Eye Popping Spring!

As a transplant from the West Coast to Georgia back in 2001, I had a lot to learn about gardening in the South, which is a totally different world than gardening out West. Down here the weather is obviously a lot more humid during the Spring and Summer, and cold and usually quite dry during the Winter. In California, there isn't any real seasonal change. The temperature is fairly constant all year.

Unfortunately this means a fairly lackluster, constant landscape. Brown trees, brown grass, rocks, boring when that's all you've seen your whole life. So living here in Georgia has been a real treat. The high humidity and cold Winter allow for a wide diversity of plants, most of which are extremely lush, including the weeds.

One of my favorite weeds is Wisteria. This extremely hardy weed can be trained to grow as a tree, but prefers to climb as a vine. Even though it can be destructive (it will break apart stone, cement, rock, anything it can get it's tendrils into) it is one of the most spectacular spring flowers to announce the arrival of warmer weather.

Even better, Wisteria has a sweet scent that purely identifies it as a Southern glory. I planted my Wisteria vine about 6 years ago along a dilapidated old chain link fence. Next to it I planted honeysuckle and Confederate Jasmine, another glorious Southern jewel.

Every year I pray that March isn't too harsh, because tough weather just beats Wisteria to death, and a hard wind, which we get a lot up on our hill, will knock all the blossoms off in a single storm.

This year we were lucky. Not only did March cooperate, but we had a hot early Spring which forced the Jasmine to bloom a little early. It is a rare treat to see both of these neighboring beauties blooming together so prolifically. In fact I've never seen the Jasmine so full. It's almost top heavy for the fence. I can't help but just stare at the colors together, the bright canary yellow of the Jasmine contrasted with it's color compliment purple.

But best of all is the smell of the Jasmine. The scent is so strong that guests must think we have a sweet old Grandmother hidden away somewhere in the garden. It's almost overwhelming, but it's so pleasant you just want to wrap yourself up in it.

What a glorious place to live!