Back garden in winter; ‘Blue Elf’ aloe in blue pot is about to bloom

I purchased four cedar Adirondacks and a teak table to replace our old metal dining set. It feels a lot cozier out on the patio now, and nothing beats taking a book and a pillow out there on warm spring days—to read or snooze, whichever suits my mood.

Below are close-ups of two agaves I have growing in pots. The compact ‘Queen Victoria’ agave in the blue pot is slow growing and beautifully marked with white lines. It isn’t as viciously spiny as my lovely ‘Parry’s’ agave, which, for safety’s sake, I removed from the outdoor coffee table because it threatened the eyes of people leaning over to set things down.

‘Queen Victoria’ agave

Parry’s agave

An early sign of spring: yellow jessamine in full bloom along the fence

In the front garden, signs of spring are more evident every day. This February has been very mild; I can’t even remember when our last freeze occurred. Below is a photo of the front walk. The pansies have overwintered and are now blooming prolifically; the Nolina texana , or bear grass, in the pot is putting forth its own buds for the first time since I planted it two years ago.

Front walk with pansies and nolina

View of nolina from overhead

‘Ice Follies’ daffodil

You know it’s spring when the daffodils bloom. Below is a photo of the fragrant ‘Avalanche,’ or ‘Seven Sisters,’ narcissus. Let ole William sing their praises—corny, but I do like the last stanza.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
THE DAFFODILS
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed – and gazed – but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

‘Avalanche’ daffodil

Kalanchoe thyrsifolia

Isn’t this a gorgeous succulent? I’ve had this plant in a pot for the better part of a year and just learned its name today: Kalanchoe thyrsifolia , native to South Africa. It’s the centerpiece of an arrangement of succulents in a beautiful white pot that I bought from Natural Gardener for only $20. It rivals arrangements I’ve admired at Big Red Sun that cost three times as much. Someone over there has an eye for succulents. I was at Natural Gardener again today and found several more lovely arrangements tucked away in the back of their nursery; they were a steal, and I racked my brain to think where I could put them if I bought them. Below is a photo of the whole arrangement.