MANY THINGS ARE SENT TO TRY US

Years ago a garden acquaintance was walking around the garden with her husband. "And what's wrong with this plant" he asked, "too much sun? too little sun? too much rain? too little rain?" Of course this is Texas and what else do you expect. You might add to that list, a late frost, hail, devoured by snails, slugs and pill bugs, plants mounded up by fire ants, attacked by aphids, mealy bugs, scale, bagrada bugs, harlequin bugs and leaf footed bugs, tomato horn worms and deer.
My garden has been visited by all of the above and for one second I throw my hands up in the air and say "I'm giving up gardening" It never lasts. Whatever you call it, passion or addiction,  I can't keep my hands out of the soil. And with all that frustrates me about gardening in Texas there is always a reward around the corner.

The agarita, Mahonia trifoliata, never produced a single berry last year because it was hit by hail but this year it is putting on a show and I am hoping this will be a fruitful year.

The hellebore I bought in 2011 and hasn't bloomed once since then is blooming this year. Do you remove the leaves from your hellebore? I read that many gardeners in England do.

Among many orange California poppies I have a white one.

When I picked up , on impulse, a bag of freesias in the fall I had no idea that they would put on such a show. Planted in pots as well as in the ground their strappy broken foliage may not be much but the flowers are heavenly.

Two of my lemon trees and the lime all filled with flowers. But where are the bees? The few I have seen have been on the alyssum although I saw two solitary bees on there yesterday feeding on pollen.

And the ever faithful chocolate daisy, Berlandiera lyrata, is back for its 10th year.

The Aloe X 'David Verity' has produced a successful bloom as a result of our mild winter

And despite the fact that we were away when my Texas mountain laurel, Sophora secundiflora, bloomed. I am so proud that I grew this one from seed.

And when the fire ants start mounding their soil around my succulents I just shrug my shoulders and get on with hosing them off.

 Not that they need any more rain after the 4" we received over the last 3 days.

PURPLES, LILACS, BLUES, SPRING IS ON THE WAY

My hellebore opened up its petals today and turned its face to the sun. Oh! I love it. Where can I get more? The color has not disappointed me. After all, it was not in flower when I bought it and you know how those labels are sometimes erroneous. But it was not the only flower to open today.

The native anemone has lost its spot for being the first to open. Usually blooming in early February, our unusually cold weather resulted in a later bloom time. It is the only one I can find but I am sure more will follow.

Last year the weather was favorable for the appearance of tens of wine cup volunteers and they are flowering remarkably early. One of my favorite colors. In fact, it is the blues, lilacs and purples which are first to bloom this year. I have gardened in many places and have always favored these colors. In Texas any color that does well here will have a place in this garden.

The diminutive Siberian iris, Iris sibirica, were planted for the first time last year. I wasn't sure if they were to come back but here they are. That ring of coat hanger wire is my reminder that I have bulbs growing in the ground in that spot. I am far too handy with the garden trowel and labels never seem to last.

The lanky foliage of the grape hyacinths is not enough to deter me from enjoying the first bloom.

I am too English not to have stocks in the garden. I love their sweet smell which brings an immediate breath of Spring into the garden. They seem to do well here, reseeding and wintering over to bring an early spring bloom.

GARDEN BLOGGERS' BLOOM DAY FEBRUARY 2011

Please join Carol of Maydreams for a winter day in the garden, for those of us in the Northern hemisphere, and a summer day for those in the Southern hemisphere.

There is only one special flower blooming in my garden today. Well, almost flowering. I am really excited to see the bud about to burst. It may even be blooming on March bloom day too because, by all accounts, it is long blooming. Helleborus X hybridus ' Blue Lady' was a new addition to my garden last spring. I planted it under the yaupon holly tree, where it receives filtered sunlight and is protected from our harsh summer sun. It was not in flower when I bought it so I had to wait until now to see the flower. Northern gardeners must know this plant well, as I did growing up in England. We called it the Lenten rose and it often appeared on Christmas cards in its white form. Deer are supposed to avoid the plant but I'm not even going to give them the chance to have a nibble. I think I'll look for more, although I picked this one up in Dallas.