March On!

Is it the time of life or is it time marching on?  It seems one species of flowers comes and goes in a week's time.  It's far too soon to have soaked up all the beauty of the moment.  The good news is I have a succession of plants that provide flowers almost continually.

I truly feel bad when a beautiful flowering plant has finally given up it's last bloom for the season.  But, as I mournfully glance back another flower has opened and my mood turns to excitement.

How do you manage to have something beautiful blooming continually you ask?  Not by reading catalogs, not by what's blooming at the nursery - it's by observing what's blooming in your neck of the woods.

On your way to the grocery, do you always notice the home with apple trees blooming.  As you pick up the kids from school, does that lilac on Main Street always bring an "OOOooo" to your lips?  As you are encased in your air conditioning in August, do you marvel at the purple roadside asters?  These are the indications of what make up a landscape for all seasons.

We often see plants advertised as "blooms until frost" and a few perennials actually do, although not as stunning as the first bonanza.

Having continuous blooms will entail using blooming trees and bushes.  I try to have perennials blooming all year but in some cases only an annual can fill in the gap.   Spend a year writing down what flowering plants you love and come next year, you'll have a list of plants that will insure a beautiful yard from spring through fall.

Right now it's pretty dizzy around here with everything that's blooming.  LOVIN' it!!