Have you seen all the dogwoods blooming??? Most of them are white, but they also come in red and pink.  

 

I love them all, but this one is my absolute favorite.  It lives in the Christensen's garden.  It was Ayi's favorite tree.  

 

Cornus florida is the botanical name of dogwoods.  The white ones are native to our area and grow all over the woods.  The pink and red ones are cultivated.  They all like sun and partial shade, but they don't transplant well.  So if you want one in your garden, it's best to purchase a healthy one from a garden center, so it has a better chance for transplant.

 

Dogwoods are beautiful in spring with their bright blossoms, in summer with clouds of green leaves, in the fall those leaves turn red and purple, and in winter bare branches sport bright red berries.  

 

Fabulous trees!!!

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is our Redbud tree.  Breathtaking!!!!!  

 

Botanically, Cercis canadensis, the Eastern Redbud is native to Eastern North America, and grows from Canada to North Florida, and as far west as Texas.  Redbud is the state tree of Oklahoma.  It grows wild in our North Carolina woods, and is easy to spot at 55 mph, especially when it's blooming.  We've seen lots of them along the highways on our way to Virginia and back.  

 

Redbud is a smallish tree, growing to about 25-30 feet.  It usually grows as an understory tree, since it likes part sun, part shade.  It blooms in early spring, before the leaves emerge, with bright reddish-purple pea like flowers.  The flowers are clustered along the twigs and branches, and sometimes along the trunk.  

 

Besides her beautiful color, my favorite part about Redbuds is that the flowers are edible.  We look forward to putting these beautiful flowers in our spring salads.  They have a sweet tart flavor, and look so pretty!!!

 

I love it when our Redbud blooms!!!  Look for them this spring!!!

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

I told you I know very little about the life cycle of frogs.  True....but....

 

I also know that they hatch from eggs.  And this picture is of the empty egg case.  Same holding pond as yesterday's tadpole picture.  Just so you know.

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!!

 

 

 

Have you heard all the frogs' chatter lately?

 

Well, when we walked the loop on Sunday, this is what we saw down by the creek.  Tadpoles!!!!

 

I would love to chat about tadpoles, but I know very little.  Only that they turn into frogs!  ;)~

 

Thought you'd like to see what we saw.  

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!!

 

These are Bluets, Houstonia spp.  They grow all along the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains.  They also grow at lower altitudes, carpeting roadsides and open grassy habitats.

 

For perspective:  See the moss in the background?  It's about 2 inches tall.  OK, so we're talking SMALL!!!  

 

These Bluets are in a cute little patch on Stonebriar, just below Al's house.  They're easy to spot because THEY ARE BLUE!!!  When you're walking or driving slowly, you may see a haze of blue in the grass in early spring; it's probably a patch of Bluets.  Get up close, they are really cute.  

 

I hope you get to see some this spring.

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!!!!

 

 

 

They're back!!!  The rhododendrons at Meeks Park are better now!!

 

I told you they are amazing.  This picture was taken just one week after the previous picture;  in the same patch of rhododendrons.  They're back, and ready to get back to the business of blooming.

 

Makes me happy!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!!

 

 

Have you heard this?  Rhododendrons can tell the temperature.  Some people claim to be able to tell the temperature just by looking at the Rhodies!!

 

We went for our walk on Tuesday at Meeks Park, and saw the Rhododendrons looking a bit sad.  They looked as if they were weeping.  I had heard about their reaction to temperature, so I took this picture, and looked it up when we got home.  

 

It is NORMAL for Rhododendrons to droop, and curl their leaves when the temperature drops below 32 degrees.  And the colder it gets, the tighter the leaves curl.

 

So if your Rhodies or Azaleas seem sad, it could just be the weather.  They'll be better when it warms up.  Just like the rest of us!!!

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

And here she is, gorgeous as ever.  Everything else is sorta gray, but the peach trees are blooming.  I love seeing this!!!  It means we might have peaches this year.  Lots of ifs involved:  temperatures not too cold, bees to pollinate the blossoms,  and as bad as I hate to say this: no snow.  

 

We'll know by April if there will be peaches.  Then we just have to keep the deer and squirrels away from them.  

 

There's quite a bit of work involved, but, there's nothing as sweet as picking real peaches from my own trees.

 

I hope you are enjoying the early signs of spring.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!!

 

I'm just guessing, but I think this is another Indian Trail Tree, right here in our neighborhood!!

 

I wrote a nice article on Indian Trail Trees back on October 31, 2017.  No sense repeating myself;  just go to the archives and look for that date.  You can read some interesting info on these special trees.  There's even a link to a website about them.  Please go read it;  it's fascinating.

 

Then on November 2, 2017 we saw another one in Meeks Park, and I wrote about it too.  Great picture of that one.

 

Well, on my walk yesterday, I saw another one!!!  It's on Beaconhill, just past the Quinns' house.  It made me wonder:

Were these trees the guide for laying out the roads in Five Forks?  They seem to be located at some of the major turns in the roads.  Another question that came to mind:  Do hunters and mountain people still practice this, as a way to know where they are in the woods?  Got any ideas about Indian Trail Trees?  

 

I love discovering these trees.  Can't wait to find the next one.

 

HAPPY MARCH!!!

 

The other day we were in Blairsville, and saw this magnificent Japanese flowering quince in bloom.  It's just past the new courthouse, on the hospital road.  I just HAD to take her picture, to share with you.

 

People often prune quince bushes badly, making them look like bowling balls.  AAK!!!  This bush is about 8 feet tall, and 6 feet wide.  It is beautiful!!!  The branches are free, and it's blooming its head off.

 

Japanese flowering quince is Chaenomeles japonica. It is a deciduous shrub, and has monster thorns.  It also produces yellow apple-like fruits, which are edible.  But since they are so astringent, they don't taste good.  People do use them for making jams and jellies (involving LOTS of sugar.)  

 

Japanese flowering quince isn't grown for its edible fruits,  but for these beautiful early spring blooms.

 

I hope you see more signs of spring in your hikes and travels.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!