May Day Garden Thoughts

mydeckdeckedwazaleas, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

This view of deck is taken from an angle of my backyard not often included in images of gardens. Here the azaleas appear to break like some ocean wave encountering a retaining wall. My deck is a place of respite and a mission control center were plants just purchased first land before being parcelled out.

This whole first weekend of May promises to be gray and cool and moist with rain on and off. These gloomy days are not uncommon in this region hugging the Chesapeake Bay. To combat their dreary motifs, I turn to a plant from South Central Asia: the Choleus.

Here follows 3 views of choleus that I have planted in my gardens/planters this year. For those living in the metro-Maryland region, Potomac Nursery on route 28 at Quince Orchard has the most amazing varieties of these foliage rich plants I've ever seen. They love the planter as much as the good earth and clippings can be easily rooted in a glass of water.