third week of may: yard and garden pics

Heading into the last week of the last month of spring, it sure feels like summer. We’ve had hot and humid and dry all this month. The real difference between May and June will be the nighttime temps which will probably stop dropping below 70F soon. High Summer is on the way and that always is the peak time for my perennial and shrub border. I’ve chosen mostly low-maintenance perennials, self seeding annuals, and native shrubs for this part of my yard. But every year there are things that get taken away, or spread beyond their boundaries….that is the real joy of gardening for me. I like messy and don’t mind killing things unless it was an expensive plant. My only real disappointment has been the fact that my red hot pokers have not flowered. They are a young clump- maybe next year?

Here is a quick tour of what's doing in my yard this week-
Hope bines: I have had flowers on these in past years, but I have not harvested them at the right time. Last year I waited until too late in the summer and they dried out on me. Hopefully this year’s late summer batch of home brew will finally get a homegrown hop dousing. The deeply lobed leaves of hops make a nice contrast against the fine textured foliage of Queen Anne’s Lace and yarrow, both of which grow on the sunny side of this fence.
If you are interested,  here is a link from the blog of Durham's Fullsteam Brewery about recent experiments to find a good mold-resistant hop for the sultry South...

Flower buds from the stalk of my variegated yucca:  I bought this yucca to sit near the road. It is very striking in winter, when yuccas are often appreciated the most…I kind of forgot that they can send up four foot spikes of bloom too….what a pleasant surprise.

Here is my property's preparation zone for the Scratch Bakery container garden project. Besides succulents, ornamental grasses, and some other things, I’ve added broken concrete and local stone to some of the planters near this shop’s address at 111 Orange Street in downtown Durham; this new shop is due to open very soon! 

Fig leaves: I am so happy about this tree. I never really thought I would have room for one until I decided to make room. On a partly shady side of my driveway,  and smack in the middle of grassy area is where I finally put  it. Because it is not Full Sun, it will probably not be super bushy or super prolific, but that's okay.