If you haven't been on the trail lately, you are missing the Flame azaleas in bloom.  They are bright orange and beautiful!  You can also see them along the roads and highways.  They are the only ones blooming orange right now.  Actually the flowers range in color from yellow through red, but mostly orange.

 

Azaleas are in the genus Rhododendron.  Most garden azaleas are evergreen, but Flame azaleas are deciduous shrubs that bloom May - June.  They bloom just as the leaves are coming out in early spring.  So look around, you're bound to see them.  Especially now.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Well, since this all started, I've made over 100 masks.  When I ran out of elastic, I used sturdy yarn for the ear parts, then ties made of fabric.  
 

Most of them went to Union General Hospital.  Our friend Dan Simpson works in one of the labs there, and delivered the masks to his coworkers.  I've sent them to my sisters and friends in Virginia, to friends in Florida and Raleigh, NC.  And we wear ours every time we go shopping.  
 

Lately I've heard that we can increase the effectiveness by covering our masks with nylon stockings.  Just cut an 8 inch section of queen size panty hose, slide the tube over your head down to your neck, then pull it up over the mask.  They said it makes a very big difference in how tight the mask fits to your face keeping out the particles of germs that are making people sick;  plus, the nylon adds an extra layer of filtration.
 

I must say it gets easier each time, but I still feel like a bandit.  Oh well, we all do what we have to, to keep ourselves and others safe and healthy.  Let me know if you need a mask.  I'm happy to help if I can.  
 

 STAY SAFE!!!

 

My girlfriend in Virginia sent me this gorgeous picture of her gorgeous Mountain Laurels blooming.  As you can see, they are in their element:  under tall trees, part sun/part shade.  And apparently the deer don't eat them.  They have as many deer as we do.  
 

OK. Mountain Laurel, Kalmia latifolia.  Don't laugh, but I remember that name from Horticulture school, c.1973.  Hahaha!  According to one of my field guides, they grow 3 - 15 feet high, and bloom mid-May into July.   But I'm guessing these are close to 20 feet tall and are blooming NOW!  
 

FYI. This is just one glimpse into her backyard.  It is FULL of Mountain Laurel.  Thanks, Linda, for sharing with all of us.  These are beautiful.  Ours will be blooming soon.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Look who else is blooming in the park.  Mayapples.  I didn't need SEEK to identify this.  If you've ever seen Mayapples, you know what their name is.  Let's look into it further and see what else we can find.

 

Podophyllum peltatum, botanically.  Mayapples, commonly.  Mayapples grow in colonies, and stand about 1 - 1 1/2 inches tall.  First you see the huge green leaves acting like umbrellas;  then look underneath and you'll see the flowers.  Each set of leaves has just one white flower, nodding underneath.  They kinda look like apple blossoms.  All parts of the plant are poisonous, so just look, DO NOT EAT.  But do look and enjoy, they are definitely a happy sign of spring.

 

HAPPY GARDENING !!!

I have a new APP on my phone. SEEK.  With a picture of a plant or animal, it will identify it for me.  WAY easier than searching the books to figure out the ones we don't know.  
 

SEEK identified this small shrub as Carolina sweetshrub.  OK, now I'll go to the books and report back on it.  

 

I'm back.  Couldn't find it under the common names, so I had to look to Wikipedia.  It told me this:  Calycanthus floridus is its botanical name.  Now I can look in my books.  Peterson Field Guide called it Hairy Allspice.  So our horticultural lesson for today is:  Common names aren't the best way to identify plants.  It's  always best to use the botanical name if you can.  
 

OK, here we go.  Calycanthus has several species.  One is floridus, or hairy allspice.  Another is fertilis, or smooth allspice.  The difference is in the leaves.  Hmmm, didn't look at the undersides of the leaves, too excited with the flowers. Wikipedia shows some other species too, western and California allspice.  Probably not either of those.  These shrubs are growing at Meeks Park, in North Georgia.  
 

They grow 6 - 9 feet tall, and are blooming NOW!  Do stop and see them up close.  The flowers are about 2 inches across, and a brownish red, cinnamon color.  You can crush a leaf and smell a cinnamon-like fragrance.  Or scrape the bark and you can detect a camphor smell.  Just seeing them is exciting enough for me.  They are beautiful!  

 

I'm not sure if you can get these in the local garden center to plant in your own yard,  but they would be a lovely addition to any woodland garden.  Go to the park and see them for yourself.  It's worth the trip.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

We're going to have blueberries!  Lots of blueberries!  
 

This is a test message to see if I can get the pictures oriented correctly. This may not be such a good test cause orientation isn't necessary.  Don't care, I've missed you.  Just want to say HI!

 

HAPPY GARDENING !!!

I finally found something nice to write about, daffodils!!!  But I wasn't able to upload the picture.  Where's the sunshine in that?  No story without a picture.

 

I'll try another day, but right now I'm out of patience.  Sorry.

 

Our world was so pretty in the snow.  Even a scruffy ole sumac bush was beautiful.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I wish you could have hopped on the Flexible Flyer with me, and ridden it down Crabapple Lane.  It was fabulous!!  

 

We haven't had enough snow the past few years to get out the sled, but on Saturday we had 4-6 inches of beautiful snow!!!!   We got to sail down our road!!  

 

Going DOWN is great fun, but at our age, hauling the sled back UP is a bit of a chore.  But worth it!!  

 

We got in a few good runs, then decided that 30 minutes of fresh air and exercise was enough for one day.  Then, spent the rest of the day inside reading books and appreciating the snow from our cozy living room.

 

Hope you got to enjoy the snow.  Now, maybe we can start looking for signs of Spring.