Spring Pictures

It was so nice to have the day off today. I got up bright and early and headed outside to take pictures of my spring blooms. It was quite windy so the pictures weren't crisp and clear but I had fun playing with them tonight anyway. The pink rose picture is from my new Knock Out rose, I desaturated the color and framed it.

This picture of the tulips was blurry so I used the Adobe watercolor effect on it. I don't usually use these features and was just playing around and trying something different.

The tulips were beautiful this morning adorned with rain drops.

Another flowering crabapple in full bloom today.



By the time I finished my errands and got around to gardening today, the weather was not the greatest. It was in the forties with wind gust of around 30-35 m.p.h. It was cold, but I was desperate to get some things planted and just to be outside near all of these gorgeous blooms. The pansies that I planted in the fall are really starting to bounce back now. I love this blue one.

I planted several of the impatiens that were grown from seed in the front flower beds, and I planted the calibrachoa in the front porch containers with some trailing vinca vines.



All but one of the lantana plants are now in containers. I didn't find the pink multi-colored one I really wanted, but the gold one performed well last year and the butterflies like it just as well.


I also planted the pink Knock Out rose, the red salvia and did a bit of weeding.
I don't have to go in to work again until later in the week, I hope the weather will be nice so I can get the rest of the stuff planted and do a considerable amount of weeding and edging.


The 'Karen' azalea is just beginning to bloom. I really miss the azaleas in Alabama during spring and was thrilled to find this one last year. It survived the winter and has lots of buds! Now, it really feels like spring to this southern gal!

A chipping sparrow gathering nesting material this morning. I haven't seen the bluebirds in several days so they must have chosen another place to nest.

Saturday Evening Post

The petunias that I grew from seed are doing well and most of them are blooming now. We are very pleased with the wall around the patio; I wish we had thought to do it sooner. It gives it more of a enclosed feeling and with the evergreens and container plantings we have more privacy.

There is nothing quite like spring in Tuscaloosa, Alabama when all of the azaleas are in bloom. I don't see many azaleas here, and that is what I miss the most from my garden back home. It makes me very homesick every spring when my mom tells me how pretty her azaleas are, especially while we are still getting snow. I have been seeing these beautiful azaleas lately and decided that I had to have one for my garden here. My soil is probably too alkaline but I hope that I can keep it alive with some Miracid or something similar.