The Colors of Spring

Aside from having to deal with allergies, spring is a wonderful time of year. The garden is really coming to life now, and every day brings new blooms, birds, and insects. I find it is easy to get so busy with gardening ‘chores’ that I miss the changes taking place all around me. But today, the activity was so intense, and the colors so bright that I had to stop and take some pictures.

Pam at Digging ^[1] had a picture of a four-nerve daisy (Tetraneuris scaposa) and winecup (Callirhoe involucrata) that she had paired in her garden and I couldn’t resist emulating it in my perennial bed. The deep purple is such a great contrast to the yellow daisy. This daisy is an amazing plant. It literally bloomed all winter long this past winter.

Four-Nerve Daisy and Perennial Winecup

I re-planted some liriope that we had to remove to build the retaining wall, and some yellow columbine that we removed from a client’s garden last fall in the south end of the perennial bed adjacent to the grotto area. I like the combination even without the columbine being in bloom. It should look lovely when they do bloom.

Ferns, Liriope, and Columbines

As I mentioned in a previous post, I sewed these petunia seeds last spring and they did not emerge until this winter. Boy are they putting on a show this spring. I had planted some ornamental oregano last fall where the petunias are now growing which I’m sure are getting completely overcome, but I can’t bring myself to pull the petunias out at this point.

Pink Laura Bush Petunias

This red buckeye was rescued several years ago from the spot that it was originally planted in which was way too sunny, and it has settled into its new location very well. Each year it is almost twice as large as the previous year. I have collected lots of seeds from this plant which I really need to get planted. I would love to have many more of these plants on our property.

Red Buckeye

The redbud has been blooming for over a week now, and it is definitely the eye-catcher of the courtyard at the moment. I can’t wait until this tree gets bigger. It is going to add so much to the courtyard.

Texas Redbud in Bloom

The coral honeysuckle is just starting to bloom.

Coral Honeysuckle Bloom

The early morning sun highlights the red shades of the nandina leaves that form a canopy above the Japanese lantern in the Zen shade garden.

Nandina and Japanese Lantern

I got a couple of really good shots of this Western tiger swallowtail feeding on the Carolina jessamine. I also spotted two Monarchs today on the mountain laurel blooms, but it was too shady to get a good picture of them. I guess they are migrating north already. Perhaps I will see more in the days to come.

Western Tiger Swallowtail on Carolina Jessamine

Update: I spotted a monarch today in the same shady area that I saw one yesterday, however, today there was enough light to get a fairly good picture.

Monarch on Mountain Laurel Bloom

I hope your spring is as enlivening as our has been.