garden recovery

I posted a while back about the hard freezes that killed a large part of the plants in my yard. I say killed, but most plants will just need a trim this spring. I'm finally beginning to see growth on many of those plants, and my pruning shears are eager to get to work. I've vowed to leave everything until March though, since we always seem to get one last freeze that undoes all the work I put into the yard up until that point. But spring is beginning to peek its head out, most noticeably the azaleas. The pink, purple, and white flowers are providing a burst of color everywhere around town right now. I happen to really not like azaleas because they only bloom once and then sit there, green and dormant, for the rest of the year. They are lazy plants that constantly need trimming. But the native azaleas are completely different. Those beautiful, delicate flowers are actually worth the year-long wait. I'm sad that I can't enjoy their beauty for longer than a few weeks.

There are other signs of life in the garden as well: the Gerber daisies have popped up for a nice splash of color, the lantana is sprouting new growth, and a couple of hibiscus are starting to show new leaves. There are buds on the gardenia bushes and new growth on both bleeding heart vines too! Unfortunately the oleander are showing no signs of life, even though their branches are solid. My favorite hibiscus plants look like they'll have to be pruned heavily, as will the once-gorgeous orchid tree. And I'm pretty sure the angel trumpet is dead. Two more weeks and the gardening will begin in earnest. I can't wait.