Great Expectations

I get excited when I see one of my plants is getting ready to bloom or has grown dramatically in a short period of time. Well I noticed today in my garden several plants that fell into that category. Remember I just planted my cherry tomato plant not even a month ago and not only has it doubled in size but today I noticed that it several little blooms that will open soon and after that I will be getting some tomatoes. I guess I didn’t wait too long after all. Can you see the little yellow blossoms just waiting to burst open and produce some red juicy little tomatoes that I can’t wait to put in my salads? I’ve grown cherry tomatoes in the past and had great success. They don’t seem to mind our hot & dry summer climate. I’ve tried heirlooms and hybrids with less success. Plus I’m growing these in a large pot with a cage over it. It has really taken off since that rainstorm we got last week. The plant literally grew 3-4 inches overnight. Now this is not the only plant that has started to come into bud in my garden. My Forever & Always “Red” Hydrangeas have several buds on them. I have to admit I am curious to see if the blooms are actually red or even a pinkish shade in color, because all my hydrangeas are blue due to my acidic soil. These are suppose to be true to color, we’ll see I guess. There is one more hydrangea that is setting bud in my garden too right now. The Hydrangea “Limelight” which originally I had thought was “Annabelle” for some reason. I planted this particular plant about 5 years ago in my back garden in the corner of the Arbor Bed. It is a great selection for any garden. For one thing it can tolerate alittle more sun than the other hydrangeas I have in my yard. The buds are a chartreuse shade before they open to a pale green and almost creamy color. As they age over the season they take on almost a pinkish appearance when they dry. I tried to get a better picture of this but the sun was not being cooperative this morning. But yes the buds are a yellowish-green in appearance. Like most hydrangeas it blooms off of new wood. In past years, I would cut this back in the fall or early spring. This year I forgot to give it a haircut so it is about 6 foot tall, but it still looks fantastic planted near my burgundy cannas, nandinas and fountain grass. The leaves on this hydrangea are somewhat different than my mopheads and lacecap hydrangeas. They are narrower and don’t wilt in the noon day sun. In fact this plant will bloom right up to the first hard frost and you can leave the dry flower heads on it for interest. I cut them off and bring them inside myself when I give the plant its annual haircut. Now another plant that is starting to take off in my garden is the Blackeyed Susan Vine that I planted from seed near my tv antennae turned trellis. As you will see in the picture to the left the seedling has grown at least another inch since I posted about it last a few days ago. I’ve had several of my blogging friends tell me how much they love this plant and how easy it is to grow. The picture on the seed packet sold me. It looks like the plant should start winding it’s way up the legs of the trellis soon. I planted several seeds by each leg and weeded out the extras once everything started sprouting. This garden has purple and yellow blooms so I am excited to have some yellow growing vertically in this bed. In addition I have Clematis planted on a trellis on the shed wall which this bed butts up to. So it looks like I should have a variety of vertical interest in this area. So on this holiday weekend I have great expectations of what’s to come in my garden beds. Hope everyone has a safe & happy holiday.

Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination. ~Mrs. C.W. Earle