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Welcome! As "Annie in Austin" I blog about gardening in Austin, TX with occasional looks back at our former gardens in Illinois. My husband Philo & I also make videos - some use garden images as background for my original songs, some capture Austin events & sometimes we share videos of birds in our garden. Come talk about gardens, movies, music, genealogy and Austin at the Transplantable Rose and listen to my original songs on YouTube. For an overview read Three Gardens, Twenty Years. Unless noted, these words and photos are my copyrighted work.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, Feb 2009

Sorry, May Dreams Carol - the GBBD post is so puny it ended up on the Addendum today! My garden is out of synch for the 15th and there's very little in bloom for this month's edition of Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - that exciting amaryllis and the small daffodils that brightened my last post are faded or gone.

A few vines are beginning to bloom. The Carolina Jessamine above has lots of buds and a few bright yellow, fragrant flowers and so does the this Coral Honeysuckle.

And on the other side of the fence my neighbor's big pink-flowered Saucer magnolia is going to be beautiful. But that's about it! Even the pansies in the hanging baskets seem to be taking the week off.


In addition to Valentine's Day and GBBD, this weekend is also the time for the annual Austin Marathon. A post about my new Austin Marathon Cheer Song video is on the Transplantable Rose blog today.

14 comments:

Carol Michel said...

Ha! I do have more blooms than you, or at least I showed more! I am taking indoor gardening more "seriously", as much as I can be serious about gardening, and it's paying off in lots of blooms.

We'll all soon be running a marathon in our gardens, though, before we know it. I should work out more so maybe this year when I'm chasing rabbits I might actually have a chance of catching one!

Carol, May Dreams Gardens

Gail said...

Annie, February is a tough month...especially where you've had drought conditions like Austin gardens have had. Your two bloomers are among my favorite vines....pretty and fragrant.

Gail

joco said...

"Nothing", she says and shows this glorious honeysuckle, totally unknown to me.
That one counts double! At least. It looks so splendid agains the naked branches of the tree behind.

Country Mouse said...

I like the look of your Jessamine Honeysuckle. I wonder if it would grow in my USDA zone 9 garden, and if it would need protection from deer? Thanks for sharing your blooms!

Anonymous said...

Hi Annie, that's still pretty darn good. Happy Bloom Day!~~Dee

healingmagichands said...

Hi, Annie! I was reduced to posting pictures of the progress on the stroll garden! Well, and a few crocuses and snowdrops. Spring is just around the corner.

Kerri said...

Carolina Jessamine and Coral Honeysuckle are not to be sneezed at, Annie. I love them both, and lucky you to be able to enjoy the neighbor's beautiful magnolias. Wish I had a magnolia tree!
At least you have blooms outdoors!
You'll have plenty more before you know it.
Happy Bloom Day!

Nancy said...

It's interesting to see all the differences in all the gardens. Even the Austin gardens aren't showing the same things. There seems to be an endless variety.

Anonymous said...

So your garden flowers are on strike for this GBBD? I used to get frustrated when a plant would stop blooming on the 14th or start blooming on the 16th. But now I see it as part of the challenge.

Hard to believe that you don't have more flowers than I do because you always seem to. The cold weather hits your side of Austin a lot harder than mine.

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness for flowering trees and vines! HaHa...they save us on bloom day!

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

A borrowed Magnolia is better than no Magnolia. I looks like it's ready to pop. The Carolina Jessamine looks like it will be a fountain of sunshine.

Lori said...

Well, it does seem like your garden is trying to keep us all waiting for your next set of pictures with bated breath. As for winter annuals, I'm still waiting for the snapdragons I planted back in October to start blooming! Have you guys gotten any rain in north Austin the last few days?

Dreamybee said...

You may not have a lot going on, but at least the ones you do have smell good too. That's like having two plants in one!

Annie in Austin said...

If I counted every bud and all the bedraggled daffodils the number would go up, but it would be very boring, MayDreams Carol - your post on the other hand was spectacular!

Gail, the evergreens and new growth look good - so not really tough, just no blooms. I kind of like the restful look.

The coral honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens, is a native, Joco - beloved of hummingbirds but scentless. It's a favorite.

Welcome Country Mouse - since both the Yellow Carolina Jessamine and the Coral Honeysuckle grow here in zone 8 - guess your 9 would be okay. At my previous Austin house the deer would eat the new shoots of both vines, even though the jessamine is poisonous in quantity. But when starving, Deer will eat anything.
We had chicken wire over the lower part of the vines and once the strands shot up over 6 -feet the flowers were safe.

Thanks, Dee, happy GBBD to you, too.

Your stroll garden just kills me, Healing Magic Hands - think it's bigger than my entire back yard so one can really stroll. I love what you've done with the stone.

Thank you, Kerri - it's great to have native plants that like me back! The neighbors' saucer magnolia is still blooming after a week...in 3 out of every 5 years the flowers are frozen just as they open. Happy GBBD to you.

Nancy - some Austin gardens have had only frosts & light freezes. We were in the mid-twenties at least 3 times. It's the effect of the Balcones Fault, I guess.

For someone with my personality profile, MSS of Zanthan Gardens, doing the same thing on the same day of the month for more than 2 years is not natural. My inner Huck Finn works at being cooperative but even Carol can't make my flowers care what day it is ;-]
After seeing your garden yesterday it's obvious we are not in the same climate zone!

The vines are pretty dependable, ~Deirdre, but the neighbors' magnolia is just luck!

The magnolia did pop, MMD, and the Jessamine looks good today. A few yellow daffodils opened in front and even a lived-over geranium has a flower today.

Even when they do open, Lori, they won't be that exciting! We had a sprinkle of rain, enough to make the grass think about living, but still needed to water the containers.

Hello there, Dreamybee - what a pretty name! The Carolina jessamine smells good but this honeysuckle has no scent. But there is always fragrant foliage on Rosemary and lavender to brush against!

Thanks for the comments,

Annie