In the garden

The tree peony is a bit of a misnomer gets the “tree” part of its name because it’s a woody and does not die back at the end of the growing season. That allows this baby to eventually get 4 to 5 feet tall and about 3 feet wide. Part shade will keep it happy.

Here’s a close-up of a bloom of a tree peony called “Hanakisoi” that was originally imported from Japan.

For many people daffodils are the sign that spring has arrived.
For me, it’s white tulips.

“Tiny monsters” is one of my all-time favorite plant names. These geraniums — just planted a week ago — will make great ground cover on a slope that we got tired of mowing. Don’t worry about these little guys because they grow up fast!

This is the other side of the bank. These were planted last fall and only started growing about a month ago.

We live on a lot that’s about four-tenths of an acre and the back quarter we call “The Swamp” because a stream runs through it during heavy thunderstorms. Saturday was wet but we put this bald cyprus in the ground. It may not grow much for the first year or two but should add 1-2 feet every year until it eventually tops out at 5o to 70 feet.

And here’s the retaining wall that we are unstacking and rebuilding properly. After all the stone is moved, we’ll dig a trench, add pea gravel, and then start restacking. It’s about as much fun as it looks 🙂

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“Signs and Wonders” is now available at Amazon.com.