May Day Walk in the Gardens

"I love Spring anywhere, 

but if I could choose... 
I would always greet it in a garden."
- Ruth Stout 

My early morning walk in my gardens revealed some beautiful blooms, 

the first of our Spring.

Sensation Lilac

New in my gardens and planted last Spring, this lilac has captured my heart.

White trimmed dainty blossoms with a true lilac aroma...
full growth will be 10 ft. tall and 6 ft. wide.

 

Blossoming Flame Maple Tree

These trees delight me in every season 

and the bees are crazy about them!

 

Red Twig Dogwood

Another every season favorite.

In Winter, bright red branches accent our landscape, 
a stark contrast against our Winter snow.

 

Cinquifoil

Blooms only in the Spring, one of the few yellows I have in my gardens.

 

Windflower

I love the way these blossoms sway in the breeze.

 

Periwinkle

 Sweet little blooms peek out from shiny green foliage.

 

Sea Thrift

Removing the faded flowers will keep this plant blooming all the way to Fall.

 

Seascape Strawberries

Everbearing, these plants produce a high yield of sweet tasty berries 
that are my grandkid's delight.

 

Oklahoma Redbud

These tiny wine colored flowers will soon give way to glossy heart shaped leaves that are heat resistant 

and allow this redbud to thrive in Utah's hot summers.

♦   ♦   ♦

Within just a week or two with the help of a little more sunshine

more blooms will take their turn to dance in the sun!

Can you guess what these buds will become? 

 

Have you taken time to walk in your gardens lately?

Remember... gardens are our link with The Divine.
Surely your troubles will melt away 
as you walk through blossoms 
and God's beautiful creations.

Please join me by publishing your own post 

on what you discover during your walk.

Remember to include a link to 
This Grandmother's Garden

in your post
then link your blog name to the linky list below.

The first of each month we'll do this again!

I look forward to seeing what you've discovered!

We BLOOM too!

Some of the favorites of my gardens weren't chosen
for their beautiful blooms. 

But maybe they should have been!

These bushes are part of the bones of my garden,
providing structure and dimension.

 Each was chosen because I fell in love with their striking foliage.

Who knew I'd love their beautiful blooms, too?

Enjoy them now... because they only bloom for a very short time!

Summer Wine Ninebark

Pinkish white button-like blooms

Dark crimson-red foliage  

Aren't they just the sweetest little flowers? 

Compact European Cranberry Bush

Lace-cap bouquets of white in Spring

Followed by tiny red berries that the birds adore!

I chose these bushes for their amazing orange fall color!

And then there are the weigelas...

                      their blooms are a magnet for Hummingbirds!

 Wine and Roses  Weigela

 Intense rosy pink trumpet blooms

I chose this bush for its deliciously dark burgundy foliage.

 French Lace  Weigela 

Stunning deep crimson flowers

Variegated leaves of dark and lime green stole my heart.

Minuet Weigela

Delicate pink fragrant blooms

Perfect size for smaller spaces... only grows 3 feet tall.

Enjoy their turn to SMILE in the SUN! 

A BLOOM! A BLOOM! I Found a BLOOM!

The crunch under my feet as I walked across my lawn this morning verified the thought already foremost in my mind.  "It's freezing out here!"  But I was on a quest. "I've got to find something blooming in my gardens... it's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day." 

As I walked down each frosty garden path my eyes searched intently for anything green and growing. Nada. Except, of course, the vibrant evergreens of my gardens that seem to be flourishing. "How do they survive in this cold?" I almost wondered out loud. "I'm going to have to lower my expectations." 

As I trudged along the frozen grass, I began to focus on the trees and shrubs for signs of swelling leaf buds. "They're kind of like blooms... waiting to burst... aren't they?"  I was feeling a little desperate. I seriously inspected anything with a branch on it.  Again I was disappointed. "A whole lot of warm has to happen before there's any bud swelling going on here." 

I kept walking, intent on finding something to post about. After I'd circled around our half acre several times, I was ready to give up.  "There is nothing that even resembles a bloom here."  Resigned to have to wait for a 'Wordless Wednesday' post I quickened my pace as I walked toward the door and the warmth that was surely on the other side of it. 

Quite suddenly something caught my eye that I had missed before... 
the Quick Fire Hardy Hydrangea near the back door.

February, I Found A Bloom!

Blooms that first appeared waaaay back in June, though weathered and dry, were still clinging to their branches.  I smiled with satisfaction. "There's my post for the day."  

I quickly took a few shots with my camera but I couldn't help but marvel at the tenacity of those delicate little flowers. All through the Winter they have withstood the strong gusts of the notorious Highland winds that blow down from the tops of our mountains.  They have endured the sub-freezing temps that have been relentless for so many weeks. They have survived the deep snow cover that has finally, just in the past several days, begun to melt. "Wow. This hydrangea really is hardy" I thought to myself.

I must admit to all, I fell in love with hydrangeas when we lived in Oregon almost a decade ago... land where just about anything grows. Hydrangeas have a tougher time in Utah and I was thrilled to find a variety that would thrive in my zone 5 garden. I have loved this hydrangea since I first planted it two years ago. 

Here's a photo journal I've kept of my Quick Fire hydrangea in my garden going backwards from today. (Yes this is my baby and I've taken monthly pictures to brag about her growth):

January, Dressed in Ice Crystals

December, Sleeping Under a Soft Blanket of Snow

November, Faded Hues of Fall

October... Filtered with Blue for a Halloween Post
"Don't touch the flowers with a blue glow
They'll cause a nasty itch,
they're poisonous you know."

September Beauty

July's Delicate White

Fresh New Blooms of June

Isn't she a delight?

Read more about this favorite of mine.

by clicking here:

Quick Fire® Hardy Hydrangea 

Hydrangea paniculata 

You just may decide 

that you need to include this hardy hydrangea in your gardens.

BTW, I planted three more of them last Fall.

She thrives in Zones 3-9 and doesn't mind harsh Winters at all!

Be sure to visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens for more GBBD posts!

♥  ♥  ♥

Just noticed the temperature gauge at the top right of my blog.
It is 52°F now as I publish this post.

This morning as I walked to glean inspiration (and blooms),
it was 28°F.

The weatherman said we will reach 60°F today... Yipee!

She Tiptoed into My Gardens While I was Away...

I've been waiting patiently 
since the first day of Fall 
for her arrival.

I go away for six days
and while I'm gone...

AUTUMN 

tiptoed right into my garden.

My first suspicion came as I looked out the window in the early morning
to see that my back neighbor's fence
had exploded into a fiery deep red.

The Virginia Creeper was ablaze!
 
(Just six days ago, the only sign of Autumn in my gardens 
was the color changes found on the mountain
that I look up at each morning.)
 
Giddy as a school girl in Spring
I grabbed my camera,
slipped on my shoes
and raced out the back door
to confirm my reverie.


It's official...

The AUTUMN DANCE 

in 

This Grandmother's Garden

has finally begun!

A single branch of dainty leaves on one of my Honey Locust trees
is just beginning to turn to gold.

A glance upward at the Eastern Redbud greets me with a canopy
of lemon and lime dancing hearts.

Hard to believe that last Spring these tender Redbud leaves
emerged in shades of deep burgundy.

The Red Flame Maple trees have just a few scattered branches showing off their colors.
Their leaves turn from green to yellow
to orange
to bright red.

It won't be long before each of the Red Flames
will be completely consumed with burning colors in the Autumn sun.

The Bailey Dogwoods are a kaleidoscope of color
as the sunshine gently peaks through them.
Notice the ragged edges on each leaf
left by the Root Weevil earlier in the Summer.

These leaves were a dark green when I last saw them.

The leaves from the trees that reside in the green space beside the jogging trail 
have turned a delicious shade of amber
and have nearly dropped all of their leaves
in the short time that I have been gone.

The delicate leaves of the Coral Bark Maple are enchanting
with their many shades of pastels

deepening to darker, more vibrant colors.


Once begun, the change happens so quickly!
I can't wait to see what more this week will bring.



There are more plants yet to join this

Autumn Dance

with beautiful colors about to emerge.

What a frolic this promises to be!

Rosa Caramba!

ROSA CARAMBA!

Another favorite in my garden!

A low growing shrub rose 

2 ft tall and 3 ft wide.

 Produces an abundance of orange-red flowers 

with a yellow eye 

from April to frost!

Hardy in Zones 5-9

Disease and pest resistant.

A rose anyone can grow! 

 

Cut back to healthy wood in early Spring 

just before new growth emerges.

Prune lightly throughout the season 

to encourage heavier repeat blooming. 

  Plant anywhere in the landscape 

that receives full sun to afternoon shade. 

Rosa *Carumba!

(*Surprise Rose)

Definitely a favorite in 

This Grandmother's Garden!

I'm As Giddy As Can Be!

Last Spring I posted:  

   I Have a New Love in My Garden

Today I'm here to tell ya...

It's TRUE love! 

Limelight Hardy Hydrangea 

and I'm as giddy as can be!

It's lovin' my garden...

Now I've got to go find me another one.

Today is finally the day...

My Mugho Pines have been begging to have their candles trimmed... 

and today is finally the day.

Mugho Pines grow by putting out new growth from the end of each branch in the Spring. 

The new growth is called a candle.

The right time to prune the candles is before the needles open.

  

As you can see from my pictures below, I've almost waited too long as the needles have already begun to open.  Experience tells me it's not too late, the branch is still very tender. Optimum time is before the shoot has opened but the reality of life is sometimes we don't always get to choose the optimum.

If I want to shape them this year, I need to do it today. 

Fast forward a couple of hours...

 Trim the Mugho Pines... done!

Here are the before and after shots of just a few of my mugho's:

In this particular location I love how this mugho is spreading wide and low. The before shot on the left shows this mugho needs only a branch or two trimmed. The after shot on the right shows it looking much more balanced. Just perfect for what I want to accomplish in this spot! I prune the candles each year to allow them to fit the space that I have planned for them.

This is the same mugho with the picture taken from another angle. The pic on the right is after my candle trim this morning... looks great! Can you tell which direction the winds blow in my garden?

For some reason this mugho is growing taller and more dense on the left side so I trimmed the candles on the left but not so much on the right to allow it to catch up a bit.  I want this plant to grow taller because it sits on a berm that lends a little privacy to our yard.  (We live in an open space neighborhood with paved pathways separating back yards. So much nicer than fences!) This mugho is still a work in progress, but then, aren't they all? Just a little effort for so much pleasure! 

So what have we learned today?
Cutting back the candles of Mugho Pines allows you to shape them

and somewhat control their height and width. 

It also encourages denser growth.

Never cut below the candles 
as it will never fill in properly
and will leave your Mugho Pine looking deformed.