Mary Mary Quite Contrary-how does your garden grow?

I’ll admit I’m a little quirky. I name my flowers. It’s the best way for me to keep up with them.

This rose bush is Jamie. It’s very old, older than Jamie. It’s been enjoying a new home and loving the additional sunshine it’s been getting since it was moved. In the background you can see a huge rose bush (Skylar)  You can see my garden chairs in the background that were waiting for their spring annuals.

This is the newest member of the family. The clematis on the top left is very pretty, but it only blooms in the Spring. I wanted a summer to fall bloomer, so I recently got the new one on the right and planted it with the larger one. (I actually haven’t named this one yet)

These hens & chicks don’t have a name, but I suppose I should call them Gertrude. They are the offspring of my Nana’s plants from years ago.

Meet Sam. This is a tropical hibiscus that I’ve had for about 4 years. It belonged to my friend’s mom. (Deloris, but nicknamed Sam)  It hangs out in the house in the fall and winter. It was time to give it some fresh soil this Spring. I love that it has several trunks. Each trunk blooms a different flower.

This is a calla lily. I don’t think it sprouted last year. I was surprised when I mowed last week, and saw it looking so happy! When I weeded and mowed in the Spring,  I looked for it, but it was nowhere to be found. It was a Mother’s Day gift several years ago.

This is the rose bush that I mentioned earlier… Skylar. While I was teaching, one of my students gave me a gift card at the end of the school year. I bought this Scarlet Rose Bush, and named it after that little girl.

I of course don’t name my annuals. lol   My flower of choice this year is Wave Petunias.

I have several of them hanging out in the front yard.

These are the peonies Jamie and Andy gave me for Mother’s day this year. The blooms have faded, but they are doing really well. There are three, and the are named, jamie, andy and lucy.

Do you say lilac  or liloc? I say lilac.    this is the offspring of a mother plant I’ve had for years. The mother plant got sick, and is now much smaller than this one. It bloomed early in the spring and smelled wonderful!

This tree makes my heart sing. It sprouted from a seed from a tree in my front yard. It grew right on the fence where it was protected from the lawn mower. It was moved to this spot in the Spring of 12 with so few roots. It was really chopped at by some helpful neighbors when some ugly bushes were dug up. I can’t believe it actually lived through it all. I babied it all last summer, making sure it got enough water. It now towers over the gutters. It reminds me of the song Honey… an oldie but a goody.

This rose is called curby. While my friend Cathy and I were cleaning houses, I got this from one of those houses, a curb find.   It was doing really well in the early Spring, (left) but these days, it’s not so happy. (right)

I took down my tipsy pots this year. I left the largest one in place, and planted a wave petunia.

It’s hard to see, but this is another sprout from one of my pear trees. I’m saving it for Jamie if she wants it, if not, I’ll dig it up and give it to someone else. I just don’t have the heart to get rid of a perfectly good sapling.

These are some lilies that jamie gave me 2 years ago for Mother’s Day.

Last but not least, is Mae, a dwarf schefflera. I actually got this when my mom passed away over 20 years ago. It’s really the only house plant I’ve had for years. It sort of just hangs out in the house when it’s cold. As soon as the weather warms I put it outside, and it grows the best it can.

That’s everything except the 6 or so hardy hibiscus plants I have. They are just now about 2 feet tall, and don’t have any buds on them yet. Look for an updated post in about 6 weeks, showing all the growth.

It sure does take a lot of time keeping up with all these plants. I enjoy it, but honestly I’d rather be building a bench!

mary mary quite contrary – How does YOUR garden grow? Do you name your plants?

gail

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