From Jason: The top pic is a nice shot of Vitex agnus-castus in bloom. I purchased this plant for dirt cheap because the guy was so excited that I knew what it was. This plant is not well known despite it's great blooms and form!
The second pic shows some Rudbeckia (yellow flowers) that Katie and I grew from seed for her class (I think that counts as cheating). The third pic is the Blessed Virgin Mary overlooking some Impatiens also grown from seed but not for any college credit.
And just look at the contrast of those ornamental grasses in the fourth pic. That's one of my favorite parts of the yard.
In the bottom right of the fifth pic you can see my banana tree putting on alot of new growth. I still can't believe I can grow bananas! The rest of that pic shows our mixed border coming in. A couple of years and it should be exploding with color and texture.
From Katie: Every evening, when Jason comes home from work, before he even comes inside, he throws his stuff down on the porch chairs and starts watering his plants. We haven't had rain in forever, so making sure that the plants don't die is a huge priority for him. :) I try to tease him with my new plant knowledge (from my Horticulture class at NCSU) that we should have waited to plant our garden until the fall as to have root establishment before the summer heat comes, but he just laughs and gives me that "I'm glad that you know something about gardening, but don't mess with the pro" kind of look. Jason loves his garden.
