Regardless of what the weather is doing or what a groundhog in Pennsylvania may have said, Spring has sprung in SETX and there’s a buzz of activity in the gardens. That buzz is sometimes literal, as we’ve gotten the power tools out to do some seasonal maintenance such as shearing the holly hedges, cutting down the plants in the Demo Ponds, and string trimming. Spring cleaning has begun in the garden and with the greenhouses getting a much needed window washing. The glass is so clean now, we had to lower the shades to keep the plants inside from getting sunburned! Other seasonal maintenance has kicked into high gear with the war on weeds and spraying. Availability lists from our suppliers are getting longer with a greater variety of plants becoming available, which has, Director of Horticulture, Jennifer Buckner and Senior Horticulturist at SLG, Deb Wiles pouring over the lists and making some of their own to fill in a few spots and augment others. The early spring weather is making the warm season annuals grow faster and we’ll be at least a week ahead of our planned color change out. By the end of the month several annual beds will be sporting new spring-summer bedding color with Angelonia, Caladiums, Calendula, Celosia, Coleus, Curcuma (lots of ‘C’ plants, it seems), Pennisetum and Scaevola! Spring bloomers are in full force with many of the azaleas budding and in bloom, the Saucer Magnolias are full of buds and the late pruning will make them flush even more, spring ephemerals like Freesia Laxa in the courtyard and the Snowflakes at the back of Blue Moon Pond add pops of seasonal color. The camellias are showing off, even the Bluebonnets are starting to bloom. Every season in the garden has something and this is shaping up to be a floriferous and colorful spring.
