This week in the garden - #56

Whew! What a week! The beginning of "real" spring brought an exceptionally busy and productive week for this gardener.

We did manage to get all the new beds around the patio installed and some of the planting done. I still need to make another run to the nursery to purchase a few more plants, but I have bought several new ones already and have moved others from other beds around the garden so it is beginning to shape up. Another week of planting and then mulching and maybe it'll be ready for public viewing, just in time for my husband's birthday celebration on Easter Sunday!

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There are lots and lots of blooms around the garden this week.

This pot of colorful gerberas brightens the little sitting area near the front door of our house.

 Among the plants that I added this week were some dwarf  'Mystic Spires' salvias.

 In the wildflower bed, the bluebonnets and some pink bonnets are still blooming profusely.

Speaking of wildflowers, a stand of Philadelphia fleabane has seeded itself in my yard from somewhere. Pretty little flower.

Along the veggie garden fence, the crossvine just keeps putting out more flowers.

And in the veggie garden, the winter greens have mostly bolted now and have put out great quantities of these yellow flowers which the bees absolutely love. Soon, I'll have to pull them out in order to plant my spring garden, but I'll let the bees have them for a few days.

The redbud tree is now in full and glorious bloom - another favorite of bees.

  The white yarrow continues its bloom.

The blossoms of my little mystery allium have now opened all the way. It really is a pretty little thing.

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Here are a few of the plants I've added to the new patio beds this week.

This is a banana shrub ( Michellia fuscata). Its interesting little flowers really do smell like bananas.

Here's a close-up of one of those flowers.

Here's a view of the pretty blossoms of the mandevilla vine that I added.

And this is 'Little Henry' Sweetspire (Itea virginiana).

This is one of 'Little Henry's' buds. When fully opened, it will look like a big white fuzzy caterpillar.

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 On the patio, this red kalanchoe blooms in a pot.

Among the several plants that I added to the garden this week were some fully grown milkweed. My old plants have just put up their first green shoots of spring, not sufficient to feed any hungry caterpillars that visiting Monarchs might produce, so I added three of these big, bushy, healthy-looking plants that I found at a local garden center.

The milkweed won't help this Black Swallowtail. I need to add some members of the parsley family for them.

Let's end this week's roundup with a view of  'Old Blush' rose, still in full bloom along the back fence after two months.

I hope all of your plants are in "blooming" health this week and that you are, too. Happy gardening!