Signs of life

I love this time of year. Still cool enough to be out in the evening and everything has color - mainly because it is still cool enough.

I went out to open up my greenhouse as it will be in the 80's tomorrow and give everyone a drink. On the way, I found...

‘Clotilde Soupert’ who supposedly has 100 petals. Some have trouble with her and her fat blooms "balling" here in the South. A condition where the petals basically stick to each other and the flower does not open but becomes a "ball". No signs of problems yet.


Update on "Royal Lee" the late flowering cherry in my backyard. I was certain there would be no cherries as "Minnie" had finished blooming days before. Looked up and saw something.

Some mutant cherry? What is that?

I apologize in advance for this photo. Bending the branch down and the wind blowing does not make for a great photo op. But look closely at the centers where the blooms were. Are those cherry babies? (Well, silly, who can tell? This photo is really bad.)

Onward. Inside story to this Red Buckeye. It finally bloomed. Four years later. Spice gets to live yet another day. When Spice - my sweetie's dog - came to live with us as a puppy, she had a hankering for anything that bloomed. Or should I say - right when it bloomed. Nothing was safe in the backyard from her touch. She would not destroy the plant - just bite off the flower and leave it drying, dying in the sun for me to find when I got home. Four years later and fencing all around the backyard, the buckeye finally has her day.

Dame de Coeur is outstanding with this lovely red foliage this spring. In the center I spy one bud.

I will finish with Iceburg - who I am torturing in a pot since I can not decide where to plant her. Since she is still in a pot I may take her with me.

Hope things are looking up in your backyard.