Carolina Silverbell

Halesia tetraptera is native to Eastern United States. The one on the edge of the garden I propagated from one I had purchased & grew in my last garden. The seed is doubly dormant & although it does have plenty of seed pods each year I have yet to find a seedling.

I never seem to get a really good photo but this morning just a the sun was reaching it I took these.

http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/landscape/trees/hgic1028.html

Here the hanging branches in front of Viburnum macrocephalum

Kerria japonica pleniflora

This fountaining shrub keeps it's green stems throughout winter. This spring it is spectacular!

It is up on an old dumping ground for large garden discards that has formed a berm. Now after several years & covered in leaf fall & mulch  it must be a fertile spot.

These golden pom-pom flowers appear again in fall but not as abundantly

Daffodils

The daffodils are so abundant this year. Must be all that rain we have had the last few months.

They seem taller & more robust. The trouble with daffodils is hiding the rejuvenating foliage until it dies down. It has been determined that tying the leaves in knots & other neatening methods is unhelpful  for feeding the bulbs. On the driveway Miss Huff lantana ( you can see the stems I left for winter interest) is now starting to grow & will soon cover the daffodil foliage.

Barrett Browning & February Gold are happy next to the concrete driveway.

Anemones & Christmas Tree

In the fall I found a seedling red Cedar tree (Juniperus virginiana). For years I have cut branches of one of these, that is growing into the Black Gum tree on the property line, for our Christmas tree.
I have concluded that I will run out of cedar branches in the next couple of years so potted this seedling for future Christmas decorations. Yes, I could buy a tree but since moving to North Carolina 20 years ago I have embraced the idea of these somewhat prickly country Christmas trees.
The squirrels, of which I have many, regularly dig into my pots. My solution was to cover the bare earth in the pot with pine cones. Then I went to Terra Ceia & found some irresistible Anemone coronaria bulbs. So, I pushed those into the soil around the future Christmas tree. I read these are not too good in containers, but never to be put off by someone else's opinion, I planted them anyway.
Here is the result