Today's harvest

It's broccoli day everyday right now. And the cilantro from seed just started to take off this past week; now it wants to bloom. These sunny 80+ degree days are taking us right into the next season a little faster than I'd like. Ah, well, just roll with it, right?

Now, what to prepare with these non-complementary ingredients...

My iris finally bloomed!

In fall of 2009 I picked up some iris bulbs from Boggy Creek Farms along with my vegetables. I wasn't sure where to put them in the landscape, so I just threw them in the backyard 'test garden' bed. This morning, for the very first time, one of them bloomed. I knew it was going to be apricot in color, but it's so much more beautiful and exotic than I expected. What a nice surprise.

And here's the iris abstracted:

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: March 2011

In the backyard, my neighbor's pear tree ("shared" blooms) against the backdrop of my cottonwood; last of the redbud flowers; arugula; geranium; and spring groundcover looking cheery while I put off mowing.





Mountain laurels, freesia, and autumn sage in the front yard.



In the house, a decaying flower arrangement catches the morning light; christmas cactus trying to go for another round; and cut freesia bloom in an "elegant" apple juice vase.

For more on what's blooming around the world today, check out Garden Blogger's Bloom Day hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

A fan of freesia

Last fall I planted the double white and double blue (actually more like fuschia) freesia shown here.

I first picked up a pack of mixed freesia bulbs as an impulse purchase from Lowe's about 7 years ago. This was my first year of gardening in the ground, and I had never planted bulbs before. Or much of anything besides herbs in pots. This is the first spring that those original bulbs (a mix of single red, yellow, purple, and white) haven't produced blooms, mostly due to a freeze in February the killed the foliage. They may still bounce back.

When I look at gardens around Austin, I always wonder: why don't more people plant freesia? It's low-maintenance (sometimes I remember to add a little bone meal or compost to the soil, but it still blooms if I forget) and has low water needs. It likes our winters, as long as we don't dip into the 20's for an extended period of time (rare here). A single bloom stalk in a vase makes a dramatic presentation and lasts for days. Plus, the scent is amazing: clean and floral, but not overpowering. Maybe it's just my kind of flower, but I highly recommend planting a few.

Garden scenes from the weekend

Faux-hydrangea

One of the mutant bloom stalks on my mountain laurel is in full bloom. It was creeping me out before, but now it's gorgeous. More like a hydrangea than like the single stalks (below).

Spring Forward

Every day there's a new discovery in the garden. This morning I noticed that one of the mutant bloom stalks on the mountain laurel was loaded with buds.

The freesia I planted last fall are close to blooming (either double whites or double blues)

My redbud tree is attracting its fair share of bees


And every year I mean to drive around the neighborhood with my camera and take photos while all the spring-blooming trees and shrubs and bulbs are making life so beautiful. This is the first time I've actually done it.