April’s Showers Brought Stunning May Flowers in Charlotte NC

April’s Showers Brought Stunning May Flowers in Charlotte NC

We didn’t have a tremendous amount of rain in April but, certainly have had our share this month! The results have been gorgeous flowers everywhere you look in our beautiful city. 

This year’s landscape plan did include some annuals but, we continued to add to our perennials, little-by-little as we do each year. We’ve had deer since we’ve lived here - many of them - but, this year after planting my garden, they absolutely destroyed everything with the exception of the herbs and tomatoes!

They even began eating our Pansies and the Begonia that we had JUST planted. I wound up adding a raised vegetable garden on my deck and the veggies are growing like crazy after all of this rain.

So, after quite a bit of research, I made some changes. I’m starting with pots this season and then will move to in-ground if the deer & rabbits leave them alone in the pots.



The front of our home has a couple of pots by the front porch and I fill them with annuals each year. This year, I’m using Geraniums and they seem to be unappealing to the deer, thankfully! Also at the front of our home, we have a potted Hibiscus, which we replant every year. So far, the deer are leaving that alone also.

For the shady area (porch), we have “Snow-on-the-Mountain” with Begonia & Ivy. The deer don’t tend to approach our porch or back deck so, we’re safe with the Begonia out there.

As you take the walkway to the back deck and the dock, we have an archway with large pots on either side. The Pansies were demolished pretty early in the season last fall but, we replaced them with Mums and they did quite well in that spot. For summer, we decided to use perennials and added Foxglove, Lantana & Lilac. So far, so good!

The Knock-Out roses are evidently too prickly for them and they have left them alone since we’ve been in this house. We have them by the lake and lining the sidewalk. They are framed by one of my favorites, the Loropetalum which flower with hundreds of pink flowers; it is also known as Jazz Hands. While this post is about flowers and flowering shrubs, the one plant in my yard that gets more comments is the Dwarf Cryptomeria. It is the shrub in the forefront of the picture below on the far left. 

Otherwise known as the Cryptomeria ‘Globosa Nana,’ this one is a show-stopper. This heavy-textured evergreen is SO easy to grow and the best part - it is drought- AND deer-resistant! It also brings color to your yard in the dead of winter. My next landscaping project will include many of these!

The walkway to the dock has an assortment of plants including more Knock-out roses, Juniper, Iris bulbs and these beauties that bloom in the winter - the Camellia. This variety is the Yuletide Camellia and it is one of our most prolific flowering shrubs. It requires very little care as well.

The back deck has gates so the only wildlife to disturb our plants are the squirrels and they just dig - they don’t eat the flowers! So, we have a wide variety of planter flowers on the deck. Included are Begonia, Lantana, Vinca and more. Speaking of drought-resistant plants, Lantana is quite hardy and comes in several brilliant colors.

At the stairs from the deck to the backyard, there are two pots filled with Vinca on either side of the steps. They are also quite hardy.

Moving inside, I have lots of greenery and also always have a vase of fresh flowers. They just seem to brighten my days and nights!

Two of my flowering indoor plants are the Orchid (@ Kathy Streib's favorite!) and the Red Anthurium. The waxy red leaves against the striking green leaves are so beautiful. They love the northwest side of the house as they get lots of sun there!

Oh, I could go on and on but, for now, you get the ‘picture’ - I love plants and getting my hands dirty. It’s great therapy for me as is whipping up a meal (or simply making a fresh salad) that includes the bounty from the garden! 

Thanks to everyone who participated in this month's challenge! It certainly has been interesting to see the wide variety of flowers across the nation and beyond.

© Debe Maxwell, CRS | The Maxwell House Group | Savvy + Company | SavvyBroker@me.com | April’s Showers Brought Stunning May Flowers in Charlotte NC