Tiny dancers

A few exciting things are going on...

1. Spring is here, as of March 20!
2. If you live in the US and have any human contact at all, you are aware that March Madness is going on.  I sadly did not win a billion dollars, so it's back to my day job... and gardening!
3.  Speaking of which, as of today, O Garden, My Garden! has 56 posts... not bad... And we're going strong!  Keep reading with me and I'll keep gardening!

This week, my fuchsia plant started blooming.  If you can recall, I have had a minor obsession with these tiny dancers which I have planted in my "Thriller Filler Spiller" pot.  This particular plant, of the "June Bride" variety, is my second go at it. 

So....  Here's where we started:

And here's where we're at:

Not bad!  I have to say, I'm quite pleased with the composition of this pot so far.  The Dichondra (spiller) is trailing nicely.  I wouldn't mind if it was a bit fuller, but there's time for that, and after the craziness with last time's Muehlenbeckia, I'm okay with it as is.  The begonias are filling out perfectly, and buying a fuchsia pruned to have more branches was a winning plan.

The only trouble I have had thus far is aphids.  My little garden enemies have returned to attack the buds of the fuchsia for some reason.  In response, I have been dousing my plants in Neem oil, but they keep coming back, and the dead aphids turn into little black carcasses on my beautiful tiny fuchsia flowers.  

First world problems.

So once I get a chance to, I am going to either remake my fabulous Michelle's modified aphid spray or investigate other options.  I will say that we bought lettuce yesterday from Whole Foods and upon opening it, we discovered it was absolutely covered in aphids.  Like all up between each lettuce leaf too.  Disgusting.  While my husband was very angry (he loves salad, the man wanted salad), it made me feel a bit better -- if professionals like whoever provides iceberg lettuce to Whole Foods can't even keep their lettuce aphid-free 100% of the time, then maybe I shouldn't be so upset if there are a few stubborn aphids on my flowers.

Regardless, here's some more photos of my front door loveliness.

I find it fascinating how different begonia buds look from most other flower buds:

Here's a little known fact about begonias -- most varieties can be propagated, whether from the leaf, stem, or rhizome, depending on the type.  Rhizomes are underground stems that send out shoots and roots.  The ginger that we buy in the grocery store is actually the rhizome part of the plant.  Given the success I have had with propagating succulents, I may have to investigate this begonia propagation, especially since these white begonias are so lovely.

And lastly...

Always delightful!

I have many gardening ideas now that it is spring and time for gardening is upon us.  Unfortunately, because I have the oral boards coming up, they will have to wait just a few more weeks.  After that, all bets are off!  Welcome, Spring!