This is curly kale in the garden.  Pretty spectacular, isn't it?

 

I planted it last fall.  It needs two years to go to seed, so it has to survive the winter.  

 

Well, it did, and now it is blooming, then it will go to seed.  The leaves are still good to eat, and now the little blossom buds are like broccoli, so we eat them too.  Even the flowers are edible and tasty.  

 

I have already replanted kale for this year, but I'm not ready to take out last year's crop.  We can still get seeds.  

 

Four seasons of food for free.  Well, there is the work part, but.....

 

I LOVE MY GARDEN!!!  

 

The Dogwoods are blooming all over the woods.  You can see them all along the highways and in the neighborhood.  Some have been planted by people, some have planted themselves naturally.  All are beautiful!!!

 

Did you know that Dogwood, Cornus florida is the state flower of North Carolina and Virginia?  Yep.  We all love the Dogwoods.

 

Of course you also know how you can identify a dogwood, right?    By its bark.     Horticultural humor  ;P

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETSY!!!

 

More flowers for my birthday:  the Flame Azaleas are blooming!!!  So bright and pretty.

 

Flame Azaleas, or Rhododendron calendulaceum, are deciduous, native azaleas, and are blooming all around our neighborhood, and beyond.  You can see them on the Creekside trail, up on the hillsides, and all around.  They are easy to spot, even at 45 mph, because of their color:  from pale yellow to brilliant red-orange.  

 

Apparently they are available in nurseries, because I've read that they are extensively planted as ornamentals in the southern Appalachian mountains.

 

Or do like we do, and just enjoy them in their native habitat.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

Today is my birthday, and I'm giving myself flowers.  Being a spring baby, I've always had flowers on my birthday.  When I was four, Momma wrote in my baby book:  Gerry said the apple tree boomed for her birthday.  Well, the apple trees are finished booming, but there are lots of other beautiful blooms around.  

 

This is our Wisteria from last year.  Isn't it gorgeous?

 

This year we didn't get any blooms.  It set flower buds in late March, but then we had that 20 degree morning, and POOF!!  Just like that, they all went away.  Anyway, the Wisteria is still growing leaves and climbing the trees;  just no flowers this year. 

 

NO problem, I went back into my pictures from last year, and found this pretty picture.  

 

My gift to me.  Thanks for sharing my birthday memories.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I love spring when the Tiger Swallowtails are flitting about everywhere.  

 

We've seen them in the apple trees, in the blueberries, and now in Lisa and Dan's holly bushes.  Nectar is everywhere.  Butterflies will collect nectar from many sources, liking some more than others.  They will feed just about anywhere, but here is a list of the top ten butterfly nectar sources:

 

Black-eyed Susan, Joe-Pye weed, Liatris, Coreopsis, Pentas, Aster, Butterfly weed (Asclepias), Lantana, Purple coneflower, Butterfly bush (Buddleia).  Some of these are native plants, and some you can get from the garden center.  But be sure to have some of these plants in your garden to attract butterflies.  

 

Nectar plants provide food for butterflies, and Host plants provide food for butterfly babies or caterpillars.  Butterflies lay their eggs on specific plants so that when the caterpillars emerge they don't have to go look for food, their food is right there for them.  Tiger Swallowtails lay their eggs on several different host plants:  Cherry trees, Aspen (which we don't have,) and Tulip poplar being the main one.  We have lots of those here, so that's why we see so many Tiger Swallowtails in the spring.

 

If you are interested in planting your garden to attract butterflies, an excellent resource is Stokes Butterfly Book  The Complete Guide to Butterfly Gardening Identification and Behavior.  

 

I used this book in my classroom when we raised butterflies in a 50 gallon aquarium.  My preschoolers loved watching and learning all about caterpillars and butterflies.  When they came into the room in the morning, they went straight to the butterfly nursery to see what was happening there.  We learned together.  It was fascinating.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

We saw this bush in the park, and my Seek app told me that it is Witch Alder.  Never heard of it, but it's so pretty, I thought we'd explore it together.    

 

My Wildflowers of North Carolina book says:
 

Fothergilla major or Witch Alder is a native colonial shrub.  It is a narrow endemic, meaning it naturally occurs in this area and not found anywhere else.  (How big "this area" is differs with each plant.)  Fothergilla major is found in the Piedmont and mountains of the Carolinas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia, and is listed as threatened in North Carolina.  

 

North Carolina Gardener's Guide describes Fothergilla gardenii as a native deciduous ornamental boasting showy two-inch white "bottlebrush" flowers and dazzling fall colors.  It also suggests planting them alongside azaleas and rhododendron in a woodland garden, as they have similar growing conditions:  well-drained acid soils.  

 

Not sure if our local nurseries carry Fothergilla; but you may be able to find them in a nursery that specializes in native plants.  Or just go to Meeks Park this week and see one in bloom.  It's near the main entrance, as you start down the trail.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

There are lots of colonies of Mayapples at Meeks Park.  And they are just now emerging from their winter sleep.

 

Mayapples are in the family Berberidacae, along with Barberry and Nandina shrubs, and Blue Cohosh herbaceous plants.  I think it's interesting how plants that seem so dissimilar can be related.  But it's all about Taxonomy, a complex science that focuses on similar characteristics of plants and animals.  

 

Back to the Mayapples:

 

Mayapples are native to the eastern and central United States, and are found in low woods, and moist meadows. Podophyllum peltatum Linnaeus, Mayapples are also called Mandrakes.The blooms emerge early in May, underneath the leaves; one flower per a set of two leaves.  Single leaves bear no flower.  

 

The flowers develop into an edible yellow fruit that looks and smells like a lemon.  Be careful, though, because the leaves, roots, and unripe fruits are TOXIC.  We just enjoy seeing them in the woods and breathing the lemon-scented air.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

I hope you are still checking in on the Yorktown bluebirds.  The babies are getting big, and you can see the momma feeding them.  They look almost ready to fledge though, so you better do it soon.

 

 

HAPPY BIRDING!!!

 

Patty was here for a few days, and got her garden tilled and ready to plant.  When she showed it to me, all I could think of was POTENTIAL!!

 

Just think of all the vegetables she can grow in that space.  And not just vegetables, marigolds will go around the outside.  

 

I'll show you again later in the season;  she always has a great garden.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Calycanthus floridus, or Eastern Sweetshrub is blooming now at the park.  These native shrubs are deciduous, and bloom from April into October.  They are called Sweet shrub because they are aromatic, the leaves and the flowers.  They are in the same family as Magnolia.  You can kinda see that in the flowers.  And the aroma is similar.  You know I had to smell it.

 

Look for sweetshrubs in your woodland walks.  They are so distinctive with their maroon-colored blossoms.

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!