May Flowers bring beauty and joy!

It's May! :) Time for a new thread!! We came from here:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1305265/#new

It's May and hopefully spring has come to stay although you wouldn't know it by the weather in my part of the world. We were 80F on Tuesday and tonight we are expecting lows in the 30's and possible snow flurries!!! Can you believe it? The weather has really been strange all over the country this spring!!

Even so, we discovered two blooms on our clematis this morning! Hooray! I just hope the cold weather tonight doesn't hurt the many buds on the clematis vine nor the rest of the tender plants that are just coming up in my flower bed. I am going to cover them with some old sheets tonight and hopefully they will all be okay.

Here is a photo from last season of a basket of flowers I had.

and the second photo is one I took this morning of one of the clematis blooms. I don't think it has fully opened.

Gorgeous, Marilyn! I can't believe this weather either. I haven't even put my tomatoes in the ground yet. Man, am I ever late with everything. I keep blaming the weather and my knee, but that will only go so far, lol! The soil is truly been too wet to work though every weekend. More coming this weekend, and this is supposed to be the State Soccer tournament! I don't know what they will do since it starts Friday night and goes into Saturday and then into the following weekend for the finals. Two oldest grand-daughters will be playing and we were hoping to get to watch both play since they will be at different times.

My new rugs for the den and dining room arrive today. I haven't had one in the DR since we built the house. Guess I finally decided it was time for some color in there. The one in the den was supposed to be a temporary one (Ha!) and it's been 4-5 years now at least. We also ordered a new leather recliner that doesn't look like a recliner. And I have some new panels on order for the window. Just time to redecorate a bit.

I do have 13 tomatoes and six squash out I hope I don't have to cover them, again. They are not growing, just setting there it seems. We have had a shower today, cloudy and dreary.
_

I put tomatoes in but there were about 4 that were really small seedlings and they bit the dust. I have new ones to replant but thi k I will wait until Mon to plant. Also have a tray of other stuff I'm going to have to decide whether to plant now or hold until Mon.
Elaine it's always fun to do a little redecorating. I need to have the chair seats in the breakfast area and also ones around a game table recovered. Can't ever get it to the top of the list! They are more complicated than just unscrewing a chair pad and redoing. I need a professional to do it

Elaine, you will have to take a picture of the new rugs and share them with us once the rugs are in place. It is always nice to "refresh" the home decor from time to time. :)
I have tomatoes and impatiens that have been in my glassed-in porch for a month waiting for the weather to get warm enough! :( The tomatoes are in quart pots and one of them has two blooms on it!! The glassed-in porch has acted as a greenhouse of sorts, which is good. I planted about two dozen of the impatiens the other day and hope the cold temps tonight don't hurt them. I will wait until next week to get the others in the ground, depending on what happens with my pacemaker.

Charlotte, I also have some kitchen chairs that need new seat covers. Since we remodeled the kitchen I am going with a theme of gray and blue and the covers on the seats don't match that theme. It's no big thing, though. I'll do that when I get around to it. LOL

I finally located my camera charger for one camera and the card for the other! It was nice and overcast so a good day for taking pictures. I went on a clematis planting frenzy and as they say they are starting to leap! I also have several passion vines and several more clematis still in pots I haven't gotten planted. I'm really enjoying them however! Here are some pictures. The one of the clematis and roses will be super spectacular in a week or so when the roses start blooming more.

The white one is HUGE! It is growing with pink on a trellis in my front yard.

My sago hosta in the pot is starting to take off. Finally getting several roses going. I need to use some Bayer or cornmeal or both on them. The red supertunia is from last year. It's been hanging right there since last summer. The tall vine on a tree is my climbing hydrangea. It started out as a little tiny piece a few years ago and has really taken off this year. Hope it blooms. Found another variety in Memphis. I planted it to climb up another pine tree. It's a fairly large plant so hopefully it will take off quicker. The last photo is behind my koi pond. I found the little concrete girl at an auction a few weeks ago. Only paid $5 for her because one of her hands was broken. Didn't bother me.

I promise I quit for now!! The first picture is my butter burr. A lot of iris are blooming - showing a few. The third picture is a peony Kathy Ann gave me last year. It really likes its new location. The 3rd picture is just an overall shot. Pretty yellow rose.

Lots of things blooming. I decided to go ahead and plant the vegetables I had in the garden and let them get a good rain. It will either kill them or make them thrive! They were just getting too root bound to stay in pots any longer.

I lied! Genna this one is for you. Here is the carolina jasmine I have growing on a lattice that is attached to the front of my deck. As you can see it provides an excellent screen. If you look at the bottom you can see the lattice.

Those are all beautiful, Charlotte! I especially like that blue clematis. Do you know the name of it? The central AR area is waay ahead of us up here in the Ozarks as far as blooms are concerned. We are about a month behind where we were last year. Our dogwoods up here bloomed about the first of April last year and not till just last week this year.

I had a carolina jasmine when I lived in the Conway area and loved it! It's too bad they don't bloom all season. The fragrance is heavenly!

Love the little girl and it would not have bothered me, either, that her hand is broken. She was really a find!

My grandson, Christopher, is in the Stuck on a Truck contest at Toad Suck Daze in Conway again this year. Here is a link to the live webcam:
http://www.stuckonatruck.com/webcam-pre.php

Christopher is the tall guy with curly blonde hair who looks like a surfer dude but he is really a very responsible young man and is currently pursuing a master's degree in his chosen field. He wants to become a personal trainer.

I had a petunia in a pot on the ground that survived the winter also and is blooming like crazy now.
Everything at your house is beautiful as usual, Charlotte. We were invited to Peggy's home Sat in Mobile to see her garden, she had a Lady Margaret passion vine that covered a huge area, she gave me some cuttings and I am trying to root them, have you ever rooted any passion vines ? All their walking iris have already bloomed out, she had some Louisanna iris in full bloom. They are about a month ahead of us down there. She said the people at the botanical gardens told them to plant their tomatoes in March, and she had little tomatoes growing.

No I haven't rooted any passion vine Sandra. Haven't had much luck rooting vine cuttings. I have just bought passion vines that are supposed to be hardy to zone 7. There are not that many. I have one that is loaded with buds now but will be a few weeks before it blooms. It's called Jeannette and I've had it for 3 or 4 years now. I also have a later blooming clematis planted with it. Passion vines seem to bloom later than clematis - at least around here. I buy my passion vines from Bushwood. They had a sale last fall and I ordered several more. It was too late to plant them in the ground so I just kept them in the greenhouse over the winter. They made it but I still haven't gotten around to planting them. I'm going to have vines everywhere! LOL Don't know if you noticed but the climbing hydrangea also has a clematis growing with it. It hasn't bloomed yet. I have several other clematis that are growing good but haven't bloomed yet. Some are later bloomers than others.

Marilyn I don't know the name of the blue clematis but one of my favorites also. It's right outside my kitchen window. When I sit down to eat I'm looking straight at it.

Could that blue clematis be a jackmanii? I think I have one similar to that but can't remember the exact name. There are so many that look alike. Charlotte, they are all gorgeous! It looks like you have a yard full of clematis! My candida is a huge white bloom too and I took some photos today. I keep promising myself I will plant more, but I only have 3 and only 2 are really blooming much right now. Will post pics if I get some time tonight.

The rugs didn't make it this afternoon but are coming tomorrow morning. Just as well. I needed to clean up the room a big, so I've been moving furniture and cleaning the floor tonight before they bring them out. Didn't have much notice before, so really kind of glad they didn't make it today. I promise to post pictures of them. I have had a few iris blooming, but I moved a bunch last year so I don't know if a lot will bloom this year of not.

Marilyn, y'all stay warm! I still can't get over this weather.

No Elaine don't think it is jackmanii. It's not the same color. Mine is very blue - not purple.

Is this weather not crazy!!! I had to put on my winter clothes this morning! Long sleeve t-shirt and flannel shirt over it!

Bet Marilyn had snow. Some friends from the Fayetteville area have posted pictures on FB of snow. They got enough snow up there to totally cover the ground. About an inch I think they said.

We had kids running in the state track meet yesterday and last night at Green Forrest and they had snow! Not sure if it snowed during the meet or on their way home..... Crazy....... I have a lot of irises blooming and with buds, and clematis blooming...... I also have scrapes on a couple of my DLs and they say will be down to 36 tonight. Should I try to cover them all?? I assume the cold will nip the buds?? :(

Charlotte, your yard is beautiful! Wonder if I could plant a carolina jasmine and maybe the climbing rose together for a more extended bloom season and still have better coverage. Would probably need something other than wood though because it will be right near the eave of the house and will get a lot of water.............. not sure what I would put there..........

I had planned to paint the exterior of the house where my parents lived this weekend - well, at least make a dent in it - but they are calling for rain and temps in the 50s so don't think I will be trying to put on stain! :( Next weekend we have a fundraiser for our mission trip so that will wipe out that Saturday too. I really wanted to get it done before it gets super hot - I am afraid once it gets warm to stay it is going to go to really hot in a hurry! Hope I am wrong on that - but it was 86 and super muggy on Tuesday so it has already started - just keeps getting interrupted by these cold spells...........

I went to Arkadelphia Wednesday night and brought home a suburban load of the kids stuff out of their dorm rooms...... lots of it was winter clothes! I hope they kept at least a couple of things for cool weather or they are going to be cold today!

I snapped a picture of this clematis blooming on my fence ..... it has been planted for several years but Leigh usually mows it down when it is coming up and so it has never bloomed until now. I can't remember the name of it.....(he also mowed over my tag)..... I have another clematis that was supposed to be a shade clematis that I have planted in my small shady area..... it is blooming but it only about 6" tall. I have the red wire trellis type thing that I got from Sandra at one of the RUs for it to climb on - but it never grows more than 6"..... I kept thinking eventually it would get bigger - but last year and this year it is had the ONE bloom at the top of a 6" stalk - and that's it............... not too exciting - you have to walk all the way up to it to even SEE it!

No Charlotte, we did not get any snow where we are, thank goodness! It was 38f when I looked at out thermometer at 6 a.m. so our temps did not get down to freezing. :) We are in a "pocket" that is usually 10-15 degrees warmer than Springfield. They did get sleet and some snow up there and even down around Fayetteville and Rogers, AR. Our weather is more like what they have in Mountain Home, AR rather than Fayetteville or Rogers or Branson.
I did cover my clematis with a sheet, though, just to be on the safe side.

I did put on my wool socks last night and wore my winter gown to bed. Crazy weather for May!
We are supposed to warm up gradually and be in the 70's by Tuesday.

Genna, that is a lovely clematis! Maybe you will have more blooms this year since Leigh is not there to mow it down. LOL

In addition to the clematis I mentioned above, I have 3 clematis which I got at the RU at Jim's last Sept. All 3 of them are doing great but I don't really expect any blooms from them this year. I have them growing on the chain link fence in back. I think Elaine gave me a couple of them--not sure where the 3rd one came from. They should be really pretty on the fence next year. :)

Genna mine is treated wood and has been there 13 or 14 years and has no signs of deterioration. Can't imagine that treated lumber would not hold up for you also. Mine gets hit by the sprinkler system every day during the summer plus of course all the normal rain and other elements that we have.

Carolina Jasmine grows VERY THICK and needs to be trimmed from time to time therefore it is not suitable to plant with a rose. It would probably choke out the rose. You just have to decide what is most important to you. Very few vines that will bloom all summer.

Marilyn glad you escaped the snow!

The rain has just not started here and it i.s still 70 but dropping to 38 tonight. I am not covering anything, there is too much now to even try to cover it, I do have tomatoes and if they get bit, will just start over, they have not grown much anyway.

We stayed cool all day yesterday but today is suppose to be back up in the 70's. Hope everything survived for Yall that got colder than this!!!

Charlotte everything looks good!!! Your butterbur sure has spread nicely!!! I love all the clematis are they in pots or the ground? I hate to bug you for names but that little rose bud is breath-taking in beauty. Do you know it's name?

We use to go to the Natchez Trace the 1st Sunday in May every year for a family reunion and it was generally cool up there while it wasn't here.

Did I tell Yall that Tigger my inside cat that is meaner than a junk yard dog had 3 of the cutest kittens. 2 are bob tail and 1 has a regular tail.

Yes that butterburr really likes the location its in!! Very wet! I don't want it to spread anymore! I want to keep just that patch of it but its trying to overtake my hellobores and some other stuff. I have some hellobores I planted in the same area that were just little seedlings I moved and they are also now giant economy size!!!

My clematis are mostly in the ground. I have a few in pots. The pink one you can see in that overall picture of the back is in a large concrete pot and it has done really well in the pot. Some of the other ones in pots haven't taken off very well. I have 3 clematis and 2 or 3 passion vines I haven't planted yet. Don't have any idea where I'm going to put them!! I am going to look like a jungle soon with vines growing up all the trees! LOL

I checked the rose and of course it's the one without a tag!! It's a really pretty rose. Is a variegated with shades of pink, yellow. I bought it several years ago in Pine Bluff at a nursery that carries lots of roses. I have it in a concrete pot because I wasn't sure it would work and thought I could move the pot around if it didn't have enough sun. It's been happy in the pot so I've left it.

It was cold here last night and is still cold this morning

Cute kittens, Jeri! What are you going to do with them--keep them or give them away?

Our weather is gradually warming up, thank goodness. We are supposed to get more rain tonight but for now it is just overcast. I covered my clematis with a sheet the last two nights. It is loaded with buds and I wanted to make sure they were protected. Fortunately, we did not get down to freezing so hopefully no damage has been done.

You ladies have a good week-end!

It was mid 60s around lunch, so we decided to go on up to work on the house - thought I could even paint without getting too hot, but once we got up there , the wind had picked up a LOT and it cloudy over and it got COLD....well, only 55 degrees, but with no sun and the wind and dampness in the air, it FELT cold ...LOL .... I didn't even attempt to paint, but we did get a couple of other things done.

Kyle is in this video that was done for the OBU biology dept. He said he didn't have an opportunity to rehearse what he was going to say - and he knew he said hum. too many times, but they wouldn't let him re-record it. Overall I thought he did ok, although I am pretty sure he would have done better if they had let him record it again after having a chance to think about what he was going to say. He is almost at the end of the video..... then he is also shown again with his 3D glasses on doing part of the presentation on scholars day. That 3D projector that they have is AMAZING as far as studying anatomy or looking at CT scans! http://vimeo.com/65396092

Kyle's gf is also in a small clip (just a picture of her ) at about 40 -41 seconds....she is the one on the far left of the screen in a black sweater, she has long dark hair, and a EEE pin or label thing on her sweater.

From the feel of things, I think it is going to be colder tonight that it was last night!! Last night didn't appear to bother my iris or clematis- but tonight might get them! :(

Those kittens are cute Jeri! Love the bobtails!

Genna, he did great ! What is his and Jessica's majors, are they in medicine also?

Cool here tonight, but the tomatoes survived last night, Jerry had to work and he said it was a big frost on the windshield this morning

Got our new rugs Friday and really like them. The pile is really thick. Now of course I need to get the dining room chairs recovered. Excuse the stuff in the chairs. Got a sample book of fabric for the chairs and was trying out some colors for the chairs. Some day I'll get to that too. Also thought I'd post some pics of some of my pots and other things growing.

We about froze to death this weekend at the soccer field and have to go back in the morning. Gracie finishes up tomorrow. Mackenzie will likely go back next weekend for the semi's and hopefully they will get to play in the finals if they do well. Last night it started raining about mid-way through the first game (Mackenzie's). Earl went to Gracie's and I went to Mack's. It was pouring by the time they finished, so I went home. My pants were getting soaked and I was exhausted. I hate driving home in the dark and rain anyway. Today was better, not as windy and the rain stopped just before the first game started but the fields were wet and it was cold. Mack was on the ground a couple of times, but if y'all saw my FB post, she scored a hat trick in the game (3 goals)! Gracie's team won too so it was a good day. Let's hope tomorrow is good for them too.

The last picture is 'Tokyo Sun' sedum. I can't remember who gave it to me (Kathy Ann-?) at the swap. Found this little pot for it at the Botanical garden plant sale. A favorite pottery seller here in town has these for sale at some of the events. Also bought one with a flamingo on it.

1. The front entry. Bought some new pots and a new red cushion. The Encore azaleas were just beginning to bloom when I took this pic.
2. The flamingo pot with another sedum.
3. I think this is 'Baboon Bottom'. I bought it for the color, not the name, lol!
4. 'Candida' clematis
5. The driveway bed looking out from the garage. Verbena, pansies, peony, Jap Maple, etc. Lots of other stuff behind all this that either has already bloomed or will bloom later.

I like your rugs Elaine. They are pretty and cheerful! I have that same iris and love it. One of my favorites. Really cute little pot.

I saw your pictures on FB and could tell you were really cold. Such bizarre weather! My son was in Dallas from Tues until Fri. He used to live in Dallas so was expecting it to be hot in May and only bought short sleeve shirts. He had to go shopping for some warm clothes! He is here for the weekend and then is going to be back in Dallas all next week. He said he may have to buy some more clothes!!

The high today was around 50. Not sure how cold it got last night but so far my plants all look alright. I did pass a nursery this afternoon and they had all their annuals covered.

It all looks really good Elaine! I really like your new red cushion with your red geraniums!

Elaine I like your rugs also, especially the 2nd one. Love the colors!!! Your beds look great!! I don't see a weed anywhere!! I can't seem to eliminate them this year. I'm on the 2nd time around on most of my beds. I think my weed retardant is not working!!! It is left over from last year.

Beautiful rugs, Elaine! Your flowers are all lovely, too, and that is certainly an unusual little pot! :) I am envious of all you ladies who already have so much blooming. My clematis is the only thing blooming but the peonies should bloom as soon as it warms a bit more. Everything else has a long way to go before blooming---it has just been too cold up here this spring. :(

I love the new rugs too, Elaine, I hope you get much enjoyment from them. The sedum you called Tokyo sun is the same color as ogon sedum, but the shape is like blue spruce sedum. I love that bright color

Thanks Sandra..... Kyle is majoring in Biology and Philosophy - he was planning to go to medical school, and will probably still go. He just sees the things his brother has gone thru and is trying to decide if it is worth it. He will also probably try to go out of state because of the bad reputation that UAMS has for how it treats its students. With his high gpa and a good MCAT score, he should have a chance at several top of the line med schools. His goal was to graduate with a 4.0 so he could go anywhere he wanted and hopefully have scholarships too. He has completed 3 semesters of college with a 4.0..... but now will lose his 4.0 this semester due to SPANISH II of all things!! He is taking Neuroscience, Chem II and Anatomy this semester and has a high enough A in all of them that he can make a D on his final and still have an A in the class! But, in Spanish, if ANY word in the answer is mispelled - the entire answer is wrong. Spelling is something that Kyle has always struggled with - and he does ok now on English - but the Spanish words have really presented him with a challenge. He misses lots of answers on the tests because of a mispelled word. He would need a 150 on a 100 point test to have an A in the class - so it isn't happening......... he said there are 4 other biology majors in the class that are in the same boat with him! He is so upset over losing his 4.0 but especially to a class like that!

Jessica is currently majoring in Chemistry - but that might change over the summer. She is having a harder time with Chem than she expected - she had a B last semester and will this semester as well. At OBU a B is very respectable - but she thinks she "stinks" at chemistry. She wants to be a pharmacist..... her dream is to own her own pharmacy that includes a really nice gift shop...... she would love to just run a gift shop or a bakery, but is trying to come up with a way to make a living as well. :)

Love the rugs Elaine, and the entrance looks beautiful! I am definitely not a decorator - I missed that gene somewhere!! and I have no decorating skill!

At least the sun is shining here today ...... but the wind is still blowing and it is stil pretty cool...hopefully it will warm up today.

You should bring her to Ripley, and take her to Ripley Drugs- they have the most beautiful things, jewelry, candles, garden decorations, pottery, all kinds of stuff. They had the elf on the shelf at Christmas. They have wedding gifts. It is a good sized store, I don't use them for meds but Mammaw does so I go in there quite a bit. It would help keep her dream alive ! In a small town like Ripley, they do well with the gift part of the store too.

This is a side-by-side photo of two clematis blooms. The photo of the white one with the purple "stripes" in the center was taken last year on April 1, 2012. The photo of the solid color clematis was taken last week. Both of these blooms were on the same vine. Last year the vine was covered in blooms that were white and purple. This year the blooms are all the solid color. Due to weather differences from last year to this, the vine bloomed a month later this year.
What do you all think about the difference in the color of the blooms? Is the vine reverting back to perhaps the original color of one of the "parent" vines?

Is there a possibility that you actually have two vines planted in the same location. I have two planted together in several places. You really can't tell which vine is which.

I have been scratching my head over my iris, I don't remember having this many white ones last year, so I have no idea about your vine, Marilyn

If there are two vines, wouldn't blooms of both kinds be showing up? It's a puzzle, for sure.

Pretty white iris, Sandra. Did they just multiply that much, perhaps?

When I have two different vines in the same area they don't always bloom at the same time.. I've had different shades of the same bloom - some more vivid than others, etc. But never had one to totally change colors and I have some that I've had for more than 13 years.

There are more blooms open on the clematis this morning. There is still not as much white on them as last year but there is more of the color variation showing up on these latest blooms.

Marilyn my Nelly Moser did this same thing last year - the year before she had soft pink and white blooms but last year every single bloom was a washed out purple - I just thought it was because I fertilized too late but I don't know why. I worried like crazy this year and the first bloom looked just like last year but the ones after that were all the same as they had been when I bought it. Who knows?? Beautiful vine though.