Hellebore Double Cotton Candy

It has been almost like winter around here. Yesterday it never reached 50 degrees, last night we had a frost. Still no real winter to speak of, the pond froze over for a few days in December I think. 

Wanted to share a few newbies in the garden.

This is one of those cloned named double hellebores. I got it last fall for $8 a steal at a tiny home nursery! It is called Cotton Candy. Looks to have just one flower this year.

I showed another bloom on this Pine Knot Farms 'Southern Belles' Double Pink a couple of posts back. Looks like we'll get 5 blooms, wow!

 I showed you Camellia japonica 'R. L. Wheeler' from Duke Gardens a few weeks ago. We bought this to memorialize Grumpy. Whenwe got it we looked it up on the net and found a lot of very different flowers claiming to be this one. This is clearly a variegated bud in as big as a golf ball maybe bigger, huge. Look at the flower from Duke Gardens. In a few days we hope to see this open in the garden in a few days.

Here is Iris reticulata a full month ahead of schedule, more open everyday. In 2010 it opened March 06, these started opening on Friday.

The cold frames I pulled our mustard greens today and planted more Bok Choy and Musclun lettuce. The old musclun lettuce is about gone. We have all the new seeds I planted coming up, two kinds of beets, bok choy, musclun lettuce, radishes and spinach.

We are still going strong harvesting kale, chard, spinach, carrots and turnip greens.

Today the feeder had its first Northern Flicker to visit for the season. Only twice now I have seen House Finches which up til this year were common at our feeders. Pine Warbler is still a no show as well.

Friday night I heard a cat fight by the front door. Grumpy used to fearlessly chase away all strays that came by here. Valentine our female tuxedo has always been the hunter, not the property protector. Anyway I checked on the cat fight by opening the front door and heard Valentine come in calmly at the back pet door. Looked like she was not involved. Maybe 20 minutes later she is sleeping on top a chair in the living room in sight of the screened porch full glass door, I noticed what looked like a calico cat staring in the glass at her. You know all calico cats are female. Anyway I opened the door and the cat was scared to death, darting about inside the screened porch running into stuff, when she found the way out the screen nearly was pulled entirely out. Later in the night I heard another fight outside, Valentine was in the living room at the time.

New gazebo at Duke Gardens.

 A few weeks ago I visited Duke Gardens and mentioned the new gazebo. Here it is, appears to be mortise and peg built, I saw no bolts securing it together. The arched timbers I would surmise they were 6 x 12 or larger and cut on a huge bandsaw to make the curves, very cool.

 Can you imagine what this will look like when the garden gets going?

 This is the new stairs at the main entry to the garden. I recall the old stairs having a ramp for strollers and wheelchairs? I guess I missed the ramp they had to have by ADA code.

 The new fountain, sorry rose garden....

 The top of the terraces gazebo, if I'm right that is wisteria covering it. Not easy to get a photo of this without somebody inside it. Wish I had a dollar for every wedding that has happened in the lovely spot.

 A view of the terraces looking at the above mentioned gazebo. The flower beds are changed often, one never knows what to expect.

Just a small portion of the 55 acre gardens.