Today's photos are another update from Jeff Calton down in Tennessee, who says, "Things change every day this time of year and sometimes from early morning to evening. The colors are so fresh and intense and I am loving every minute of it. No more damaging cold here so everything has been moved outside for the summer, some in their permanent spot and others being acclimated to the sun before placement. Pots are all placed but not filled yet. I need time and money to get that done! I hope everyone's spring has arrived or almost arrived. Get out there and pull some weeds." Jeff, your love of gardening and your enthusiasm for plants never, ever get old. Thanks for this update! Everything looks gorgeous.
Keep sending in photos, everyone! Whether you've never shared before or you've been featured multiple times, we want to see your garden! Email me at [email protected]. Thanks!
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Comments
Wow Jeff, looking good! You are farther along than we are in SE Pa. I love that agave with the black tips...let's see more pics as the season unfolds! I think I have the same dissectum that you have. They are beautiful!
thanks, Rhonda (my wife's name) it's supposed to be low 80's here next week,,, i'm looking forward to that
It's all very beautiful, Jeff. I love that you apparently seem to be a bit of a collector. Variety is wonderful. It appears you have space too to keeping adding. Funny, my oxalis is a on a bit of run as well, but it does look great when it's standing up fresh in Spring, wherever it has gotten to. That Inaba Shidare is gorgeous, by the way...feeds right into my jap map passion. Thanks for sharing.
NC Yarden, you win the award for the understatement of the year "seem to be a bit of a collector" i drag everything home and have ended up with a collection of collections,,,,,,,,,,,,plants, pots, rusty junk i keep it all
Jeff, you could have your own reality show on HGTV. Dang... you really COULD and everyone would love it!
Bless you, bless you, Jeff...anyone who can start my day off with a happy grin is muchly appreciated and you and your crazy hanging face pot did just that! My vote is to let his wild child hair fully express itself for the time being...so fun. I am forever in awe of the mature magnificence of your 'Inabar Shidare'...such a beauty. Everything is looking so great and warms this gardener's heart.
Jeff, I am crazy about your self-portrait in the first photo. A great likeness. Your mangaves look great. What's the brown, squiddy plant tucked in that same pot, under what looks like an old bracken fungus or wood? Cryptanthus? The powdery agave is cool, too. Species? Wish all of my weeds looked like your oxalis. My Bletilla are only poking their noses out of the ground. They are apparently a tasty treat for squirrels. I hear them out there, calling "salad bar over here" to each other. :(
PS Is the last picture one of those 'find the hidden tradescantia" games? :)
Self-portrait - LOL.
Ok, maybe the hair's a little long and green..........
:)
Oh Tim... you have become such an adult! Just saw the 1968 exhibit at the Denver Historical Museum last weekend... lots of long hair ;)
Oh Sheila...you know I'm not bothered by a man with long hair, well, at least as long as it is white and flowing down from his chin! :)
Sounds like a great exhibit, by the way.
You would love the exhibit... and yeah, as long as it's a guy's long hair growing from the chin. A woman's long hairs aren't so special ;)
I wondered about that tradescantia too. So thanks to GrannyMay for investigating.
Tim, the brown squiddy plant is Aloe prostrata / not pretty but it flowers well. The Tradescantia is the bright lime green plant and it has LOADS of violet flowers
Not pretty? I think it's gorgeous. Of course, you wouldn't showcase it against brown dirt, but it is cool. Does it color up with stress and drought, or does it seem to keep its color all the time?
I have to share an anecdote. A good friend here who reads the blog shared that she was touring her garden and came upon a lovely golden plant and thought to herself, "I don't remember planting hakone grass there." And she didn't. It was 'Kate'. I was sure that Michelle had messed up the the caption on your photo and I didn't search 'Kate' like May did. (Sorry Michelle!)
I too love the self- portrait picture which made me smile. My favorite plant is the Sarracenia, it's beautiful.
Avis, the self portrait has a wife who is bald at the moment. when my daughter was young she was convinced that those were images of me and her mom. i had hair way back then!
Good morning! So nice to see whats happening at Jeff's place. Its good to hear that you will not have any more freezing weather! You guys over there have been through a lot! Well Mr. Head Hunter... I think you outdid yourself with this one! Love, love, love the first picture! But the columbine steals the show! So intense is their color! Please keep sharing with us as your gardens grow! Thanks and have a great season!
Your postings are always fun, fascinating and fantastic, Jeff.
What constitutes the hair in your first photo?
Your Japanese maple is wondrous...I think I'll show it to my slightly anemic looking one for inspiration. (It's time to follow Cherry's lead and start planting them in pots).
It looks like you have a great source for pine needle mulch, do you like it better than other mulches?
Mornin' Kielian! 'The hair' is Rhipsalis capilliformus. It's a very cool plant that has been hard to find at times. Home Depot occasionally carries it.
Kielian, i use pine straw for mulch exclusively at home except in the "dry" garden area,,, the sempervivum and sedums get lost in it's fluffiness. i also use it 8 times out of 10 on client properties . if not pine straw then we use pine bark but never hardwood
I vote for no haircut. Your japanese maple is magnificent! It is so wonderful to see photos of a place where spring has actually happened. In Connecticut it's one step forward and two back. I planted two small japanese maples last fall and had to cover them up a few nights last week. Thank you so much for the pictures Jeff, they are beautiful!
spring can't come too early for me but the truth ,,,,,,,,,,,i wouldn't mind if mowing season was late in arriving
Love your style and choices! Your views are where I'm wanting and working my very young garden towards and like you, it only takes time and funds! (Lubricated with a generous dab of Elbow Grease!) I'm envious your Contained Garden is already freed! Only about a third of mine are outside enjoying the now "Settling Down" conditions here at the far edge of the Ozarks. (The others are crying: "Me next! Me next!! My turn, today!!" I think I can hear them from this desk!!) I've been vacillating back and forth for a couple of years about capturing a variegated Euphorbia. After seeing yours in today's post, I've fallen off the fence, and am now on "The Hunt!!" (Better go put my Camo on!)
jesse, the agave and most of the cacti have been outside for awhile now, the euphorbias only last week, have to wait until next week for the Adenium then it will all be out
Jeff, you are amazing and so is your garden. Love the rocks with the fern. And the gorgeous tall pot in the last picture. And the succulents and the bletilla and the gorgeous maple ... all of it! So glad spring has finally sprung for you! And as always I get a kick out of Tim and you teasing each other. Such fun.
thanks, Shirley! Tim is a keeper and he "gets" my garden jokes
Jeff it is always a treat to see what new varieties of plants you have discovered, requiring internet research by the rest of us. Like Tim, I couldn't recognize a tradescantia in your last photo, so looked up T. Sweet Kate, and there it was, looking gorgeous! The website warned that it can be invasive. I can just imagine how lovely it would look fighting for space with your run-away purple Oxalis. Your succulent prisoners are terrific, I especially like the mixed containers, and can't wait to see what others you will spread out in the garden. Happy gardening!
Glad you searched, May. I would have sworn that was Hakonechloa macra "All Gold". That's quite amazing foliage!
Good morning May. My friend Sylvia has had a Tradescantia in her garden for years and I am happy to say it appeared to be a well-behaved perennial in her garden. Hers had deep purple almost black flowers in the late Spring.
Cherry I used to grow the "plain Jane" variety in Ontario and there were no problems with it spreading. This sounds like a lovely cultivar.
May, I have a wild variety that seeds about with vigor in my garden that I can't quite get rid of. Although not invasive, it is hard to evict. We called it 'Snot-weed' when I was young. This "Kate" is a beaut, however!
The location will make a difference. I haven't tried Tradescantia here and though Kate is lovely, I have no space to grow her... yet.
May, Sweet Kate has been in the garden for years now . the clumps get larger each year but i have never had a volunteer anywhere,,, she's very well behaved but i do keep her deadheaded to prolong flowering as long as i can
I know what you mean about the colors at this time of year. Yesterday was way too hot here, with bright sun washing everything out. I was not happy--we need time to enjoy the spring greens! Today has returned to normal. Regarding oxalis, I planted the native form in my previous garden, which was surely my biggest mistake ever. While quite lovely, especially in its spring lushness, that stuff ran rampant over its more diminutive neighbors.
Oh Tia! I agree, I rue the day I ever planted the green Oxalis, it has been the bane of my gardening existence!! It spreads everywhere and is impossible to get out - and I even see it for sale in the nurseries!
this purple pops up in different places but it isn't very aggressive hasn't been a problem other than showing up where i don't really want purple
I'm afraid I can't think of one spot in my garden where I don't really want purple.........
I forgot to mention the plant I love the most, your Acer 'Inaba Shidare', which is an excellent reminder to plant your trees right away if you ever want to see them as mature specimens!
What a treat this morning - breakfast with a peek of Jeff's colorful Spring garden! Such a breath of fresh air. Love all of your new specimens and looking up the new and unfamiliar ones just like everything else. Your Stachys is gorgeous (looked it up last night but the google photos aren't as nice as yours). Excited at the return of Sarracenias...drooling over your Inaba Shidare... and chuckling over your pots especially Wildman (first photo) and Gypsy Lady (2nd to the last photo with earrings). Looking forward to your next photo with Google Search at the ready!
Cherry, the gypsy lady is my daughters pot,,she's summering at my place. last year with the humidity and plant selection used in that pot,,,,,,,,she grew a black beard of mold,,,,,we used Echeveria this year hoping for a smoother complexion
Love the color echoes in the last photo, Jeff -- the yellows, blues, and rusty colors. You are very skillful with your design.
thanks, Marilyn, i do try to echo and combine colors and textures but the truth,,,,,,i brought that urn out and that's where it landed. if there was any thought behind the combo it was subconscious
I'm definitely green with envy Jeff... all of my overwintered plants are still being held captive and will continue to be for another couple of weeks! They are not believing me when I tell them their prison term is nearing an end!
Your plants look spectacular as always but the Sarracenia looks like it came from outer space, I love it! That's one good looking pot in the last shot, too!
Sheila, i suffered much bloodshed dragging the Agave outside,,,,,,then inside,,,,,,,,,then back out again
I always insist that Jim and our son-in-law, Greg, wear long sleeves when muscling all of the large 'spikes' in and out of the house.
Did you know that you can snip the sharp points off and do no damage to our beloved agaves? I learned the hard way that you just snip the sharp end of the points, not the whole devil spike.
Large pot shopping today for clients...YES!
but without the spikes it's not an agave :(
It depends on perspective... If you only remove the point the brown spike is still there, it just doesn't scar us for life!
Do any of our friends know how fragile we really are?
I thought clients could do their own pot shopping in Colorado.
You know... it all depends on whether you want to smoke it or plant it?
I vote to keep the hair long, What is it anyway? So glad Spring has come for you Jeff and thanks for sharing it with us.That Acer is beautiful and must be very old. Love all your wonderful pots and plant combinations .Glad you are released from the winter doldrums.
Catherine, the maple is 30 to 35 years old
This should be entitled "How to start the day with a smile!"
Love all the pots and their contents. Wish I could grow bletilla for it looks fascinating. Found the name of the sedum growing in my garden, learned a lot - just great fun, as usual. Thank you.
i don't know the hardiness of Bletilla but Tim is growing it so maybe you could as well. i have seen it grown in pots and wintered dormant in a basement
Hi Jeff, thanks to Tim I am now the proud caretaker of a Bletilla, which I am assured is rewarding and easy to grow.
Now searching the whole place for a safe spot from geese, deer and a voracious muskrat who is currently eating all the best day lily foliage - no wonder it is so fat - but it is Not Getting My Orchid.
Always a treat Jeff to take a trip thru your gardening eyes. Being a child of the 60s I think you should just let long hair-guy grow and grow, it's so great !! The Betilla Striata are just lovely. I do not know 'Sarracenia' so hope you will also post them when in bloom as they look most interesting and your Stachys looks so healthy, is it actually from years past or just planted? Doesn't fare to well here in WA as it gets so wet and slimy. So glad your deep freeze is over.
the Stachys has been here for years and is a great performer altho it does look BAD by end of winter. i'm gonna try to attach a photo of the Sarracenia flowers/pitcher plant... this is the flower and the "pitchers" others in that bog are red or pink
WOW ! thanks for the great photo.
Diane, the maple is 30 to 35 years old i got it from Bob Bullington in Hendersonville NC . he was a plant wizard and i have many of his grafts here in my garden.
After an exhausting day of spring gardening I was delighted to see your cheery face and your lovely garden and to hear your enthuisiastic voice . So much to love...the gorgeous acer, beautiful sedums and very cool succulents, Sweet Kate and wonderful pitcher plants! And it's just the beginning! Have a happy season!
Even your "weeds" are beautiful! Definitely let the "hair" be free. I am crazy in love with the Sarracenia - just wow.
Jeff, I love everything in your gardens, plants, faces, and the big urn is mine.....ha.
Oh my goodness ! Going thru my old emails & can't believe I almost missed this post !!!! Everything looks great, Jeff !!!! Can't wait to see more !!!!
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