By Johnson 
Happy Monday, GPODers!
I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and that spring is coming to life in your gardens even a fraction as vividly as what Steve Schmidt has experienced over the past month. We got our first tour of Steve’s garden in Atlanta, Georgia, back in December (check out that post here: Steve Says Goodbye to Summer in Atlanta), where we were introduced to his fabulous combinations and lush designs. Steve is back today to share the beautiful blooms and vibrant colors that fill his garden before the real heat of the peak season sets in.
Steve Schmidt in Atlanta submitting some new pictures. Here are a few of my better pictures from mid-March to mid-April as spring rapidly transitions in Atlanta. We’re now experiencing well-above average temperatures . . .
Flowering of the matsuzaki stachyurus (Stachyurus praecox var. matsuzakii, Zones 8–10).
Nuccio’s Gem camellia (Camellia japonica ‘Nuccio’s Gem’, Zones 8–10). Always iffy in February & March, because if the temp gets around freezing or below the flowers turn brown and drop.
‘Vancleave’ buckwheat tree (Cliftonia monophylla ‘Vancleave’, Zones 7–10) flowering.
Bicolor epimedium (Epimedium × versicolor ‘Sulphureum’, Zones 5–9) and star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum, Zones 4–9).
Prague viburnum (Viburnum × pragense, Zones 5–8) with Dream Catcher® beauty bush (Kolkwitzia amabilis ‘Maracdo’, Zones 4–8) behind.
Formosa azalea (Rhododendron indica ‘Formosa’, Zones 6–9)—from one I have propagated a few more to populate the yard—with star of Bethlehem.
Jake’s Red Oconee azalea (Rhododendron flammeum ‘Jake’s Red’, Zones 6–9). Phone camera not good at dealing with intense reds and pinks, and to some extent orange. This is a young shrub so look forward to it gaining more size.
‘Rising Sun’ Florida azalea (Rhododendron austrinum ‘Rising Sun’, Zones 7–9). This particular native azalea gets the most sun and does better than 4 of the 5 other varieties (Jake’s Red also gets more direct sun, so outperforms the other four). A work in progress getting the siting right.
Some of the plants filling in around the eventual sunken garden: ‘Asian Beauty’ linden viburnum (Viburnum dilatatum ‘Asian Beauty’, Zones 4–8), Florida Sunshine illicium (Illicium parviflorum ‘Florida Sunshine’, Zones 8–9), red buckeye (Aesculus pavia, Zones 4–8), volunteer maroon acer, and hemlock. In the broken pot used as part of stacked stone retaining wall around the sunken garden is American ipecac (Gillenia stipulata, Zones 4–8) (lower right). A new addition last year so looking forward to seeing it grow and flower this year.
Lastly, can’t resist a picture of one of the critters—a Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis) on the leaf of ‘Georgia Peach’ heuchera (Heuchera x ‘Georgia Peach’, Zones 4–9). The seed heads of one of the native weeds I encourage, ragwort, is in the foreground.
Thank you so much for sharing your vibrant spring garden with us, Steve! Your thoughtful plant selections and design choices always spark intrigue and inspiration, I hope we get to see more from your garden this year.
While Steve has been enjoying big blooms and fabulous foliage for the past month, I know many spring gardens are just starting to pick up speed. No matter what stage your garden is in right now, we’d love to see what’s growing and glowing. Follow the directions below to submit photos of your spring garden via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.
We want to see YOUR garden!
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5–10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!
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