Tuesday, March 24, 2009

It's Alive! It's Alive!



I am so excited. Why all the excitement? Well my dead
Lenten Rose hellebore " Royal Heritage" is growing.



I thought it was dead. I told everyone it was dead. I even
tried to get a replacement, without success, for the poor dead
plant. Which turned out all right because I would be sending a
certain nursery money for a replacement had they sent one.
So you see why I am excited.
While doing some work in the flowerbeds yesterday I could
not believe my eyes to see that it was not dead but just now
starting to grow. It was my first attempt at trying one and
knowing my record for dead plants I had chalked it up as a
goner. Now I cannot wait to see what it will look like when it

blooms. I have seen all of your pictures of them but have never
saw the real plant. So that sure was a bright spot to my day.

Yesterday was spent getting some beds decorated up
with some of the garden decor I have gathered over the years.
Two roses were planted. One red Knockout had to be dug up
in the great back yard dig so it was put in a new spot. A replacement
for the "Double Delight" rose bush which had died came in the mail
so it was planted, and a relocation of the Razzmatazz coneflower
was made.
Also a new cheap arbor was put up to replace an old one which
had rusted through and broken. I replaced it with a cheap one
for this year in hopes that I better vinyl one will be in the budget
possibly next year. Cheap was the word for it because two prongs
broke from it while I was trying to get it down into the hard dry clay.
It might not have cost much but still as the saying goes "they
just don't make them like they use to" applied for that one.
Grass seed was sown for some new grass to replace the
torn up soil in the back yard after a good raking and picking up
of rocks, broken pieces of tile and sticks. So projects were
getting done and though tired it was wonderful to be outdoors
in the beautiful sunshine. We flowers need our sunshine you know :-)
I also put out a hummingbird feeder because some of you had
reported spotting them and after seeing my second butterfly
I wondered what they were eating so early. Maybe it will help
them if they cannot find anything else.



I noticed that everything is now really starting to grow around
here and with some rain coming in it will help everything.
Cannot believe that we are dry now with all of the rain, ice
and snow we had this winter. The March winds are drying out
the soil fast.

Some things that are really starting to grow now besides the
daffodils, hyacinths and tulips are:



Stella de Oro Lillies are starting to come up.



Stachy's Lanata "Lambs Ear" is getting wooly again.



Brunnera "Jack Frost" is getting its little heart shaped leaves.



Sedum "Neon"



Balloon Flowers are getting new growth.




And I do not remember planting a variegated leaf tulip.
I did not see a bud yet so it may be all foliage but it has
me scratching my head. Confusion is not something new
for me on most days though :-)





14 comments:

Tootsie said...

so glad you got such a wonderful surprise!!!! I love the photos of all the spring you are seeing. I can hardly wait!!!!

I do start all my own plants from seed in my greenhouse...otherwise I would not be able to afford my habit!!! lol

Becca's Dirt said...

I am excited too about your Hellebore Royal Heritage is growing. Can't wait to see pics when in bloom. I understand how excited you must be. I can't wait till I get one myself. Good luck with all the other pretties you have growing.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lona, that's great about your hellebore. They are pretty tough and yours seems to living up to that reputation. About your tulip with the white edge, I have noticed the mixed bags of tulips often have a couple of those. I don't know the names, but like the look.
Frances at Fairegarden

The Fern and Mossery said...

How exciting about your revived plant. Nature is mysterious in her powers.

Cathy S. said...

Don't ya just love spring? everything starts to pop out, the day light is longer. Glad your Hellebore survived!

Karen said...

Good news about your Hellebore - sometimes when they are young they do that, I like to think it is because they are so busy making wonderful roots that they forget to poke their heads above the soil!
K

Anonymous said...

There is nothing like the joy of seeing green on a plant we thought was dead. Love your baby brunnera leaves. Maybe your mystery tulip will bloom. If not the foliage is still nice.

Jennifer AKA keewee said...

This is a Whoo hoo! moment. I am glad your hellebore is still alive.

Anonymous said...

Yay. I love it when I think something is dead and then I find a sprig of it coming up afterall. I usually baby the heck out of it, trying to get it back to full size. I hope your hellebore does well for you. I want to add some of them to my garden this spring. You have lots of great spring growth coming in your garden Lona. Is it warm too? It was here for a while but now back to cold and windy.

Debra Howard said...

I do know how it feels to find a plant alive that you thought hadn't made it. It is fantabulous.
Debbie

Dirt Princess said...

Wow your daffodils are just coming up, and all of mine have died down ;(

Lona said...

Tootsie: Oh I wish I had a small green house.You have room then to sow all of the seeds for your beautiful beds. They are just gorgeous.

Becca: I hope if you get one it does not tease you like mine did :)

Frances: I am with you the foliage on the tulip is pretty even if it does not have a bloom.

The Fern and Mossery: Nature is sure a mystery to me most of the time it seems. Thanks for dropping by.

Cathy: Girl I was so excited to see those little ole leaves :)


Karen: Maybe that is why it was so late it was making roots. I hope it made a bunch :)

Grace: I hope the mystery tulip blooms too. The brunnera leaves are the cutest little things.

Keewee: LOL

Kathleen: I hope it does extremely well after teasing me like that.

Debbie; I get tired of losing plants so I was so glad to see it growing. Thanks for dropping by.

Dirt Princess: You are way ahead of us.Must be warmer in your area.Thanks for dropping by.

Anonymous said...

I've got to get myself a hellebore! I saw some pretty ones at Andersons, but they were so expensive. I'll keep looking. I've also been thinking about putting up my hummingbird feeder. One of my customers told me to put it up in April, so I will soon.

Corner Gardener Sue said...

It looks like our plants are growing around the same rate. I'm happy for you that your hellebore is greening up. Hopefully, I'll remember that for mine next year. It's supposed to get down to 24 tonight. I covered my newly planted hellebore with a large bowl. It didn't look to be affected by the other night's 29.

Your daffodils are pretty!