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'Indigo Spires' sage, Comon Grackle, Garden Bloggers, Germany in 1909, Louisiana Iris, Madam Plantier rose, Ornamental red cabbage, Ravenscourt Landscaping & Design LLC, Sweet Alyssum, Veilchenblau
Every morning as I sip my glass of warm water with Bragg’s apple cider vinegar and cinnamon, I indulge myself by reading blogs. In case you are interested it is a tonic I learned about from Howard Garrett also know as the “Dirt Doctor”, he said he hadn’t had a cold in all the years he has been drinking it. I have been doing it for 2 years and viola’ no colds!
I love sitting here seeing flowers in my feed, learning about gardening and seeing what is going on in other parts of the world via bloggers! Not all the blogs are garden blogs. For me this is the best way to get the news, more real, more personal, often uplifting and very informative and some time tragic as they speak on environmental issues and thing that you would miss on the T.V. news or online new services.
I have heard first hand about the cold winters across the U.S., Canada and in U.K. and Europe. I can relate because we actually had a cold winter too, but I am in Houston Zone 9a. I am sure most, from the rest of the country, would have found it quite mild. Many plants in Houston didn’t. Most will coming back and May will be lovely. The cold did spur on the roses and azaleas and they have been gorgeous this spring. We also got a lot of rain and all report are that our drought is nearly over.
On to flowers in my garden!
I love purple blooms!
We have had blooms since the daffodils came up in February. The snow drops have come and gone. The roses and azaleas were blooming by the 1st of spring. Now it is the Louisiana Irises turn. I truly treasure their stately stalks and lovely ruffled blooms.
Louisiana Iris
Here is a tour from photo’s I took yesterday and this morning! I will start with one of my favorite roses The Veilchenblau rose. I bought it at least 10 years ago after I put up a wrought iron fence to surround my front garden. I had the idea to do a garden where the flowers were all in shades of red, white and blue to go with my pale blue-gray house, with its cream and burgundy trim. This year I have added Mexican Mint marigold and climbing nasturtiums, along with a hedge of citrus trees. More about all that another day.
‘Veilchenblau’ is a hybrid multiflora rose cultivar that was bred in Germany in 1909. Other names include ‘Blue Rambler’, ‘Blue Rosalie’ and ‘Violet Blue’. The cultivar is a near-thornless climber, growing from 3 to 6 metres in height. – Wikipedia
‘Indigo Spires’ sage is a vigorous hybrid prized for its 12- to 15-inch-long, twisting spikes of dark violet flowers. It is a non-stop bloomer from early summer through fall.
The birds have been adding to the garden too and I don’t have the heart to pull them out even if they are not part of the plan : )
While I was taking pictures this Grackle was chiding me from his perch in the Crape myrtle. I was disturbing his breakfast!
The Sweet Alyssum and Ornamental red cabbage are still going strong and have looked lovely for months now.
The Madam Plantier rose that grows like a weed across my entrance arbor. She heralds in spring each year and her scent is so lovely and subtle as you pass through the gate.
“A most attractive rose that is an interesting cross between an Alba and a Noisette. The medium-sized flowers are in the form of beautiful white pompons. They are held in large clusters and produced in great profusion on long, graceful, almost thornless growth. Each flower has many petals perfectly arranged around a small, green, central eye. There is a sweet and powerful fragrance which fills the air. ‘Mme. Plantier’ has a graceful, sprawling, mounded habit, with pale green leaves. Grown as a climber, the billowing flowers make a wonderful sight. It is a very healthy, tough and reliable variety. (Plantier 1835). 5 x 5ft or 9ft as a climber.” – David Austin Roses
The first blooms on the saliva greggi.
This little roses whose name I have long forgotten just bloomed this week. It only blooms once a year and the flower is literately the size of the end of your pinky.
Happy Gardening!
“See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.” The Songs of Solomon 2:11-13
Visit May Dreams Gardens to see what’s blooming in other gardens around the world on this date.
Ravenscourt Gardens 
I am enchanted with that Veilchenblau rose. Thanks for sharing. You are always welcom in my garden.
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