Great Expectations

For a gardener, part of the winter is spent on waiting for great expectations that our gardens will bring. Especially if you've planted new plants and trees during the previous season. It's always a waiting a game to see if our efforts have actually rooted in.

I have a habit of scratching stems during the winter to see if there's green beneath. Once I see it, I'm golden. Seeing green beneath means we're OK!  As a gardener, I can look past the sticks above the ground and realize that beneath the ground there's a lot of work being done. Roots are growing, grasping hold of the earth surrounding them and building energy for a great season ahead.

This year I have great expectations from some of the plants and trees that I planted in 2011.

I'm patiently waiting for...

My Camellia ...

To show me these..

My Blue Mist Caryopteris

To blow me away with its color blue..

My honeysuckle

Which looks like nothing but sticks



To surprise me come spring with this!

My Limelight Hydrangea

To once again delight..

 My Sourwood Tree

Full of red branches



To flower in spring

And, impress me in fall..

My Rose of Sharon

To live up to her name..

My Tiger Eye Sumac

To give me a smack of feathery green..

My Blue Arctic Willow

To billow in the wind with graceful leaves..

All of these are my great expectations. They were newly planted in 2011 and I'm expecting big surprises from them in 2012.

Do you have any great expectations?