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Drought didn’t make it to my spring party

Ready or not, here I come with the pruners!  It’s safe now to prune evergreens, Texas sage (cenizo), thryallis, and shrimp plants like these.

Shrimp plant winter (c) Linda LehmusvirtaShrimp plant winter (c)Linda Lehmusvirta
I’ll cut them down to a foot or so to encourage fluffy growth.  Since the thryallis didn’t freeze completely, I’ll chop it back a few feet, and simply tip my cenizo.

Eventually, I’ll prune these Gomphrena ‘Grapes’ against the Swiss chard. I’ll wait a bit, since it’s quite unusual to see them blooming this time of year.

Swiss chard and Gomphrena grapes (c) Linda Lehmusvirta

It’s hard to focus, though, since I flit from one little (or big) discovery to the next. The first Freesia laxa showed up against soft leaf yucca (Yucca recurvifolia).

Freesia laxa with soft leaf yucca (c) Linda Lehmusvirta

First poppies!

Red poppy (c)Linda Lehmusvirta

They are HUGE. I’ve actually been pulling some out before they strangled everyone underneath.

Poppy with spiderworts (c)Linda Lehmusvirta

I’ve always wanted native perennial Widow’s tears (Commelina erecta). Not sure how I came by these, but now I’ve got their charm.

Widow's tears Commelina erecta (c) Linda Lehmusvirta

They do spread like nuts, so things are getting a tad covered there, too. It’s hard to pull things up, though, since it’s such a luxury to see such abundance.

Native spiderworts (Tradescantia gigantea) are in gear, too, here with candytuft (Iberis sempervirens), a non-native, but very drought tough in the right spot.

Spiderwort with candytuft (c) Linda Lehmusvirta
Spiraea may be an old-fashioned shrub, but despite the drought, I think this is the best performance yet.

Spiraea (c) Linda Lehmusvirta Spiraea flowers (c) Linda Lehmusvirta

Climbing Cecile Brunner defied drought, too.

Cecile Brunner rose (c) Linda Lehmusvirta
The ultimate drought winner is Lady Banks rose, out of range for me to drag the hose, since I’m so lazy.

Lady Banks rose (c) Linda Lehmusvirta
Viewer picture of the week: Jeff Goodwin’s young redbud (Cercis canadensis var. texensis ‘Oklahoma’) that defied the drought, too! Of course, we all know that young trees need to be watered, and Jeff did a good job.

Oklahoma redbud (c) Jeff Goodwin
I sure hope that 2012 isn’t a repeat of the past two years, but if so, my garden is tougher than my spirit when the hot, dry days drag on and on. I tip my garden hat to them with respect, admiration, and fondness for new and old friends.

Until next week, Linda

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