This is a picture of one stem of our happy Hearty Hibiscus. There are other stems also chock full of buds. I’ve been spraying the leaves weekly with a solution of Neem oil, Peppermint oil, Castor soap, and water with the hope it will be enough to keep the Thrips (tiny bud destroying insects) away. So much hope that the blooming is going to be as spectacular as the buds indicate. Hearty Hibiscus blooms only last for a day or so, but they bloom sequentially, so all those buds shouldn’t burst forth at once, but a couple per branch per day. Which still has the potential to be glorious.

Of the three passion vines we planted last year, it seemed only one survived the winter’s freeze. Then I noticed a leaf. It wasn’t the same kind of leaf as the surviving passion vine, but it looked vaguely familiar. As we have had many plant volunteers turn out quite well, I am leaving (leafing, haha) this one to see what happens. A few leaves later, and it looks like it may be a passionflower. The three-lobed leaf looks like the other variety we planted, just about two feet from either of the original planting locations. Either one of the seeds took, or the roots are spreaders. I’ll take it!

A few days after I took this photo, I noticed that a tendril had extended at the top of the plant. Another encouraging clue!

We have a large disparity in our hardy hibiscus plants in the front garden. The one on the left in the picture above was planted first, at the beginning of last season and is so happy to be here. The one on the right was planted at the end of the last season, and it struggling. They are different varieties of hardy hibiscus, but the difference in their appearance of health is vast. The one on the right I purchased because of the variegated leaves and dark red blooms. When I purchased it, it looked a little sad, but it was the end of the season, so I thought that explained it. Hm. Nope. I do want to plant another hibiscus in this area, something with a dark or true red bloom. I will have to be wary of sadness. I will not pull the sad plant, but give it another season to see if it can establish a healthy root system, and get grounded.

So excited! The oakleaf hydrangea we planted last year has bloomed! Granted, it has two blooms, but right now it only has two stems, so not many opportunities for more blooms, yet. I’m taking this as a sign that it is happy. As it establishes deeper roots, I hope it will develop more branches and overall size. There is an oakleaf hydrangea in the town gardens that is over eight feet tall. It will take years to get to that magnificence.

I am giving it a regular application of neem oil, peppermint oil, and castor soap to keep the grasshoppers from snacking it to death.