Pansies...or Begonias??

I am having a gardening dilemma. Late every fall, I plant pansies in the front. Usually in back as well, but this year I am sticking with my perennials and leaving the beds in back as they are. But I will take advantage of the great east sun that hits the beds in front, and plant pansies for that beautiful color and wonderful scent that will last into early spring. So..pansies are planted on either side of the porch.. and in containers on the porch.. but my plan to plant them across the front is being disrupted this year..











..because..
the begonias are beautiful! We have just not had any really cold weather, so these pretties are looking healthy and happy! My plan for this day after Thanksgiving was to go buy the rest of the yellow flowers for the front-and finish out the bed.
But seriously-could you pull these up when they looked like this? Bet not-and neither can I! And, when you look at our house from the street, the red begonias look so great along with the yellow pansies. It's Spring.. in Texas..in November! So, what else could I do today. I could get out my Christmas decorations..but I just want to put out some bunnies! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Back in the yard - Class is over!!

Last Monday was the last day of Master Gardener classes--yahoo! However..we were given the take home exam which included 8 chapters of about 50 questions in each one. So I bet you can guess how I spent last week. I closed myself up and worked on the exam for 2 days straight. But I can happily say that the exam is finished, I will turn it in tomorrow. After one year of internship (volunteering 72 hours in MG projects), I will graduate and be an official "Master Gardener." Whew!
While I was busy with school, summer turned into fall and I realized this weekend that my little garden was in desperate need of attention. The first thing I did was clear out the old wash tub and plant 3 different kinds of kale with a few pansies tucked in.
The Mexican Mint Marigold started to bloom so it will stay where it is for a while. It dies back in winter so I may need to plant a few pansies to cover it when that happens. Note to self: need to cut this plant back in July--it got rather leggy this year.
All the seeds I planted are coming up nicely--well... we will talk about this later. There are a few TOO many seeds coming up nicely (that are not bluebonnets!)
My main area of concern were the beds along each side of the flagstone walkway, and around the the pond. The pond beds were just cleaned out and got some nice new mulch for winter. The flagstone beds were totally cleaned out and planted with pansies. I also added a few snapdragons to this bed. I have always wanted to try them, and seeing some healthy looking plants at Home Depot for a dollar-well, this seemed like the right time.
I added pansies to both sides of the walkway. These beds house daffodils and tulips down deep in the ground, so it's nice to have something to plant on top. When the bulbs start to pop up, the pansies will not get in the way-they just add more spring color to the show. Ummm, just the thought of that spring flower show makes me smile!
Have you heard of the new cascading pansies? I read about them a few weeks ago in the paper and decided to buy a pot, plant it in a hanging basket and see what happened. This one came from HD. I noticed the flowers are not as large as traditional pansies, but larger than violas. I'll give you updates on this plant. Hopefully by spring I will have an overflowing basket of sweet smelling flowers!
The old wheel-
barrow has not gotten a winter make over yet. Would you believe that those yellow flowers hanging over the side (all the way to the ground) are marigolds I planted last spring? Yep! They just keep blooming. I will say the foliage is starting to look kind of brown, so it won't be too long before I will have to pull them out and fill the wheelbarrow with something else, but until then I will just keep on enjoying fall in this space.
It's hard for me to believe this past year has gone by so fast. It's not cold here in Texas, but we are starting to get fronts that will bring us seasonal cooler weather. As I do so often when seasons change, I pull out my articles written so many years ago by the late Jo Northrop. I know I have mentioned this before-Jo Northrop was legally blind..but oh how I loved "seeing " the seasons through her eyes:

"The exquisite cranberry and chrysanthemum days of November are a gift. We intensely and thankfully absorb them, knowing the inevitability of sudden, bone-chilling cold. Even in clear autumn sunlight, a scarecrow among fallen leaves in a deserted garden looks cold. It is this deepening of the season, passage toward the end of the year that gives November a quality that is energy charged...In these fine cranberry-chrysanthemum days, every day can be a day of thanksgiving."

The "Butterfly" Flower

I don't have anything blooming in my garden yet. There are buds on the older daffodils. The new daffs are still trying to come up as are the tulips and hyacinths. But on this dreary, cool day in February, there are a few containers with blooms that stand out against the cloudy day giving it a bright, almost spring-like look. Who would think such a tiny little flower could add so much color to an otherwise drab garden.
Of course I am talking about the little violas. My Johhny-Jump-Ups. I have several plants in pots. They are so small I always think they will not be very showy in a garden bed.
But this little guy is blooming away in the bed by the flagstone patio. I decided to read a little about these sweet flowers, and this is what I found: "Viola is the name of a genus containing about 500 different species. Most of the violas cultivated in gardens are grown as annuals or short-lived perennials. However, many will self-seed and give you years of delight...Viola tricolor / Johnny-Jump-Up is a self-seeding perennial with nickle-sized flowers marked with purple, yellow and white." I read on that violas are often taken for granted because they exhibit more tolerance to heat and cold than other panises. Hum..sounds like we need to appreciate these little flowers a bit more!
My pansies in the beds look terrible. I am hoping they will perk up when spring arrives. The few I have in containers look ok..
..but even prettier when paried with a pot of Johnnies.
Are you wondering why this post is called The
"Butterfly"
Flower. Let me explain. When my youngest son was a little boy, he saw my Mother's bed full of these pretty little flowers. "Oh" he squealed.."look at all the pretty butterflies!" From then on, Mother and I always refer to our Johnnies as "Butterfly Flowers."

I hope you have something blooming in your winter garden today.

"When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment."

Georgia O'Keefe

The "No Complaining Rule"

Our pastor has been doing a sermon series based on the book by Jon Gordon "The No Complaining Rule." Oh dear, my thoughts that first Sunday, I am the Queen of complaining. This isn't good! So, I decided to take a look at just exactly what it is that makes me complain the most.

It certainly is not my family. I have the best husband in the whole wide world. My kids are amazing..my in-law kids are wonderful..my grand dog is the sweetest thing in the world..and my grandson, well he is without a doubt the cutest little thing you have ever seen. No complaining here. What else could it be?

I love my home, I love my job, I love my friends. I am blessed to have fished the Kenai River in Alaska; seen the sun shine on the Grand Canyon; and climbed a mountain in the Colorado Rockies. Hum....well it's not a travel complaint. What is it that I complain about the most?
Oh yeah..there is that weather thing. I do complain about that..a lot!!







What else do I complain about...let me think..I'll walk outside to clear my mind to see if I can remember what I complain about so much..
Ugh, look at all that standing water..why can't it dry up..I wish this yard was bigger..and why did that tree have to fall over..and why can't I get more flowers to grow back here..and why do I have so many snakes...
Oh, no.. can it be..surely it's not...yes, it is! It's the garden. One of the things I enjoy most, is what I complain about the most!

I will admit, I have a love/hate relationship with my backyard. I don't mean to complain about it, but I do-all the time! The fact is, the area is small, and difficult, but usually I get some good results because I love to work with it so much.
I decided to sit on the flagstone patio and think about all this. And I see this pot of beautiful pansies. The pastor gave us an assignment for the week-make a gratitude list. I am so grateful for these pretty fragrant flowers..I am so grateful I have a garden to sit in and can even be outside on a January afternoon.
I need to change my way of thinking. Every time I think of something wrong, I need to think of 2 things that are right. I need to stop complaining about the weather--I can't do anything about it anyway!

I see another pot of pansies with a cute little bunny stretched out in front of it. And, as I look over the patio to a now empty bed, I think I see-yes, I see tiny tops of the daffodils I planted last fall starting to appear. Lady Bird Johnson always said, "where flowers bloom, there is hope."
I can't promise I will never complain again, but I am going to try really hard to look at the garden

"issues"

as problems that need solutions. Not all will have solutions, but I imagine lots will.
It is not hard to find things to put on my gratitude list, and please know blogging friends, you all have a special place on that list!



"Gardening is an exercise in optimism. Sometimes, it is the triumph of hope over experience."

Marina Schinz

Pansies!!

I have been looking forward to "Pansy Saturday" for a long time! I headed to my favorite garden center early Saturday morning and filled the back of my SUV full of sweet smelling pansies! Do ya think I bought enough?
I usually plant pansies in front..all along both sides of the front flower beds, grouping them on either side of the entrance.

They always look so sparse when I first plant, but I know in early spring, they will be beautiful.
I bought one flat of cute little violas. A few go in the containers on either side of the porch. The remaining flowers will be planted in an old bucket on the flagstone patio next week some time.
The pansies were on sale, and who can resist a sale..so I bought enough to plant some in back. I thought a few would be pretty around the pond.
On a bleak winter day it will be nice to look out and see a little color around the rocks.
I filled 2 old baskets with a few remaining flowers and proceeded to plant the wheel-
barrow. I hated to take out the coleus and sweet potato vine, but I wanted to get it done before we get our first freeze.

I never cease to be amazed to see the "potato" when I dig up the sweet potato vine. Wonder if I could save these and start a new plant? Anyone know?
I always enjoy planting the wheel-
barrow. It is one of my favorite old
"treasures" in the garden. I mixed in 2 different types of ornamental kale and a birdhouse along with the pansies in this container.
When I plant pansies each fall, I use a combination of bone meal and blood meal as I plant..and I add a small sprinkle of fertilizer as well. Just like to give them a boost.


So I can check planting pansies off my list of things to do.
Next weekend's project: Bulbs!!!

Wordless Wednesday--Waiting for Spring

The Pansies are in!

I've had a hard time convincing myself to let go of the profusion zinnias even though I knew it was time. After a little encouragement (thank you Tina!) I decided Saturday would be the day to pull them up and plant pansies. Of course, I didn't know Saturday would also be a cold windy day-too windy to plant. But determined to start the process, I headed out to a local garden center to at least buy pansies. I drove up expecting a full house like I usually find, but I had my choice of parking spots as I was the only one there. The people who work there were not even outside, they were inside putting up Christmas lights!

I found the pansies and proceeded to pick out flats. I am rather late in buying them, but they still had a pretty good selection. I bought 5 flats: 3 with yellows, reds and oranges, and 2 with purple. I like to mix pansies using those colors. I headed inside to pay and warm up. I guess I felt the need to explain why I was out on a cold day to buy pansies and chatted away while the owner checked me out. I told him I was late because I couldn't pull up the zinnias I bought there back in the spring, so really it was his fault I was out today. He just stared at me, handed me my ticket and said "pull 'um up!"

He did offer to help load them in my car, but I declined and he didn't argue. I brought them home and put them on the patio for shelter from the wind hoping Sunday would be a better day to plant. And it was, only I had church obligations until late afternoon. That was okay, it had warmed up, the wind was not blowing, good time to work in the garden. I asked my son who happened to be there to please move the flats from the patio to the front. Of course first I had to pull up the zinnias, so I took a deep breath and starting pulling. I pulled fast and tried not to look at the flowers as I went. As I worked my son walked around front carrying 2 flats of pansies. "What are you doing?" he asked. I pulling these up so I can plant THOSE I said. He stood there staring when hubby walked around the corner. "What is she doing?" he asked. My son said "she is pulling up still alive and blooming flowers to plant these!"

I thanked them for the comments and told them to please go inside and take grand dog who at this point was trying to get in the bag of blood meal.

And they did go inside and leave me to work. It was getting really late afternoon by that time. You know that time of day that is not still light, but not dark yet. It was quite and peaceful as I finished planting. I looked at the front beds and tried to imagined how pretty they would be in spring.

So I can check one more thing off my to-do list for fall. I still need to re-plant the wheel-

barrow. I decided to make some plans as I walked in back to put my spade up. I think I want to use kale and pansies, maybe something else. However, I already see one problem--the coleus is still really, really pretty. I hate to pull it out!