Azalea Time

Azalea 'Delaware Valley White'

It's been so hot here the past few days, reaching almost 90 degrees yesterday, although today is much cooler and pleasant. I can't remember the last time we had rain, and the plants are starting to show it. So much is blooming, but it isn't going to last if we don't get some rain. We have been doing a lot of work in the yard the past few weekends, mainly spreading mulch around the back and side gardens, and I have been working to clear out a lot of weedy vines that were growing along the fence. My neighbor next door doesn't do any yard work and so the weeds growing on their side of the fence make their way over to mine. What to do? I'm tempted of course to sneak over into their yard and cut things down (their weeds have turned into trees by now), but the yard police won't let me do that, so instead I get on a ladder and cut things off at fence level, which probably only forces these weeds to grow even stronger. Sigh.

Azalea

This is azalea time in Virginia, and while I don't have a lot of azaleas, I do have some and when they are blooming, I wish I had more. I love when people have waves of azaleas, all shades of pink, purple, lavender together. My white ones are beautiful right now, because they are such a pure, pure white. My original plan was to have a "white garden" in this area, as I planted them under a styrax japonica tree, which has little white bell-like flowers in late spring, and also planted white daffodils and probably some other white perennials. Well, 20 years later the tree is still there and the white azaleas have totally overtaken everything else white I planted there. But when they are blooming, it's beautiful.

Azalea 'Mother's Day'

The brunnera is blooming right now, too, and also the new clematis 'Nelly Moser' that I planted just last summer. It's so strange to see clematis blooming already. These plants will probably be crispy memories by July. I am on space shuttle alert this morning--I will be scanning the skies shortly with my camera as the Discovery is supposed to land at Dulles around 10:30 this morning, and it's possible I will be able to see it from my yard. Brooks is going downtown to see it as it flies over D.C. and the National Mall, so hopefully one of us will get a picture. 

Brunnera

Clematis 'Nelly Moser'