I really needed a visit from my flowers this morning. Mr. Flower knew this. On his one day off, he took the time to tour our yard and photograph my flowers.
I have kept his shadows in the photos to remind me who took these pictures. This is a very sad fifth anniversary for our family. Actually it was worst day of our lives, especially for him and his mom and sis.
On this day he has chosen to send me flowers.That’s what love looks like. The real kind. The long game.
Thank you so much hubby. Enjoy your day at the farm. Hug your sister. Carry on.
Here he is photographing our thirty-six-year-old azaleas. I was young then. I could not decide on a color, so I bought one of each. My first horticultural experiment at the lake.
I tried another new trail today. I am picking flat places to walk by myself. Any time I hike on uneven terrain or wander off the trail, some stumbling starts. I did not take my walking stick today, so I had to be extra careful.
Brackets and moss on a dead tree.
Today’s walk was on one of the roads around the Flat Top Manor, which is also known as the Moses Cone Estate. The mansion is not open yet, but you can park and walk the grounds.
Moses Cone Estate
I am happy to report that I wobbled but did not fall down today. I also got some pictures of lovely bracket fungi. I found colonies on several dead trees. Brackets are identified by color, top texture and pores.
I did not risk climbing up or down banks to identify these. We will appreciate them from afar.
Large bracket
I also spotted a single Bloodroot bloom.
Bloodroot flower
Finding all this and not falling down was a win:win!
Bummer. I have done too much hovering again. My ‘Fire Lily’ orange Clivia has squealed on my overzealous mothering by putting up a short stalk with only two flowers.
CLIVIA after too much mothering.
I brought it to the mountain because it is a favorite. I wanted to keep an eye on it. It needed to go to the cool basement and kept dry. Instead I kept it upstairs and watered it with the other plants. It’s a baby, it needed to grow!
I will not make the same mistake next fall. I will be able to carry it down the stairs and check on it without watering it. I have avoided steps and hills for over two years.
I walked two miles for the first time since hip surgery with my friend Libby yesterday. That was my post surgery goal. Hooray. I plan to soon return to the trails with my trusty walking stick which turns into a seat.
Let’s hope my more mature Clivia ‘Good Hope’ won’t end up with a short stem, too. It is usually a show stopper when it’s giant yellow bloom opens.
I cannot see a pansy without thinking of Mama. The earliest flowers at Enwood were pansies. The flower garden at the lamp post was called ‘The Pansy Bed.’
Photos of Mama’s pansies
This is our first spring without Mama, so planting pansies feels different. The first time I went to buy some, I cried and left. But I returned yesterday and took my time perusing the pansies and thinking of Mama.
Delta Tapestry
Her pansies had to be pinkish but complicated. I chose Viola Collosus ‘Rose Medley’ and Viola ‘Delta Tapestry.’ Rose Medley got put in a pot this morning.
Viola Collosus ‘Rose Medley’
I clipped some blooms to press between parchment. I plan to put these in a frame in the Pansy Room.
Flattened for drying
We named the bedrooms here on the mountain. Mama’s namesake is The Pansy Room. The door is marked by a big beautiful pansy sticker.
Door of The Pansy Room
There are pictures of Mama’s pansy bed at Enwood on display. There is a photo of Mama standing by her pansies in a colorful dress.
Mama with her pansies at Enwood.
Rose and I have found pansy fabrics to use in that room. Rose even has pansy sheets for her bed in there.
Pansy material
Not to leave Daddy out, another room is ‘The Bluebird Room.’ That post will come after my sister and I finish repainting Daddy’s bluebird houses. Stay tuned.
I usually love spring. This year I miss my gardens, but I am constantly reminded of my lack of stamina. It is frustrating for an over-achiever like me to run out of steam before finishing simple projects. It happened again today.
Mr. Flower just sent me these photos from home. Home is on a hill with steps inside and out. The house on the mountain does not require cilmbing hills nor steps, but one hip or the other hurts just about every day. I listen to that pain. I am not ready to push through it. My body has been through too much trauma and slow healing to risk further injury.
I am happy to see these familiar faces as I rest before “round two” of chores and projects. I wanted to be “Strong by Spring.” That has been my mantra. I will continue to carefully work toward that goal.
Here are today’s blooms from home.
Quince in a fence.Daffodils on a hill.Poncirius bloom fully opened.Thalia being gorgeous.Almond bush from Enwood in full bloom.
I have abandoned over thirty years worth of gardening work at Wildwood. Every time I go home I work too hard try to make up for lost time. Mr. Flower tries to get me to relax. We did sit a spell in the gliders out in the sunshine one afternoon. Neither one of us can sit still for long.
This is my second spring away from home. The spring before that I could barely walk, so technically my garden has been neglected for three growing seasons. I am amazed it is not worse. My husband tries to manage the worse spots. I noticed scattered piles of last year’s dead foliage. I appreciate his efforts.
I am not strong enough to tackle the garden rehab myself. I am still working on my own healing. I feel overwhelmed looking at all that needs to be done back at home. My husband has too much responsibilities of his own to pick up my slack. Judge me if you must. I am in survival mode. It was me or everything else. I chose me.
I silently walked the deck perimeter each morning with my coffee. I peered over the railing to see which plants were sending upgreen shoots. It was a bit liberating to see needs and not try take ownership of them. I know my limits. Set-backs are too brutal to risk.
I will brag that my gardens have good bones. My plants were well-chosen, well-placed and well-planted. They are surviving without my hovering. That was always my goal.
Sweet Betsy reminds me of my friend Sandra. She had an Aunt Betsy and wanted part of this plant. She planted it in her yard in Charlotte.This quince, Chaenomeles ‘Double Take Orange Storm’ is in a fence because the deer would demolish it.White by the Gate Camellia must also confined to a big, tall circle of fence. This tiny flowering almond bush came from my parent’s home on Enwood. I am so glad I took some before we sold it.I almost missed the Edgeworthia blooming. These blooms have a magical scent.Clusters of Starflower, ‘Alberto Castillo’, Ipheion uniflorum used to be in many locations around the gardens, but the deer herd has nibbled most down to stubs. These stray bulbs were the only ones with blooms.
I am glad I made it back home for a garden check-up. I will try to get back more often now that there should be less snow to imprison me. This last set of blizzards made me rethink my present location for the first time ever.
Weeds will always win whether I am fighting them constantly or not. I may eventually have to hire some help while I am home. Weeds winning does not make me sad.
Palmer wanted me to see his three new trees during my visit. He said folks hit their brakes as they drove by to get a better look. I spotted them as we pulled in to the drive.
Jeepers, creepers where’d he get those Weepers? They are weeping peach trees, ‘Crimson Cascade.’ The foliage will be deep maroon. Mature size is said to be 12 feet tall and eight feet wide. Hardiness Zones 5-9.
Weeping peach ‘Crimson Cascade’Double blooms
He got these at different places. He noticed the slight color differences. I had trouble differentiating the three because my camera, my computer and my phone all morphed the pinks.
This one has less of a coral tint.Hot pink double, stamen not as pink
I have a habit of doing a full shot with identifiable location and then a close-up or two. This habit has helped me keep track of plants. During this visit I took 224 photos, so any little hint helps.
Prunus persica, Hot pink with hint of crimsonThis color seems between the other two.
I also focus on similar groups at once to keep them together for comparison. I have blogged for almost eleven years so I have developed some skills. I do not count on my memory.
Here are Palmer’s the three weeping peach trees. Their form is slightly contorted which gives them interest. The blooms cluster near the twigs.
Palmer said they were covered with little peaches last summer. I hope I get to see that. Squirrels got them, so I better get a fruit alert.
If I were not friends of Lucy and Palmer already, I would have left a note in their mailbox asking for the names of these weepers. WOW!
He should have his own blog. He has created an amazing botanical garden. My good friend Lucy is his wife. Their dog zealously guards the garden.
I went to visit my friend Palmer’s gardens while I was home. There was much to see. I call him Palmer because he has an unusual collection of palm trees.
Male blooms of Chinese windmill palm.
I was particularly interested in this one that was blooming. It is a Trachycarpus fortunei. It is also called a Chinese windmill palm, Chusan palm and Hemp palm.
It does resemble a windmill.
I have not had much opportunity to see palm blooms upclose. The form of these opening blooms was unusual and complex.
Male buds in sheathing
These palms are evergreen and also dioecious, which means separate sexes on separate trees.
Panicle of male blooms on Trachycarpus fortunei.
This one is cold hardy. Palmer says this one has survived a period of 7° F. I wish I had had more time during the visit to discuss his other palms. This is one of the hardiest palms. My research claimed it as a Zone 5.
Buds opening
I promised to return when a particular tree is blooming next month. I will take better notes then.
Palmer’s other passion is weeping trees. Stay tuned to see several of those and an amazing array of azaleas.
floweralley 