There is a lot going on in the the garden this week, so get ready for a picture heavy post. The flowering season continues and some planting got done, too. I finally got back to finishing off the planting for the veranda pots this week. The impatiens were on sale at the hardware store, and I have been waiting for those to fill the pots in the little side tables. The tops are tile mosaics, so they need pots in the bottom to keep them from toppling over.
At the bargain rack last month I found this ‘drop in’ plant mix. The idea is to drop this inside a decorative planter, but I planned to break it up and use the plants in several planters. There were petunias, calebrachoa and verbena. It also appears to have a spike dracaena but that wasn’t listed on the label.
Easing the pot off the plants, the roots have grown together. When I pull them apart, a few roots will be lost, but that won’t hurt the plants. I separated all the plants and put them into other planters.
There were two nice size pink petunias, and I put those in the oblong planter. They need full sun, so I put that planter on the brick planter box in front, just to give that area a bit of color.
The vegetable garden is in the brick planter this year, and doing well.
On the other end of the brick box, the pot of pansies is filling in well.
Oliver came by for a tidbit, I know you like to check up on him. There was some speculation that this might be a pregnant Olivia, but I think he is just well fed. It is past the time when the young are usually born.
Charlie was here too. He (she?) eats his treat in the grass near the hosta bed. He is a lot skinnier than Oliver.
In the front flowerbed, my pink delphiniums snapdragons are getting tall and starting to bloom.
The white irises are still putting out gorgeous blooms.
The burgundy irises are starting their show.
And the lavendar ones are coming out too.
I put my love birds yard art I made from our wedding cake topper in the dusty miller.
I got two polemonium plants at the Bullington Gardens plant sale, and they went into the front bed near the dusty miller. These are also called Jacob’s Ladder plants. They need part sun to full shade, so I hope it isn’t too sunny for them there.
This little guy was here, and I hope he doesn’t eat my new plants! He is little, and so cute.
The lady slippers are getting larger and taller, and I am still enchanted with them.
The dianthus pinks are blooming now.
On the veranda, this geranium is now three years old, and happy. I need to cut it back as it is getting a bit leggy. I’ll try to get the cuttings to root, then I’ll have more of them.
I got three toad lilies from Bullington too, and put them into pots as they need full shade. They will get about 3 feet tall, and put out lovely white flowers with pink spots that resemble orchids. We’ll see!
The violas are blooming nicely on the table.
Amazingly, the bleeding heart keeps putting out blooms. I need to figure out how to harvest these seeds so I can have a couple more of these shade lovers.
The bleeding heart is in the top pot of a three level iron stand with a geranium and violas in the second level, and deep purple pansies in the bottom pot.
This pretty plant is a Heartleaf Brunnera, another shade loving plant with beautiful lacy fronds of delicate blue flowers. This was also a purchase from Bullington.
So, the veranda is filling up with masses of color and verdant green. I actually do still have a few empty pots, and I plan to put some seeds in them, or maybe propagate another geranium.
Something exciting may be happening inside too. I think my orchid is preparing to bloom again! What is happening in your garden?
From My Carolina Home 
I love your porch, I always mean to plant pots of flowers here and there but usually if I do put them in pots they die on me – I think I might water too much or too little. I do put ferns on the porch and this year have a spider plant and planted dahlia’s in a large pot
Your flowers are beautiful!
Your veranda is lovely and inviting. I could see myself sitting in the rocker with a cuppa joe! LOL Always good to see Oliver and Charlie! Have a great week!
Carole,
Looks beautiful!!
Such pretty blooms! I never had much shade so the shade-loving blooms intrigue me. Lady slippers grow in the wild here. Your bunny looks very comfortable. I hope he doesn’t ransack your pretty garden blooms! Happy Mother’s Day, Carole.
Yummy photo show, all the flowers lifting up their pretty faces to pose for you. My terrace garden is looking straggley – too wet & cloudy. The daffies are nearing the end, I have so many varieties they lasted for weeks. The lily of the valley is about to bloom; I’m impatiently awaiting their fragrance wafting through an open window. Also waiting for a day warm enough to open a window. Having an electric mower, the grass needs to dry out or I can’t mow it & that isn’t happening. Tiny wild violets are hiding in there. The indoor plants are my constant companions. Although its been cloudy, the days are longer & they know it’s spring, perking up & putting out fresh leaves.
Your verandah looks very inviting!
Every thing in your space is just lovely . Spring is such a happy time of the year.
It’s so pretty at your house, Carole! We’re behind that here, but getting there. I’ll be able to plant later this week. We have had two baby squirrels playing in our yard this week – so fun to watch them!
Your yard and porch are just beautiful!!! I always love seeing pictures of Oliver! Not sure if you are a mom but Happy Mother’s Day! I am not a mom and my mom has been gone 19 years. This day still makes me a little sad.
Thank you for sharing the beauty of your flowers! Loved the bronzed love birds! What a super way to preserve a memory!
Here in growing zone 5, the older lilacs are blooming. A three year old dwarf Boomerang lilac that is just loaded with buds should flower this week.
Have a wonderful week!
Beautiful flowers, Carole! You really have a green thumb.
Isn’t what you are calling a pink delphinium actually a Snapdragon?
I always think of delphiniums as being blue.
Hi Carole! When you propagate the geranium, please share how you do that. Also, do you know how to do that with a rose? I had a neighbor ask me to start her a “ cutting” but I dont know how! Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos! Bonnie
Bonnie, I hope you don’t mind me jumping in. Propagating geranium is the easiest thing to do, just break off a piece and plant it.
As to roses, I use a couple different methods. If I do a lot (I have done up to 50 in a session) I dip the cuttings into honey and plant them in a container. If I do just a few, I grab some zip-lock bags out of the kitchen drawer, put sphagnum moss mixed with some soil into the bag and cut off the two bottom corners, this will allow excess water to escape and alleviates the need for using charcoal. One sandwich size zip-lock bag will take up to five rose cuttings. Stick your cuttings into the wet sphagnum moss/soil mix, close the bags and place them in a sheltered place. After a few weeks you should see roots starting to grow. Once there are some roots and the cuttings are starting to show leave buds, open the top of the bags to allow them to acclimatise.
There should be no need to add water while the top of the bags is closed, but once they are opened, you will need to add water when the mix is dry.
I have found this method to be the most reliable one with the least number of failures.
I’m waiting for it to warm up enough to put the plants I bought out into planters or in the ground. Our nights are still too cold for many of them so I’m babying them in the house. I’m hoping by the end of this week it will be safe. Since I had my two large ash trees removed from my backyard what used to be shade gardens now are full sun. I’ve had people here the last few weeks digging hostas to transplant to their homes. There are still a few to be dug but I’m so happy most of them have gone to nice new homes. I will gradually be adding sun loving perennials but this year I will plant lots of annual seeds to fill in the large areas. I have some shade in the front and added two more Brunneras. Because I have deer that visit regularly they can be kind of hard on my plantings. Last fall they ate my roses almost to the ground but fortunately the rose bushes seem to have come back okay. They ate hostas too but hostas can take it. I will miss the hostas and the cooling shade. Your plants are looking so pretty!
I concur with Didi that the pink delphinium is really a snapdragon. All your plants look happy and healthy. I’ve always thought bleeding hearts were perennials and not pot plants, but I guess if you’ve been able to keep it in the house, then that works for you. In the garden I have both pink and white varieties and they seed themselves everywhere to the point of becoming weeds. It’s still to cold to plant annuals here. We had a frost warning last night and it will be in the low 30’s at night for most of this week.
Beautiful and I always get an idea or two for my gardens from you 🙂
Lots of pretty flowers……. Not much left on mine at present……
You have a real green thumb, Carole! All your gardening photos and captions are wonderful. Can you start new geraniums from cuttings???? If so, I must try it. Do you store plants that are not cold hardy in a garage or ? over winter? Happy Mother’s Day to all who are nurturers!
Love your plants. Happy Mother’s day Carole and everyone Here. Blessings from Australia. Late Autumn Here.
Carole, your flowers are very happy and showing off their beautiful colors. I enjoyed each photo!
So many pretty blooms Carole, I love the Lady Slippers!
Jenna
Good Monday morning from Oklahoma. I absolutely love your porch, it must be a very pleasant place to sit and admire your yard & flowers. My favorite of your posts are the ones with the wildlife. I, too, have squirrels. I have feeders out for them which they visit daily, one is Fred or Fredrika (lol), another one named Samson, he’s really fluffy, big bushy tail.. Those and lots of birds are such a pleasant scene for me everyday. They will chase each other around the fence, or run across the roof, jumping from one tree to another.. My favorite part is when their tray is empty, they will actually come up to the back door and peek in, like ‘HELLO, anyone here, the tray is empty’… They’re not spoiled, much..lol Have a great week..
Carole, it’s just lovely! So many beautiful flowers — well ahead of ours. I’d love it if my irises came on this year. And your squirrel — cute as can be. (Hiding his nuts in your planters, like mine do?)