Mama Kat Thursday: Spring In My Neck of the Woods

In Florida, Spring starts "springing" around the first of March, though the Azalea's are already done and everything else is still prepping to bloom.
So for Mama Kat today,  we have a brief tour of what's Springing in my neck of the woods:

Piles of Pink Shamrocks!

This display is in a large oval bed out front that's centered by a large Gardenia shrub. This pile of Shamrocks actually planted themselves here and periodically I move clumps of them to other places, since they do make such a wonderful ground cover.

On the other side of the Gardenia in the same oval bed, I have this container garden:

It's centered with Gladiolas surrounded by cheerful golden-colored Creeping Jenny, which stays beautiful all winter! I added the Dusty Miller as well, for visual interested doing the drab days of winter, since it also thrives through the cold.

Next is another bed in front, this one closer to the house. It fills the corner between driveway and sidewalk:
 The center feature here is a another large mixed container Garden holding assorted bloomers and surrounded on the ground by assorted flowering plants: Easter lilies, Day Lilies, Hardy Hibiscus, blue Salvia, a Mexian Heather, Glads, Shamrocks, Siberian Iris and this clay strawberry pot of Hens & Chicks. 

Here's also where I added some of those Red Salvia seedlings I have so many of.

I try to choose plants that are perennial or self-seed easily.

Sharing that same front bed is my new Oakland Holly that has exploded with new growth points!
Obviously, happy in it's new home and though the leaves are spiny, the new growth is still soft and delicate.

Finally, a shot of my climbing rose on the back corner:

It's just exploded with new growth!
 Last year, I finally learned the trick to having a beautiful climbing rose and that trick is NOT cutting it, but instead to gently bend down those outward branches so the tip is aimed downward & securing them to the trellis. This encourages more growth. Rose fertilizer doesn't hurt either, since roses are heavy feeders.

It's blooms have the flat-style of wild roses and are dark pink to red in color. It should be loaded this year!

So how's Spring looking in your neck of the woods?

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