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Annie in Austin
Welcome! As "Annie in Austin" I blog about gardening in Austin, TX with occasional looks back at our former gardens in Illinois. My husband Philo & I also make videos - some use garden images as background for my original songs, some capture Austin events & sometimes we share videos of birds in our garden. Come talk about gardens, movies, music, genealogy and Austin at the Transplantable Rose and listen to my original songs on YouTube. For an overview read Three Gardens, Twenty Years. Unless noted, these words and photos are my copyrighted work.
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Thursday, March 15, 2007

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for March

Carol of May Dreams Gardens has asked us to post what’s in bloom today, and thank heaven one of the previous owners planted spiraea in this yard.
The Texas Redbud is a sapling and the Texas Mountain Laurel is a tiny shrub, both displaying a few barely swelling buds, but the Spiraea has been here awhile, giving a little substance to the back border, with a few Thalia daffodils and some grape hyacinth.

The small Forest Pansy Redbud is now fully open.
And thank you, Carol for letting us post buds, or there would only be photos of the same Camellia, Coral Honeysuckle, Carolina Jessamine, and Meyer’s Lemon that appeared here recently.
This Loropetalum has been refreshed by the rain, and is ready to open.
Sometimes it's called Chinese Fringe Flower and I've also heard it called Raspberry Razzle Dazzle.
Under any name, I'm glad to have it.


Many Iris stalks are extended, with the petals just beginning to peek through.
These passalongs look pale blue now, but the flowers will be white. The bud at far left will bloom a fragrant light orange.

Finally, here’s a reason to mow high and to avoid weedkillers on the lawn – a little native Ten-petalled Anemone that appears early in spring

26 comments:

  1. Annie,

    How lovely that little 10 petalled Anemone in your lawn, real little gem. And your Irises are looking very promising indeed.

    Your Texas Redbud is small yet though very pretty and hurray for the Spirea. I have them too but will have to wait a month or two before they start flowering for me.

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  2. Annie-so many good pics!
    I bet that redbud is awesome when all leafed out!!

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  3. Looks like things are gearing up..!

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  4. Thanks for identifying the ten-petalled anemone. One bloomed in my lawn (I won't call it grass because there isn't any) on March 9th and I've been meaning to look it up. Now I don't have to.

    Last year you said my post about the spiraea encouranged you to do something with yours (I forget what--prune it? divide it?). Well I wish you'd come fix mine. It seems to be on its last legs and I don't see a flower on it.

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  5. Love the Loropetalum! Right now in March, I'm envying all the gardeners in warmer places but I think this will change in July. Is Texas redbud very different from our Eastern redbud?

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  6. I love the little anemone! How sweet. I wish my irises were that far along - but there not there yet. They're one of my favorites. Isn't it nice that it's spring...again?

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  7. Your Iris look spectacular... as does your whole garden.

    No flowers in Illinois yet. Snow forecast for this weekend.

    Hank

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  8. Yolanda Elizabet and Sissy, the redbud blooming in the photo is the 'Forest Pansy', and the leaves open dark purple, gradually turning green. It gets some shade from a liveoak- can't take full sun. The Texas Redbud hasn't opened a single bud yet.

    Chuck B, you can almost hear the photosynthesis happening today! We had over three inches of rain and the sun came out this afternoon.

    MSinclairStevens, I learned a lot about gardening from your blog - but found Valerie's Garden Bits a real help for identification.
    All I did to this spiraea was cut it down when we first moved in. The Divas of the Dirt transplanted three others, and two others died soon after we came. The one I tried to save last year kept declining until it was down to one stick. It didn't wake up this spring. All three of the deceased Spiraea were along the SW lot line - something about the soil there? I still don't know.

    Entangled, this afternoon those Loropetalum buds are opening into leaves, rather than flowers, which is actually a good thing!

    The Texas Redbud is a variety of the Eastern Redbud, with different leaves.

    Pam, we'll just have to hope we really are into spring, so these iris don't freeze. It does happen - last year we had a light frost on March 25th, enough to whiten roofs, but no real damage.

    County Clerk, it has to be very hard for people like you and Sissy who are from warmer climates. I was born in Illinois, so the late arrival of the flowers was normal for most of my life. I'm sorry to hear about more snow for you.

    Annie

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  9. I love when little flowers pop up in the lawn, I get some chamomile blooms in my lawn and then when you mow over them, it smells like apples.

    Buds do give us hope, don't they?

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  10. I love anemones - I introduces them to my garden two years ago - they look great in front of the sun drops and lambs ear - great contrasts. Alas, but I'm still waiting for the snow to melt and we're to get another 8" tomorrow night.

    Annie - is the butterfly bush something that grows in your area? I've had mine for four years now and every summer it's covered with butterflies.

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  11. Your garden is looking great. I Passed on the anemones in the fall and now I wish I hadn't!

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  12. Nice spirea. And I love even the name of the Forest Pansy redbud. Please post a photo of the purplish leaves when they appear.

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  13. Oh, how I'd love to walk through your garden. Thanks for the view!

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  14. it was nice to see all the flowers. Up where I live in Oregon, we do have daffodils blooming but everything else is in the future.

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  15. You were concerned that your redbud Forest Pansy was not thriving but it sure put out a lot of flowers for such a small tree! I have heard of the Lorepetalum but have never seen one. Thanks for posting a picture of it. Please post another when it blooms or are the pink parts the flowers?. The ten-petaled anemone is a gem. I had to look it up and it's aka Anemone berlandieri Pritz, tenpetal thimbleweed and Anemone decapetala. So many names for one plant.

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  16. Hi Annie, we finalized on the house today and I went out and took a ton of photos of the yard - just for you. Take a look.

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  17. Is that Bridal Wreath Spiraea? I saw some in bloom at Lewis Ginter last night and always think it is so pretty in spring!

    I have a loropetalum but it's way behind yours! I think it doesn't really like the cold here. I first saw some in SC a few years ago...they were so jubilant in bloom...like a party going on!...that I just had to have one! And that color!

    Would you believe a little while ago we had hail?? I guess it was kinda a sleety rain, but there were those little distinct balls bouncing around. March!

    I've enjoyed seeing what's going on where you are! It's so fun to get a peek into gardens without even putting on my shoes!

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  18. Carol, I bought a little pot of Roman chamomile, but didn't plant it yet. Supposedly the summer heat kills it so it doesn't get too rampant, but I've heard that story before!

    21 Charles Street this is a really tiny anemone, but beautiful. I've moved some out of traffic areas, but they'd rather be in the grass than in a bed. I'm afraid to look at the weather page for your area!
    I have a 'Black Prince' Butterfly bush, planted last May. It didn't do much last year, but is looking more established now.

    Apple, these are wildflowers, but I also planted some of the cultivated ones, but not one flower from them. Maybe next spring for both of us? [You will get spring Apple, but you might have to start clapping and saying "I believe", like in Peter Pan.]

    Pam/Digging, I can only take credit for pruning it and watering it in drought... someone else planted it. I wanted a 'Forest Pansy' since they first were shown on the Victory Garden, but zone 6 was too tender for Illinois. I'll try to remember about the leaves.

    Mary, I'd like to go on a bird stroll with you, too.

    Welcome, Rain, thank you for stopping by. When we are all hot and crispy, I'll need a little Oregon!

    Ki, I wasn't worried about the tree's survival, but we had redbuds at the last house, too, and in some years we lost almost every single flower bud from late freezes. This one lost about a third of them. Leaves are opening on the Loropetalum, not sure if flowers are inside or not. This was new to me when it was planted less than 2 years ago, so I don't know it well. Henry Mitchell made me want it.

    Austin Girl, your house is going to be spectacular and I envy you the mature Mountain Laurel. But oh boy, do you have a lot of weeds!

    Gotta Garden, there are 4 spiraea that were here in July 2004 when we came. Two are blooming now, and my guess is they are either Spiraea cantoniensis or Spiraea lanceolata. The other two are just budding and have a slightly rounded leaf. In my mind I just think of both kinds as Bridal Wreath whether it's technically correct or not!

    Thank you everyone - it's been fun looking at all the other gardens .

    Annie

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  19. I thought I left a comment here yesterday. First my eyes, now my mind is going.
    Are the leaves to the right of the ten petalled anemone columbine? Or are those the leaves of the anemone?
    Your pictures are beautiful.

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  20. Hi Annie -- thanks for the comment on my blog. I've been lurking on yours, as well as other Austin garden blogs for a bit. It's inspired me to get out there in our yard and keep going. We've been in the house less than two years, and are turning a St. Augustine yard into something both messier and more colorful. I'm still a novice, but it's been fun. As for the bulbine, we planted it in the fall and it's gone gangbusters. I have no explanation for why. --Vive

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  21. Hi Chigiy- the leaves are from the anemone. Columbine is in the same family and their leaves do look similar. Can you see the dichondra at lower left? That can give you an idea of how petite this anemone is!

    Welcome fellow Austin-garden blogger Vive - I'm so glad you delurked but can't believe you got that vegetable garden to look so wonderful so quickly. And your butterflies surely enjoy the 'messier and more colorful garden', too.

    Annie

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  22. Is that columbine foliage near the anemone? Or is it some lusty Texas lawn weed?

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  23. I love the colour of the Lorpetalum ... that's the best thing about reading blogs way, way south of where I live. There is such an incredible variety of shrubs and plants that I could never grow here.

    Thanks for sharing your garden - I have added it to my blog links so that I can come by and check out what's growing!

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  24. Everything looks lovely. It looks like spring has made it to Austin.

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  25. Kathy - I made a new post about that anemone!

    Kate, thank you so much for coming. Once spring arrives you'll have plants that we can't grow, like tulips, peonies and lilacs, so we'll be envying you.

    Gary, it feels pretty solid right now, but I'm still watching the pecan twigs. Once those leaf buds swell, spring is really here.

    Annie

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  26. Annie, I read this post a while back but apparently didn't leave a comment. Perhaps I read it in Bloglines on a night I was too tired to leave comments. Anyway, the Loropetalum is so delicate! It's new to me. It's nice to see a "real" redbud (chuckling) and your pretty white spiraea. I see your beautiful iris are blooming further up the page :) The little anemone is so sweet, and what a nice link you've given us. Thank you!

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A comment from you is like chocolate - maybe I could live without it, but life is more fun with it. I'll try to answer. If someone else's comment piques your interest, please feel free to talk among yourselves.