Peaches

So right now I have peaches:

We’ll see if I can keep the squirrels, bugs and birds away and get a couple ripe ones this fall.  I’m training it to grow espaliered flat  in a V shape.  There are raspberries behind the tree, so it’s hard to see, but so far the espalier is working great, I’m getting a lot of peaches.

Petit Gardening

Don’t neglect the small spaces.  This area is only about 6 inches wide, and is in a shady courtyard in a city garden.  But it’s quite charming with the repetition of the small ferns and white flowers.  This is a great reminder that gardens don’t have to be about color, green and white keep things calm, especially in small spaces. Great garden! (It’s not mine)

Threadleaf Japanese Maple

Japanese maples are supposed to be slow growers but look at this. This is my Threadleaf Japanese Maple in the fall of 2006:

And look at it now:

It’s spilling over the sidewalk, and I’m standing a little farther away for the latest photo, that white column was out of the picture in 2006.  Pretty soon I’m going to have to prune it so we can walk on the sidewalk.  Has anyone ever pruned one of these?  Any tips for me?

This photo comparison also gives anyone who is thinking about planting one of these a great view of the colors you get. Beautiful spring green in the spring, and a lovely gold in the fall.

My babies leave the nest

I guess it’s very apropos that 2 days before my own baby graduates from high school and prepares to leave our nest, our baby cardinals flew from their nest.  We’ve been watching a cardinal pair make and sit in a nest just about a foot from one of our windows in my climbing rose bush.  Before long we had 3 baby cardinals:

Who could sense when Mom or Dad was near with food:

A couple days later, it was time to stretch the legs:

Cheered on by his siblings and Dad, the first one decides it’s time to go:

Test the wings:

It was a bumpy landing, but he made it:

The proud parents were never far away:

A little fuel for the next hop:

Then Dad moves a little further away to encourage the final flight out of the rose bush:

Two remain, who’s next?

After all the excitement, the remaining 2 decided to take a nap, there’s always tomorrow.  They were in the nest the next morning, but by the afternoon the nest was empty.  We were all very sad to see them go.  As I will be in August when my first child leaves the nest.

Thanks to my oldest daughter for these amazing photographs!

Great Entrances

Here are some great front doors in the city:

Depth of Field

I love this planting in my neighborhood.  Instead of just lining up the rhodies and evergreens, they have been planted with a lot of depth.  If you have the luxury of space, planting a very wide border like this is very attractive.  What gives it interest is the repetitiveness of the evergreens, but there is still some variety as you can see in the photo below.  Different shades of green, from blue-green to lime, plus different leaf sizes between the pines and rhododendrons, make this garden a winner.

Cardinal at my Window

A cardinal has built her nest in our climbing rose bush, right outside my living room window.  Yesterday was the first day she stayed in it all day, so I think she may have laid the eggs yesterday.  I just looked up that it only takes 12 days for them to hatch.  We’ll have a bird’s eye view, how exciting.

Spring Windowbox, continued

Actually, the windowbox looks pretty good without the grape hyacinth (see previous post).  The greenery from the muscari fill in the box and the daffodils aren’t as sparse as I thought they were going to be.

Double Orange Emperor Tulips

I love these tulips.  They have been blooming through a heat wave we had here and seem no worse for the wear.  I always lose my tulips every spring, because we have a one or two day heat wave right when they are blooming.  You can’t tell me there’s no global warming.  But these are doing well, and I love the color.

Spring Windowbox – Phase 2

So now the daffodils are blooming, but the grape hyacinths are gone by and look terrible.  I’m going to have to deadhead those tomorrow.  And next year either find something that will bloom at the same time, or plant more of the later bulbs, so they will look good by themselves after the muscari are gone.