket of sorts. The bird feeder is about 20 feet away off to the right .  In winter Lady Banks is bare and lets the western sun into the house, in summer her foliage provides shade. The sweet yellow flowers are fleeting but abundant , drooping over the patio.  Have a look-see over at Lorees place to see ot

 Tuecrium crispum has made the cut this week. This plant is easily overlooked , nothing flashy at all. Grows close to the ground and just does it's job asking very little in return. It's job here is to live under a Crepe Myrtle on the hell strip and provide some sort of greenery in dry shade. This week I was weeding said hell strip, which involved sitting on the ground right there where Mr T. Crispum lives. Look how cute his foliage is !  Summer flowers on this Teucrium are white, and really pretty insignificant. It sailed through the 20 degree mania we had last winter , sailed through both summer and winter drought, and spreads politely to about a 2x2 carpet . Swing on over to the Danger Garden to check out more faves !

I enjoy March in  my garden; it seems like something new happens almost every day.Business trips, rain, and a collapsed fence have kept me so occupied in the last few weeks , I think this mornings bloom day camera stroll was the first opportunity I had in a while to slow down and 'see' what the garden was showing me. The long awaited rain followed by warm temperatures nearing 70 was just what those resting plants needed to wake up .Unfortunately the weeds woke up too. This tulip is 'Big Smile' , and unlike most of it's kinfolk, this is the third year it has returned for me , with just as much size and vigor as the first.  This ornamental Oxalis continues to tough it out in a bad location beneath a birch tree that likes to suck up all available water. Silene dioica My beloved Erysimum ..variegated with yellow blooms. Brunnera 'Jack Frost' The green section !    Euphorbias in bloom everywhere..this one is 'Blackbird&#