For a week, anyway, it was glimmers of Spring. Then, lo’ and behold an entire week of lovely, warm, sunny weather went and piqued the interest of budding trees and shrubs enough to get some substantial blossoms going. Of course, someone decided additional refrigeration was necessary – the ‘spoil sports’ – so that this week we teeter near freezing. But – hey! – at least it keeps the blossoms somewhat intact, even slowing things down in a very (guilty 😉 ), satisfactory way.

Initially, the Star Magnolias and Forsythia, as usual, led the Spring front:

(click all images to enlarge – Note: These pictures are basically taken with enlargement in mind and look best that way)

Very encouraging, these here Star Magnolias:

Let’s visit a time lapse scenario, where we watch a few stages of this and another Forsythia’s blooming process –

Getting yellower now!

Finally, today, darn near done, actually, with the new leaves intruding but offering a fascinating depth and color combination –

Time for a visit to the Chinese Pear Galaxy, also a reliable and profuse early bloomer. The avenue here consists of a really sweet line of these fella’s, now dominating the views with a huge, sensuous swath of lush blooming – an attribute of some very wonderful architectural planning.

From the walk –

And from behind, in the parking lot these trees surround-

Here’s an early look at a favorite little street of mine in my local neighborhood. It’s development is always wonderful to watch –

It’s moving along now!

The Douglass Hills Park is a great huge expanse of green grass, perfect for the slews of kids who play there and the adults who wisely take advantage of its offerings as a secure and semi-private slice of paradise.

Further along on my preambulations, one can’t help but notice this PGM Rhododendron ‘talking off’- they are historic “first Rhodie”

Finally, we meet up with some true stars, the gorgeous Magnolia Soulangiana, or the Saucer Magnolia. Big gorgeous blooms, as lush as you want.

This one I caught all by itself…………

Spring is always welcome to this poster. But perhaps more so this year. The Winter seemed over long and quite dreary altogether, more so than usual, somehow.

Or maybe I’ve become a whiner. I am getting older, there IS that.

Nawwwwwwwww. I still like what I like!

Among my best friends on Earth is a great wife and mother of two darling kids living in Israel with whom I speak nearly daily. Anat El Hashahar I have spoken of elsewhere in this blog – link – and she is actually the person who inspired me to begin this blog in the first place. Anyone curious about this lady’s accomplishments can find her at her primary website here: The Catsite (Oh, she likes cats, 😉  I think you’ll see she knows a bit about the bizz of websites.

As a mentor for my Internet needs, she has been remarkably helpful – beyond measure. It is a sign of the times, I suppose, that our lives since our origins as an online “Force of Nature” – 😉 –  have entwined with real events among mutual friends. I could list our mutual friends and it would go for another page, including a few who have visited her family in Israel – in person. Once again, thank you, Annette.

Her brother is yet another interesting bloke, now immigrated to England, raising 3 delightful children and doing a combination of things landscaping. A college graduate in Landscape Architecture, Ofer El Hashahar is a creative, busy and insightful character with a huge smile and a large physique. I like that he is equal parts hard-working, eager to laugh and a loving and devoted Dad. And as if this weren’t enough, he has a business which dovetails mine remarkably well. Here’s the link, first, a very functional, easy-to-surf online store based on items landscapers love:

Best 4 Garden

Ofer sells landscaping products online. He has constructed an easily-navigated premises which features some truly remarkable items, many of them extremely simple, yet wonderfully effective. He understands gardens well, as he understands cost restraints and the times we live in. Some of his garden solutions are truly fun. Take this interesting little planter one can hang from a window, fence or almost anywhere vertical:

That, of course, is lettuce for your cooler season, shady needs. This sturdy little planter is utterly portable and also contains flowers, hanging plants and any number of cool adaptations. It is amazingly sturdy.

Ofer also deals in something many landscapers are finding necessary. With the profusion of Bamboo’s being hybridized these days, as well as the increasing uses of trees and plants requiring containment near sidewalks, curbs and house and building foundations, Ofer has done a bang-up business dealing in Root Barriers of all kinds. The necessity for this is increasing by leaps and bounds and its practicality includes actually containing the growth more manage ably of plants with no conscience about expanding to the neighbors and down the street. 🙂

But it was his lawn edging which really got him going. It turned out, as a designer interested in planes and more verticality, Ofer became fascinated with the possibilities of finding a method of both edging lawns and using the same – or similar – material to make raised beds, right in flat back yards. Of course, no one really needs more explanation of the merits of lawn edging. With any rhizome- producing plant, containment is necessary and, lord knows, grass is Imperialistic.

Ofer eventually settled on a wonderful technique and product for elevating and designing garden beds using recycled plastic at various heights. Like the root barriers, these substances were superior to wood and steel owing to their flexibility, for one major thing, and also owing to its longevity and general strength. That the product is recycled plastic adds a dimension of “Green-ness” to the picture and does indeed make it a wonderful gardening option. Needless to say, as a structure, it can be changed at will, depending upon the whim of the owner – something which most certainly can’t be said for wood or steel.

Imagine the picture below with stacked beds inside of the original. Providing tiers allows for specialized growing for plants whose roots don’t like crowding as well as adding an unheard verticality, allowing plants to cascade over walls as well as to feature arrangements more formal, with colors of blooms and foliage arranged by perspective.

I have gotten some stuff from Ofer myself. He never mentioned what it cost, so I’m a tad reticent to advise people on this side of the pond to order up front. But one thing about this guy is that he is completely “hands-on” and will respond to shipping queries gladly. For those in the UK and Europe in general, Ofer offers a quality product at great prices, backed by his guarantees and warranties. I recommend a nice long look at what he has and the functional possibilities offered.

If nothing else, we get an inside and very functional look into some of the lesser-known, but equally-important concerns of landscaping contractors and gardeners in general.