Random Garden Tidbits {and Fertilizer Friday a day late}

The new container in the garden. It needs to be in a bigger pot but that will have to come another day. This is what I had and it ended up more cramped than I expected. White Dianthus, Primrose, and Creeping Jenny. Please ignore the watering can and the weeds we have been a little busy! :)

The Magnolia Bed. Everything is just starting to wake up there. Can't wait to see it in a month or so!

Can you help me identify this plant? I know it is an azalea of some kind but the blooms don't look like any I have ever seen. None of the blooms are fully open yet but I will update once they do.

The story about where it came from: My husband worked for two summers after we got married doing landscaping with a friend. At a historic home in Mobile they were ripping up all the fabulous old plants that had been there for who knew how long and putting in boring albeit easy to maintain shrubs. They were going to toss six old Azaleas out but my husband asked if he could take five and his friend took home the other one.

Matthew surprised me with five of these beauties and since I hadn't planned for them they just kind of got popped in wherever I could find a spot for them. They have gotten moved two or three times each and have never even blinked. One of them did get chewed on by our dog and we had to trim it down majorly this year but the rest are doing great. I would love it if you could help me I.D. this precious plant!

One of the mystery azalea buds.

I am linking up with Tootise!

 

Rainy Week

It has rained every day this week and is supposed to rain through Saturday so I have been darting into the garden in between (and sometimes during) the showers. Most of what is blooming is looking a little tattered and beat up from the rain but here is just a peek at a couple of the things blooming right now.

Daffodil 'Spring Cheer' with our grey sky

Same set of blooms just a different angle. I told you the other day that one of the things I don't like about this particular Daffodil is that it droops as soon as it gets more than a few blooms on it, here it is starting to get droopy on me! 

Mystery Plant: Revealed

Here is my new baby! 

Pieris japonica 'Mountain Snow'

I love it! I first saw this plant at the Mobile Botanical Gardens a while back and knew I had to have it. My hubby finally let me get one for our mostly shady bed. I can't wait to see it full of blooms in a week or so!!!

The blooms us close:

According to the information that came with the plant these are "pendulous panicles of white blooms." Great, right?

New Followers

Thank you to all the new visitors here at The Bama Gardener! It is so exciting to have all of you welcome me to blog-land! We have had busy couple days around here and I will be posting some photos soon of the new shrub that I convinced the hubby to bring home Saturday!! I can't wait. Do you want to guess?

 Evergreen, white blooms, gets about 4 feet tall, part sun/shade...

What's Blooming?

Well, I am glad you asked! Right now there isn't a ton blooming because most of what I have planted right now is either foliage, blooms in summer, or didn't come back this spring (curse you tulips). 

I do have some Daffodils that I am crazy about. They are called "Spring Cheer" and I have to say they might be one of the cheeriest parts of our Spring garden! They have the prettiest most delicate light yellow blooms.This particular plant will be even prettier in a couple days when the rest of the blooms open up. Unfortunately, at that point it will be so heavy it will start drooping. Oh well.

 This is the same plant just from a different angle. These guys live in the Magnolia Bed in the front yard. They are beautiful up close but because the blooms are so tiny they don't make much impact from far away.

In one of the containers right by my front door we have some bright primroses that greet us whenever we step out. This is the first time I have had primroses and I love them!

First Two Residents

 Foxtail Fern- Our first addition to the Cedar Bed in our backyard which is just getting started. It is the only shaded area in our yard and I can't wait explore the wide world of shade loving plants!

 Close up of the Foxtail Fern. I love the color and texture of this plant.

 Mystery Hydrangea that we bought at a nearby flea market this past weekend. I loved the price and can't wait to see what it looks like in bloom. Another new addition to the Cedar Bed

Close up of our Mystery Hydrangea.

Starting Seeds

I am starting seeds for the first time this year and so far it has been a success. I don't have any fancy grow lights or any expensive set ups for starting the seeds. They hang out on a chest in the dining room in front of a window. The main seeds I am trying to start are the herbs for the garden. 

We are starting; Flat Leaf Parsley, Thyme, Chives, and Sweet Basil. We planted the seeds February 11th and...

This is what I woke up to on the 17th and this...

Is what we woke up to this morning! I can't wait to see these growing in the garden soon!