Hello Yellow

Is it just me or does yellow seem to be a very dominant color in spring? The color Yellow symbolizes renewal and hope so it’s only appropriate that it be a leading color in spring. In Elizabethan England, by law only the wealthy were permitted to wear this color. Holistic healers believe yellow is the color of peace. Studies in psychology suggest it increases concentration, that’s why legal pads are yellow. It also speeds up metabolism. The list goes on and on… I also read yellow is the most difficult color for the eye to process so it can overpower other colors if overused. Everywhere I look the garden seems to be filled with yellow.

Here are the same old yellow irises you guys see in spring of every year. These guys seem to bloom forever in our garden. They sporadically produce flowers until fall.

This tattered ‘King Alfred’ daffodil caught my attention for some reason. It’s still holding its color despite the wind beating it relentlessly against the rock behind it. I felt such diligence should be rewarded with a photo.

The weather was just perfect outside yesterday. Our new baby, Maxx was enjoying the spring day too. He seemed to be particularly interested in the scent of the ‘Ice Follies’ daffodils. This photo was a complete accident. I was actually taking a picture of the yellow iris when he decided to take a sniff of the daffodil.

Maxx can sniff the daffs all he wants I prefer the scent of the jasmine.

Is yellow a dominant color in your garden? I love it, yellow can bring sunshine to your garden even on a cloudy day.

Gardening Gone Wild Photo Contest

This month’s theme for the Picture This Photo Contest is “Awakening”. I chose this image of a frost covered daffodil as my entry. Good luck to everyone and thanks to our wonderful competition hosts.

Evergreen Clematis

Well these are the first blooms for the Clematis Armandii we planted last summer. As you can see the little vine is going to be loaded. Jamie and I have been making a slow, but conscious effort to introduce more evergreen plants to the garden. When we bought this clematis I just assumed it would be a summer bloomer. It never occurred to me that it may have it’s flush of blooms in late winter. That’s okay though, it’s nice to have things that bloom this early in the year. We can add this to the list of indicators spring is on the way. While I’m not a botanist by any means I have done a little research on the vine and here are the basic facts about it.

I’ve discovered two spellings of the word Armandii in my reading, one with a single “I” and also spelled with a double “I”. I’m not certain which one is correct because I have found reputable sites spelling it both ways. The vine has been known to be hardy to zone 6a but I wouldn’t recommend anything cooler than zone 8. It can grow up to 40 feet in length and produces its best blooms in late winter or early spring, although it can bloom sporadically during the summer as well. The flowers have a soft sweet scent are white and about 2 inches in diameter. The vine doesn’t require any pruning, but over the years will produce less foliage and flowers from the lower sections of the vine. So, it’s not a bad idea to give a haircut every now and then after it blooms. It performs well in sun or part shade and like all other clematis likes to keep its feet cool. I think Jamie and I are going to enjoy this vine for several years to come.

We Better Get on the Ball

Every where you look there are signs of spring’s arrival in our garden. The Forsythia is blooming, the Spirea and willow are putting out new leaves and the daffodils are starting to bloom.

'Ice Follies'

The very first Iris to bloom in our garden is always a small border iris named ‘Ice Wings’.

'Ice Wings'

The past few months seemed to have been filled with one difficulty after another for Jamie and me. Just when one thing seemed to work out another monkey wrench was thrown in the works. Between family, health and relationship issues, holidays and the just the pure stress of it all, the garden was just too much to keep up with. I’m very happy to report that things are much improved now and our lives seem to be finally returning to normal.

So what does a garden look like when it’s been neglected for five months? Not a pretty sight people…

Well Jamie and I got out there and busted our butts Sunday and made quite a dent in the clean up. You guys should see the pile by the road for the trash men to pick up! It’s not completely cleaned up, but I feel safe in saying that we are 80% there. We really are a dynamic team…

Ahhhhhhhhhh, I just love spring. Bright colors, rebirth and new beginnings.