Wednesday in the Hollow

I love Forget-Me-Nots. I got my first pot of them when my late husband and I sent to Charleston on my birthday back in the 80s. We always did that since April was a good time for plant shopping and I always got some new things for the garden for my birthday. These will grow in sun or shade, but are happier in shade. They bloom a lot right about now, but will continue to bloom sporadically until frost. The dainty blue flowers really brighten up a shady spot. It does spread and does seed around, but a patch here and there is a good thing.

This next one is Acanthus 'Snow Angel'. (at least that's the name I remember) It is very similar to the Acanthus we grow in the garden, but is only hardy to zone 7 so it lives in the greenhouse over the winter. I haven't seen it bloom in the 3 years it has been here, but with leaves like this I guess it doesn't have to bloom. It can take quite a bit of sun.


This is a Columbine that is native to the midwest, Michigan I think. It is a prolific self-seeder, but I love it anyway. I just sell the extra or move them to a better place. It is a tall one, probably 3 feet and blooms over a long period of time. Full sun or part shade.

We have 2 Weigelias in the yard, one with variegated leaves and pink flowers and this one with gold leaves and hot pink flowers. This is my favorite. It is a large bush and is easily seen from a distance, especially when it is in bloom.

It's a little hard to see, but there is a velvety burgundy clematis growing in this dogwood. We have clematis growing up lots of trees, but this is one of the best combinations. I don't think anyone passes this one by without commenting on it.

An unusual plant here, though you may be somewhat familiar with it as it has been featured in a number of catalogs lately. It is a Paris. We have had it for 4 years and this is the first time it has bloomed. The plant is still just one eye so I think this is not something for those who need some sort of instant gratification. It starts out with a whorl of 6 leaves and then the 4 leaves form on top. After that a small red center appears and finally the 3 spikes which start out small and take over a week to extend. I think from the beginning of the flower starting to form until it was fully out took at least 3 weeks. Since this was the first year it bloomed I had no idea it would take that long and faithfully checked it every day to see if it was out yet (and took a picture just in case something ate it before it was in full bloom). I think this is what we get for a bloom and though the red is not as pronounced as in the catalog picture when I bought it, the shape and size seem right.

Rain today so I need to get my daily weeding done early. We got lucky yesterday and were able to get a lot done - including picking the first strawberries of the season. I going to cover them with mesh this morning because the bird pecked holes in a few. I don't mind sharing, but I wish they'd just pick out one berry and eat the whole thing instead of tasting 3 or 4.

Jane