I am NOT an impulse shopper

I am not an impulse shopper.  I can go shopping with a list and come out of the store with only the items on that list. . . . except when I walk into a garden center.   I make lists when I go plant shopping too, but it doesn't help.  I cannot keep myself from strolling down the rows of amazing plants.  Then, suddenly I spy something that I've never seen before or a flower with a unique habit or color and I feel compelled to purchase it.  I just know it is special and that I can find the perfect spot for it in my backyard.  Could this be an addiction?

About three years ago, while shopping for shrubbery at an end-of-season sale at one of my favorite nurseries (you can already tell where this story is going) I came upon a lovely rhododendron.  It was fairly large and had a lovely form. . . and it's name was Maximum roseum.  I know that I live just a little bit too far south for a rhododendron to really thrive but I knew just where I could plant it in my yard and it was half price!  My compulsion to purchase plants had overwhelmed me once again.

I planted my new shrub in the shadow of my southern long leaf pine--they like the same kind of soil--with a generous shovel full of compost.  And I waited.  It didn't die but it didn't thrive either.  It just didn't add any new growth and it certainly didn't bloom.  I began to wonder if I had made a foolish mistake (again).

However, I'm proud to announce that this week, Maximum roseum (now affectionately named Maxi) has begun to live up to her name.  She is producing an abundance of rosy-pink flower clusters and putting on inches of new growth.

I'm headed out to the garden center this morning.  I'm only supposed to purchase some basil and sweet banana pepper plants.  I wonder what else I will find. . .

Precious friendships

Gardening is about far more than mere plants.  My life is forever enriched by the friendships I have grown out of a shared love of gardens.

This week I was privileged to spend two hours in the gardens of my dear friends, Murry and Wayne.   I was first drawn to Murry because he reminds me of my beloved father (who lives far from me in Minnesota).  Murry looks, walks and even talks like a southern version of my Dad. 

In the years since I met Murry and his precious wife, Wayne, we have become good friends, sharing plants and enjoying each other's gardens.

I love visiting their home on the lake.  It is a place of beauty and peace; and filled with love and friendship that lasts forever.

Some herbs are just pretty

I have an herb garden and when I get it looking better, I will share photos.  However,  I often find myself enjoying the beauty of the herbs as much as I enjoy the flavor or fragrance benefits.

Right now the star of my herb garden is the Jerusalem sage (phlomis fruiticosa).  In my garden plant is an evergreen shrub with gray/green leaves.   It really isn't the best sage plant for flavor but I grow it because it has the most beautiful spring flowers in the herb garden.

First potatoes

I'm not a terrific vegetable farmer and my official vegetable garden is pretty small.   Since the space is small, I grow multiple crops in the same spot.   With spring arriving later this year and summer getting under way right on time, my spring garden has been rushed. 

This past week, I was forced to dig up one third of my potato patch to make room for my tomato plants.  I knew they would be small, but every fresh potato from the garden is a good one, regardless of size.

I boiled the tiniest of the crop--less than an inch in diameter--and served them with nutmeg/lemon butter.  They just melted in our mouths.

Today, I used the "big" ones to make a tender potato salad for our church's potluck lunch.  I used rose buds/parsley as a garnish.  It was just as pretty as it was delicious. 

The rest of the potatoes will need to come up soon because the summer peas will want to be planted soon.

Plant Swap!

There is nothing an avid gardener loves more than sharing plants.  We are always happy to share our bounty and we love the opportunity to add plants that have stories and history to our own gardens.

This past week was the Shelby County Master Gardeners Association annual plant swap and garden tour.  We like to visit one of our members' gardens and bring plants to share with one another (and eat lunch, of course). 

The day was dark and gloomy and rain fell at  random and unexpected intervals so some of our members chose not to participate this year.   In my opinion the rain just added to the adventure of the day. 

My garden additions included a lovely, native Virginia sweetspire, a baby Japanese maple tree and a
formosa lily.

Specials thanks and kudos belong to new Master Gardener, Brandon Rasnick for hosting us in his garden and letting us invade the inside of his home when the rains fell.

A new purpose for shoes

My oldest daughter loves shoes.  So when we found these amazing floral platform stiletto heels at a yard sale for just fifty cents she was beside herself with joy.  Sadly, they were too small for any one in our family to actually wear.

I bought them because I had a plan for those shoes.  I pounded some holes through the soles and carefully filled them with a good potting soil.  Then, I tucked in pieces of my favorite (and hardy) succulents. 

Voilà!!  A Mother's Day gift for my precious daughter  that was inexpensive and unique. 

Copy cat clematis

I admit that I often copy gardening ideas from friends and neighbors.   I like to think that my imitation is a compliment to their creativity. 

In our neighborhood many mailboxes are elaborately gowned in clematis vines.  Their giant blooms include the purest whites, dainty pinks and lavenders and bold purples.  But one mailbox is different from all the others--the clematis on this mailbox is velvety burgundy.  

Each spring, I would tell my husband how beautiful that clematis vine was compared to all the others.  Three years ago, for Mothers Day, Bob took me to my favorite garden center; my gift was to find that red velvet clematis for our mailbox. 

It is Mother's Day weekend and my Niobe clematis is in full bloom once again, and so is the the clematis that inspired my search.    Not only are they both beautiful, they have also become a symbol of my husband's love for me.

Alabama's native magnolia

Those fabulous huge evergreen Southern Magnolia's are not really southern trees.  Like many of our favorites, it is actually an Asian import.

However, there is a native magnolia in our area that is incredibly beautiful in my Alabama landscape.  I've seen this tree growing in the woods in both central and northern Alabama.  It is a small tree with huge impact.  It's leaves are two feet long (yes, I mean "feet") and its spring blossoms are more than ten inches in diameter.  This true southern magnolia is deciduous,  loves acidic or neutral soil, and good drainage.  It is happiest in the understory  with dappled shade. 

My magnolia is a magnolia ashei.  This year I'm going to have two blossoms.  My little tree is still looking more like a perennial shrub right now but she is growing and will one day be a show stopper in my backyard.