A Squirrel in the Greenhouse and Planting in the Rain.

When I opened the greenhouse this morning, there was a squirrel inside. He considered rushing me, then turned back and hid somewhere. I went for the cat and put him inside. The cat doesn't like being told what to do. I left him in there with the door open only far enough for kitty to exit if he chooses.

At the far left edge of this pic, there were clumps of Pandora's Box daylily which were overtaken by an Althea and some Gardenias. Too shaded to bloom, they've struggled.

If it isn't cold, I enjoy planting in the rain. Most plants transplanted in rain will take hold right away. [Be aware! If you garden in clay soil, this is not for you. I garden in loamy sand, which will not harden when it dries.]

At the end of the Front Garden bed that has mostly yellow and white blossoms, I planted Pandora's Box around a white Crape Myrtle. There were enough pieces for 5 clumps. As the Crape Myrtle gets taller, I will prune off bottom limbs so Daylilies will have ample light.

I broke off good-sized pieces of Purple Heart to plant between and slight to the front of each clump. The limbs that had nice little shoots at the bottom, I broke into two pieces. Purple Heart almost always roots when treated this way.

This is the post I wrote about planning to do this task: Planting in a Found Spot

Pandora's Box, 2011

 

Maybe I'll give Pandora some rooted Persian Shield cuttings and a bit of  Chartreuse Joseph's Coat.

Laura Pedlum Is Back and Still Lovely

One of the most frequent searches that finds my blog is for Laura Pedlum. My Loropetalum pictures in full bloom are sometimes downloaded. I noticed today that one is already putting on the little fringes that we usually begin to see in August, a rebloom of the spring show but with fewer flowers.

Hot pink fringes of Loropetalum against lilac pink blooms of Crape Myrtle. A few Loropetalum leaves are already turning red.


Around the pump house I have a border of shrubs with white blossoms which includes a white Loropetalum. It isn't blooming now.  Reblooming is a white Crape Myrtle.

Janie had mentioned the scent of white Crape Myrtle. This morning before the sun was hot and everything was still damp from dew, the fragrance was wonderful in the shade.

White Crape Myrtle and a bottle tree in the pumphouse bed.

White Crape on the right in the front garden.

Loropetalum blooms before the Azalea show starts in Spring and lasts past the last Azaleas. As years pass, Loropetalum tends to grow into trees unless pruned hard.

Loropetalum in bloom in the early spring.

Laura Pedlum is a welcome visitor. She has come to stay.

Butterflies are welcome visitors, too. Here's a Spicebush Swallowtail happily working Pride of Barbados. He is momentarily joined by another butterfly who soon flies off to a greener vista.

Grandmother's Purse, a Crape Myrtle Story

Holley Garden posted about her Crape Myrtles. She hasn't heard the Grandmother's Purse story, so I'll tell it here.

Crape Myrtle Buds.

Imagine that we are in the garden and I tell you a story

"This is Grandmother's Purse."

 

Squeezing the bud, "This is Grandmother's Handkerchief."

Pulling out the handkerchief a little,

"This is Grandmother's Gold."

Oh, Grandmother, Do it Again!

This is Grandmother's Purse....

This is Grandmother's Handkerchief.

This is Grandmother's Gold.

Cluster of open crape blooms with golden centers.

There is often a question of whether these are Crepe Myrtles or Crape Myrtles?

My opinion is that Crape is a thin, crinkled fabric or paper.

Crepes are French pancakes, properly rhyming with 'step' and quite delicious

but not resembling a flower petal at all.

A last glance at 'Lilacina' Crape Myrtles in the front garden and a White Crape in the distance.

The Lilacinas in the near view at left and in the back yard are just coming into bloom.

 

Flowers and text are from the garden of Nell Jean blogged on Dotty Plants Journal in hot, humid Southwest Georgia.