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Red Dirt Ramblings®

Firmly rooted in the Oklahoma soil

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Spring is here in all its glory

11 April, 2021 By Dee Nash

by Dee Nash
11 April, 202121 April, 2021Filed under:
  • Bulbs
  • Flowers
  • Gardening
  • Oklahoma
  • Photography
  • Spring

Spring is here in all its glory. That’s good news. Our spring freezes may be over. Let’s accentuate the positive because in many years we have a late spring freeze.

  • There isn’t much structure in the lower back garden and other spots as well, but the skies are blue, and the garden will be fine.
  • The main pathway of the back garden with the lavender chairs in a previous year for comparison. All of the crapemyrtles have been cut down, but they will grow again.

Crapemyrtles and deodar cedars showing signs of life.

As you can see from the photo, above, left, I cut my crapemyrtle trees and shrubs to the ground. However, I’m happy to report I saw new red foliage coming up from the ground today. Also, I saw small green bits on my deodar cedars. All is not lost, my friends!

Crapemyrtle foliage coming up at the base of the plant.

Still, wait to plant summer veggies.

I’d still wait to plant tomatoes, green beans, summer squash, peppers, and eggplant. Even if you do plant them early, this week’s cooler weather will hold them back. Better to wait until temperatures are consistently 55°F and above at night.

I’m going to grow my tomatoes in Smart Pots again. Some of the Smart Pots are green with handles. I like those best, but they are hard to find.

The pelargoniums (geraniums) went outside.

I did pull my pelargoniums out of the greenhouse, and I’m planting some seeds for zinnias and cosmos this week. They are integral to the cutting garden that attracts butterflies, bees, and me. I started Tithonia rotundifolia ‘Torch’ indoors, and I set out the plants in the garden last week.

  • Gulf Fritillary on 'Oklahoma Salmon' zinnias. I think I'll grow these with Zinderella Peach zinnias next year. Wouldn't that be fun?
    Male Gulf Fritillary on ‘Oklahoma Salmon’ zinnias.
  • Pelargonium theater next to my garage.
  • Zinnia 'Giant Wine'
    Zinnia ‘Giant Wine’ what perfect form you have.
  • Tithonia ‘Torch’ with a wasp. This one plant attracts a lot of butterflies.

Native trees please honey bees.

Some of my native oak trees are in bloom, and that pleases the honey bees. I walked beneath several that were buzzing with the girls as they foraged for pollen and nectar. If the native trees are in bloom, it’s a good sign our freezes are over.

Spring is here; oak tree in bloom
Oklahoma oak trees in bloom please the bees. I couldn’t get a bee in this photo. She was high up in the tree, but I could hear her buzzing.

Cooler weather forecast

We will have cooler weather for a week or so. Cool mornings will give way to both cool and warm afternoons. This weather is pretty normal for April. In my garden, spring also meant rain the night before last. We got several quick storms. There was no damage and very little moisture. More rain is forecast for this week.

[Click on gallery photos to enlarge them.]

  • View of the tiered beds on the back of the house. This is on the north side of the deck. On the other side is a wall, basement and two mixed borders. We painted the house a couple of weeks ago and had a new roof put on. It all looks so much better.
  • The border on the south side of the deck has smoke trees, daylilies, mums, ornamental grasses, etc. It also has three deodar cedars. It looks like I only needed to replace one lost in the ice storm.

Garden chores

I continue to cut back ornamental grasses and any shrubs that are only showing new growth at their bases. Most of my nandinas, roses, and some of the spireas are about six inches tall. Other spireas came through the storm just fine. I want to give a special shoutout to the Bloomin’ Easy Poprocks Rainbow Fizz spireas, Spiraea japonica ‘Matgold,’ sent to me years ago as tiny trial plants. They’ve now grown into small shrubs, and I expect them to continue growing larger and becoming even more beautiful. They were super tough and needed very little pruning. I also love the leaf color.

Poprocks Rainbow Fizz spirea, Spiraea japonica ‘Matgold’

Parrot tulips, oh my!

On Instagram, I shared pics of my parrot tulips, and I got a lot of questions about them. I don’t plant a lot of tulips anymore because they are hard to place within my mature garden, and voles and moles tunnel beneath them. Also, tulips are deer candy. My mature garden is also hard to plant them in, and I don’t leave spaces for annuals which is how I treat tulips. Although tulips will sometimes return, they aren’t really bred for a second show at least not in our warm Oklahoma climate.

  • ‘Blushing Impression’ tulip
  • Inside ‘Green Wave’ tulip is an entire swirling world.
  • ‘Green Wave’ tulip
  • ‘Amazing Parrot’ tulip

Many of my Oklahoma garden friends, like Linda Vater, Teresa Dawkins, and Beth Teel leave spaces in their garden for tulips. I am such a plant hound that I end up placing a perennial or some other plant in the space. My rural garden also has a lot of trouble with tulip-eating creatures. However, I had planted a new garden bed, and last fall, I planted three tulip varieties in it. It was easy to dig, and so I planted a staggered line of ‘Amazing Parrot,’ ‘Green Wave,’ and ‘Blushing Impression’ along with Narcissus ‘Silver Chimes,’ which I dearly love. ‘Blushing Impression’ bloomed first followed a couple of weeks later by the tulips. These are planted up near the house to deter deer, and I don’t have voles in this spot yet. I simply cannot plant tulips in the same place each year because the blasted voles eventually find them. Teresa Dawkins mentioned the idea of tulips planted in a ring of daffodils to deter voles. Nothing eats narcissus. Yes, in the past, I’ve done that, and it works. However, it is a lot of work.

  • Geum ‘Tequila Sunrise’ with daffodils behind.
  • More of a closeup view of G. ‘Tequila Sunrise’
  • Geum ‘Banana Daiquiri’
    G. ‘Banana Daiquiri’ was new to my garden in 2017. It blooms later that ‘Tequila Sunrise.’ It’s also not quite as vigorous.
  • G. triflorum, prairie smoke, from the Chicago Botanic Garden when I visited in 2009.

Geums are gems.

The other plant that garnered a lot of questions was Geum ‘Tequila Sunrise’. I found it four years ago at Lowe’s. Yes, I do shop at Lowe’s and Home Depot. Sometimes, they get first dibs at new plants, and I’m always on the lookout for something new. This geum is part of the Cocktails™ series from Intrinsic or Darwin Perennials. I also have ‘Banana Daiquiri’ which blooms later. I love geums especially G. triflorum, prairie smoke, but the ones, above, are the only ones I’ve been able to grow past a year or two. There is very sandy soil in the bed where they’re happiest, and I amended the soil with shredded oak leaves. I went to look up prairie smoke, and I want to try to grow it again. See what blogging does to me?

Acer palmatum dissectum ‘Rilas Red’, A. palmatum ‘Peaches and Cream’ and Ajuga reptans ‘Chocolate Chip’ and ‘Black Scallop’ planted against the garage. The small purple/red plant at left is Nandina domestica ‘Murasaki’ Flirt®. I had to cut it back to six inches or so, but it’s growing fine. On the right is ornamental oregano which will be blooming soon.

Garden coaching

I’m still doing a lot of garden coaching, but I have a few openings in a couple of weeks. If you want help, please drop me an email at dee@deenash.com.

In the meantime, get out in the garden and our parks. Nature is healing, and even though our gardens will be different this year, they are still full of good things.

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Related

Tagged:
  • Daffodils
  • Honey bees
  • narcissus
  • Oak trees

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Next Post Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day: April

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Becky Kirts says

    14 April, 2021 at 8:06 pm

    Love your newsletters ..you give such an honest approach to what is happening..thanks

    • Dee Nash says

      17 April, 2021 at 9:40 am

      Thank you Becky. I sure try to be honest. Sometimes, things work, and other times, they don’t. What a strange winter we had!~~Dee

  2. Bruce Batman says

    12 April, 2021 at 3:55 am

    I always enjoy your updates! Thanks for sharing !

    • Dee Nash says

      12 April, 2021 at 10:09 am

      Thank you Bruce! That means so much to me. ~~Dee

  3. Sonia says

    12 April, 2021 at 12:20 am

    P.S. Where did you find the Green Wave tulip? It’s gorgeous!

    • Dee Nash says

      12 April, 2021 at 10:11 am

      I bought it from John Scheepers. https://www.johnscheepers.com/flower-bulbs-index/tulip-green-wave.html

      • Sonia says

        12 April, 2021 at 4:03 pm

        Thank you!

  4. Sonia says

    11 April, 2021 at 11:23 pm

    Your garden is looking wonderful. I’ve been out working in mine and cutting things back too and planting a few new perennials and cold hardy annuals. My tulips are looking the best ever…go figure with all the crazy weather in OK! Love those parrot tulips ..the color is beautiful!

    • Dee Nash says

      12 April, 2021 at 10:10 am

      Hi Sonia, it’s beginning to come around. I’m just glad it didn’t go through another big freeze. I’m so glad you’re enjoying your tulips. Spring on!~~Dee

  5. Beth@PlantPostings says

    11 April, 2021 at 7:45 pm

    Oh, beautiful, beautiful! Yes, the cooler weather will keep the spring stuff blooming longer. Usually, I wouldn’t appreciate that, but cool (not cold) is good when the tulips (and still some of the daffodils) are blooming. Happy spring, Dee!

    • Dee Nash says

      12 April, 2021 at 10:12 am

      Hi Beth, Happy Spring to you too!! Thanks so much for stopping by.~~Dee

Trackbacks

  1. Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day: April - Red Dirt Ramblings® says:
    15 April, 2021 at 1:56 pm

    […] Two posts in one week! What am I thinking? It’s like the good ‘ole blogging days! Earlier I wrote that spring is here in all its glory. […]

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