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Vibrancy

What is it about red tones?

Vibrant 2021 Spring

Vibrant red captures your attention.  That is why stop signs and traffic stop lights are red.  Love is associated with red hearts and red roses.  Red is also a common favorite color, along with blue.  The mixture of these two colors has a wide range in the purple and magenta area, that seems particularly vibrant in nature this year.  Perhaps I just never noticed it before and it’s like this every year.

Our 2021 Azaleas were dazzling, and each year, no matter how long they last, it’s never long enough.  We have several different colors, and all of them performed well.  Even the white Azaleas seemed to be brighter this year.  If some of your regular Azaleas (not Encore) need pruned, like mine do, now is the time!  That’s right!  Prune them right after they finish blooming because they bloom on the previous year’s growth. If you prune too late you will reduce the blooms you will have next year.  I will be taking out some of the oldest branches and pruning so that more light gets to the center of the plant and also trimming to maintain overall shape. I don’t cut many branches, but a few each year is healthy. This helps to rejuvenate the bush since new branches come from the center and the older and larger branches get leggy and tend to sprawl. The first photo shows one that needs cut back.  The second photo shows one that I pruned last year.  You can see that it is fuller and a better shape.

Purple AzaleaAzalea 2021

Neon Magenta

This Geranium image (below) was taken from a video off of my phone.  If anything, it is a little duller than the actual bloom.  The plant over-wintered in our greenhouse, which was mostly like being at a spa. On occasion however, it got well over 100 degrees in the greenhouse from forgetting to ventilate it early enough in the day. For the record, I can tell you that Geraniums can tolerate a lot of heat!  I knew they were a full-sun flower, but I didn’t realize they were this tough when it came to heat tolerance.  I don’t remember the name of this beautiful variety, but it is practically neon magenta, and I love it.

Geranium

Crimson

For the second year, our Crimson Clover in the bee yard has made a wonderful display.  It’s really beautiful to watch the wind feather through the blossom stalks and foliage in ripples.  HERE is a link to the post with a funny little video I made last year during the 2020 clover bloom.  Just like last year, it is like a little piece of heaven, for honey bees.

Clover 2021

Electric Green

Looking out the window, the green in the trees is electric at times.  It’s late evening and the sun is shining from a low angle. New plant growth has a particularly vibrant green look to it, and everything seems to be putting on vigorous new growth right now.

Below is a photo of a Tulip Poplar flower. Tulip Poplar is a huge tree whos blossoms obviously look like tulips.  These blossoms are filled with nectar and the bees love it.  I wouldn’t have known that it was blooming because it blooms so high up in the canopy of the tree.  Luckily I saw this blossom and picked it up off of the ground.  It too has this vibrant chartreuse color.

Tulip Poplar

Colors can also have an emotional or physical effect. Perhaps you have a favorite color, so you would naturally feel differently about things in a color that you like.  Wearing a favorite color can also boost your confidence.

Bedrooms are often painted in a cool blue color to promote a better atmosphere for relaxing.  Many fast food places use the colors yellow and orange to prompt your appetite.

Did you know that chickens are said to do better with a red light because it reduces stress and enhances egg production?  Now, there’s a bit of trivia you didn’t think you would learn today!

Spring is definitely the most colorful season.  May it be vibrant and full of wonderful new growth for you.

 

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Springtime 2021

Springtime has gotten busy today. The most obvious observations of springtime are the blueberries that are blooming with their delicate bell-shaped blossoms. The bees are all over them. If you stand out in the rows, the constant zooming of the honey bees and bumble bees sounds like a motor-speedway. Standing still and quietly observing, they just fly around you and remain focused on their business. You are simply in-the-way.

honey bee honey Bee

Every now and then you see a butterfly hopping from one plant to the next in random bliss. They are happy to be in the sunshine and in warm temperatures, much like myself. Hummingbirds have also arrived. I wrote down March 18th as the arrival date, although that has come under debate whether it was really a day or so earlier than that. In any event, it is earlier than last year and they are most welcome. Here is a link to last year’s arrival with a neat tip. Usually Hummingbirds keep flying while they take sips out of the feeder, but this one decided to hang around a bit. Only a few hummingbirds have arrived, so the territory wars have not yet begun.

Hummingbird

Farm Chores

There are lots of things to do on the farm like pruning and planting. Many things have to get done before the weather gets hot. Chores build on top of chores with spring’s window of opportunity ticking away every minute. Spring is glorious so don’t miss it by staying indoors! I have to intentionally take time to observe, appreciate, and contemplate at this time of year or work would just take over. Here are a few random photos of white Iris, red Azalea (that is a little dusty with pine pollen), Thistle, Wisteria, and Spirea.

spring 2021 observations of spring 2021 springtime

Holly

I have a special appreciation for Holly. It is a terrific plant for your landscape being beautiful in all seasons, drought tolerant when established, and providing food for wildlife and nectar for pollinators. If you want to add one to your yard, be mindful that some varieties get quite large. Look at the expected mature size on the label to get one sized to fit your area. Do a little research, because some varieties require another Holly plant for pollination to happen, forming the berries.

This winter, the berries on our hollies were particularly vibrant and in massive quantities. The best specimen was our Burford Holly, which is one type that is self-pollinating. There were more berries than I ever remember, and they didn’t fall off. It could be that this winter has been relatively wet, so the berries didn’t actually dry out.  Here are two photos, one showing the mass of berries we are still enjoying from this winter, and another photo showing a different variety with both berries and blossoms on the plant at the same time.

Observations of springtime

As more stuff continues to wake up this spring, take some personal time for appreciation of the wonders of Mother Nature. Make your own observations of springtime. You deserve it and time is short. The temperature is pleasant, and best of all, the pesky bugs are not quite out yet, (although its close).

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Wildflowers Don’t Hurry

wildflowers2016If you think turtles are slow, try growing wildflowers.  They are in their own happy world and on their own schedule.  For someone who likes to mow grass, leaving this patch “to the wild” was difficult (see photo), especially since it is near the road and near our farm sign.  But, I love my bees and wanted to prove that I could actually grow a variety of wild blooming plants.  Wildflowers continue to bloom through the mid and late summer when bees have difficulty finding enough flowers to visit. The bees are doing quite well this year, I’m happy to report.  If the great weather continues, they should be quite content.

TulipPoplarBlossomThis is a photo of a Tulip Poplar blossom and this tall tree is one of the main reasons for a good honey flow.  Even though the blossoms don’t last long, they are full of nectar and bees love them.

JasmineThe Jasmine this year is divine!  I’ve really enjoyed sitting near the open window and breathing in their sweet scent.  Visitors have asked what wonderful plant they are smelling in the air.  This is the white, dark leaved Confederate Jasmine, not to be confused with Carolina Jasmine.  Carolina Jasmine has a yellow bloom and is reported to be toxic to bees, which is totally weird.  But Confederate Jasmine is the one you want.  It is cold hardy and a vigorous grower.

OakleafHydrangeaAnother great plant is the Oakleaf Hydrangea.  It is blooming right now and is great for shaded to semi-shaded areas.  The blooms are huge and last a long time.  Once it gets established, it is also quite self sufficient and hardy.  This one is thriving under some oak trees in the front yard.

GardeniaI just noticed the Gardenias are also blooming.  They are known for their intoxicating scent.  Keeping with our theme of easy keeper plants, this one fits the bill.  On top of looking and smelling fabulous, the Gardenia blossom is also edible.

Good things come to those that wait.

BBSo, as you can see, things are happening in the garden as well as in the berry patch.  Good things are around the corner.  It won’t be long – maybe a week and a half until RabbitEye Farm will be open for Blackberry and Blueberry picking.  This photo is a sneak peek at how things are ripening up…

 

 

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