Wednesday's Gardening Doings

--  I planted annuals: two vincas (in front of the new location of the birdbath) and six begonias (in pots for the covered patio).  But we actually have seven begonias, because I accidentally (can't take credit, really) overwintered a cutting in the garage.  Amusingly, that "leftover" begonia is the same type (bright green leaves, coral flowers) that Donald chose to buy this year.  (And there were at least a few other bloom/foliage combos available.)

--  Four more of the perennials are planted-- 'Purity' candytuft, dwarf coreopsis (Coreopsis auriculata 'Nana'), and two types of gaura (Gaura lindheimeri 'Little Janie' and 'Whiskers Deep Rose').

--  I used the nursery pots from those four perennials to re-pot more of the young daylilies.  The kiddie pool is full, now.  The remaining juvenile daylilies will have to make do without.  (Last year, I didn't use the pool, so they should be fine.)

--  I found a tiny little pink freckle-face plant that had sprouted in one of the pots from the garage.  I thought the pink ones had all given up on me.  This one is so teensy that I'm refusing to count on its survival, but anything's possible. 

--  Donald started planting our tomatoes.  (More vegetables coming soon!)

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A couple of the tomato plants:

Pink Knock Out rose:

'Little Janie' gaura:

'Whiskers Deep Rose' gaura:

The tiny cleomes are getting a little less tiny:

Achillea is starting to bloom:

The new Joseph's Coat climbing rose has several buds, two of which are about to unfurl.  This first one has some (insect?) damage to the outer petals, but that's probably difficult to avoid.

The red Mexican ruellia has begun blooming.  Each individual flower is fairly small, but once this plant gets established, I imagine it will look more impressive. 

Red Knock Out rose:

English Dogwood:

The pink climbing rose is starting to show some color in its buds.  (I always look forward to this one, because it has such a wonderful rose scent.)

Sweet olive (a.k.a. Fragrant Tea Olive).  It's waiting for us to chose its spot in the yard.  The flowers are insignificant to look at, but they can be wonderfully fragrant.

The pineapple guava is preparing its flowers:

The blueberries are still looking good!

Dwarf coreopsis.  It's supposed to be perennial, unlike the coreopsis we already have in our garden.  The annual coreopsis is nice in its own way, but you never know where it will (or will not) pop up, from year to year.  At least this one should be a little more predictable. 

The clematis are still looking lovely.  Two other types of clematis are growing, too, but must bloom later in the season.  (These are all gifts from Mom's garden.)

English dogwood:

And last but not least, here are the young daylilies that I've re-potted to date.  They look bigger, in this photo, than they seemed in person... A certain number have failed to make it this far, but still, barring some unforeseen disaster, I think we'll get our money's worth from those seeds. 

As much as I like daylilies-- and as appreciative as I am for the ease with which you can raise them from seed-- I don't think I'll "do" daylily seeds again soon.  Certainly not these random hybrids.  If most of these new plants survive, we should be well supplied.  I might be interested in buying "known" seeds from a few specially chosen daylilies.  Then again, maybe it's better to give it a rest for a year or two...

Irrigation and Photos

Sunday afternoon (Easter), Donald and I worked on setting up a soaker hose irrigation system for the vegetable beds.

This is a major step up for us.  The past couple of years, we just watered by hand, with the hose and watering can.  While that method has its benefits (mainly the ability to target the water to certain plants), it's also time-consuming and often boring.  Most plants don't want extra water on their leaves, so you're trying to get the water directly into the soil (impossible).  Then there's the issue of waste through evaporation-- and the fact that if you have to wrestle with an uncooperative (heavy) water hose, you're more tempted to just let the watering wait another day. 

With this new system, we can turn it on, go about our business, and let the watering take care of itself.  (As long as we don't forget to turn it off again!  I'm sure you can buy timers, but for now, we're living dangerously. ;o))

Here's an "in-progress" photo.
We still need to bury the hoses, then we can begin planting.  We have plenty of tomato plants (and a couple other things) to put in, as well as a variety of seeds.  Maybe this afternoon?

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Other recent activity:

-- I'm continuing the process of gathering the old "river rock" pebbles from previous locations, clearing out as much dirt and vegetative material as possible, and putting it into the re-done circular "rock garden" area.  It's not finished, but we're getting there.

--  Still no developments with the passionflower vine.   :o(

--  I started a few seeds of climbing nasturtium ('Fordhook Favorites Mix') and Spanish flag / mina lobata.  Some of the nasturtium are coming up already!

--  I'm in the process of re-potting the young daylilies, which have been on the covered patio until now.  They're going into a kiddie pool in a slightly sunnier location.  (This is the first step in gradually getting them used to the Real World, where the big, scary sun is a powerful force to be reckoned with.)

--  I've planted the Louisiana iris (from Plantasia).  (They're the 'Jeri' variety that's supposed to be a rich purple.)  There were several fans (or whatever the technical term would be), but rather than setting each one out individually, I made four clumps from them.  I really want to see those succeed!  If they do well, I'd like to try more Louisiana iris, next year.  (I love irises, but haven't had the best luck with the bearded kind.  I hope that Louisiana iris will be happier in our climate.)

--  The bag of 20 gladiolus bulbs we brought this weekend has been planted.  Rather than putting one here, one there, I placed them in four clusters of five bulbs each, with just 4 or 5 inches between them.  Now to wait.  This is a little on the late side for planting gladiolus, I think.

--  Most of the remaining new plants (still in their nursery pots) are currently testing out potential locations in the flower beds.  If all goes well, they should be planted by the end of the week. 
 

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Photos from yesterday:

The white clematis are blooming very prettily:

Our Japanese maple has put out its delicate new leaves.  It's not in a very good location (soil-wise), I'm afraid, but still hanging on...  I'm not sure where I'd move it or if it would do more harm than good, at this point, so I guess it will stay put. 

The viburnum is blooming.  The blooms are pretty in their "lacecap hydrangea" way, but this year, they seem a little hidden inside the bush.  I think viburnums bloom on old wood, so I'm sure that has something to do with it, as it's been growing a lot since we planted it last spring.  This one should only get better in years to come.

The miniature rose is blooming.  I think it's going to like its new, sunnier location, but it could probably do with a pruning at some point, though.  Stimulate some new growth... 

The pink Knock Out rose is gearing up...

As are the reds (and the old-fashioned climber-- not pictured-- is covered in buds)...

The (newly planted) red Mexican ruellia is just about to bloom...

The 'Sunshine' ligustrum (shh, it's privet, normally a Very Bad Word, imho) is lovely in chartreuse.

At least a few of the yellow Knock Out roses from Mom have already bloomed.  That pale, creamy yellow is so refreshing-- can't wait to see them come into their own later in the season.

This was another one from Mom's garden, but I have no idea what it is... It seems to be a very low-growing groundcover, and the pale, greenish-yellow flowers are very small. 

English dogwood (a.k.a. Philadelphus) is blooming.  I haven't had success with "real" dogwood, but this plant is less demanding. 

See?  This is the bloom I was talking about before on the (new) false indigo.  It's just about to open, now.

This hearty vine came from Aunt Debbie and Uncle Jim's garden.  His family has grown it further north in Mississippi for years, if I understand correctly.  I'm not sure if it's actual confederate jasmine (last year, the older leaves didn't match photos I could find online) or something going by the same name, but in any case, the flower is supposed to have a wonderful fragrance.  Maybe when it blooms, we'll be able to make a positive ID.

The Spanish lavender (pinata lavender) spent the winter in the garage, because it's not cold-hardy.  It died back almost completely, but there has been new growth, this spring.  After I cut off the dead parts, there wasn't much left, and it's a bit misshapen.  However, time can work wonders. 

The tiny plastic pot holds a cutting from the same plant (the only one I've tried that has taken hold).

I enjoy the spicy fragrance of the foliage-- the blooms are pretty, bouncing in the breeze-- and I've seen hummingbirds visit the flowers.  I just wish this plant were easier to keep over winter... Perhaps there's a better way I can try next time.  Cut it back and keep it in a sunny window in the house, maybe?

The new foliage of the rose of Sharon is so lush-looking.  I love those scalloped edges-- looks like the perfect illustration of a leaf. 

More foliage I'm enjoying-- the blue sea holly.  This and the red hot poker plant (bought and planted at the same time) are still looking good. 

We bought a few annuals, this weekend.  Not many.  Last year, we really had more than we needed.  So we're taking it more slowly, this time.  We got one little tray of begonia for the shady covered patio, then two small pots of vinca for sunny spots:

A few more perennials found their way home with us, too.
First, here's candytuft (Iberis sempervirens 'Purity'):

There's also a perennial dwarf coreopsis (not pictured) and two varieties of gaura:

We had a gaura back years ago-- before the house was built, I think.  It was pretty while it lasted, but then something happened to it and it split down the middle and never recovered.  (Insect damage?)  Anyway, I'm giving them another try.  If these two don't flourish, I'm forever banishing gaura from the garden!  (Let this be a warning, gaura...) 

Some of the seeds are turning into real plants.  Others are... well, they're not.
This moonflower vine is one of the better ones:

The Nearly Wild rose is beginning to bloom:

Pink azaleas azaleaing:

This is one of the plants that I'm sure must be purple coneflower (Echinacea), but I'd love to see flowers to have my certainty confirmed:

This pot of creeping jenny ('Goldilocks') and polka-dot (freckle-face) plant made it through a winter in the garage. A matching pot also survived, but the creeping jenny diminished significantly.  I think it will rebound with a little time. 

The new leaves of leatherleaf mahonia are interesting-looking:

Trixie lounging at the edge of the patio:

And Luna greeting me through the fence:

They love being outside when we're working in the yard.  Sometimes they're not allowed out, though, because they have to be right where you're working (digging, chasing weeds as they're tossed aside, sitting right on top of your precious plants), which can be frustrating.

Good company, though.  :o)

Placing New Plants, Starting Seeds, and Waiting

Yesterday, I finally planted some of the things we bought at the Plantasia sale.  (Well!  I know I ought to have already done that, but we've been busy with other things!)

The confederate rose went in the larger "new" bed, not too far from the viburnum we planted last year.  It should get plenty of sun, there, and be on full display, if it turns out as well as hoped.  (Tag: "Double flowers that open white, turn pink and then red summer to fall.")

The false indigo (baptisia) is in the same bed, between the confederate rose and a red "Knock Out" rose.  Unless my eyes deceive me, there are flower buds already in evidence.  I'm surprised.  It's supposed to be so large-- and it has so far to go to get to that size... I didn't expect flowers so soon.

My haphazard way being as it is, of course it seemed that the only right place for the false indigo was right where I'd planted a tiny volunteer azalea Mom gave me, earlier this spring.  I dug it out and gave it a new place in front of the garage.  Maybe it'll be happy there.  I'm sure its satisfaction with life will increase if I can resist the impulse to keep dragging it from place to place.

The red Mexican ruellia is also in the same bed, closer to the front, since it's a smaller plant.  It's already about to bloom!

The last potted plant I placed was the Mexican purple sage.  At the sale, it was sold as a perennial, but I'm not sure how cold-hardy it will actually be (based on what I see online).  I'd forgotten how large it's supposed to grow-- 3-5 feet tall, according to the tag.  I put it in the flower bed on the side of the circular rock bed (which is over the septic tank).  The description of the flowers is intriguing:  "Spikes of hot pinkish purple flowers in late fall are a focal point in the garden."  Can we wait until late fall?!

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I also distributed a few seeds.  Moss rose (portulaca) in some small pots.  A few marigold seeds tucked here and there.  And one seed packet that I'm very interested in-- Thunbergia, black-eyed susan vine.  I was a bit disappointed to discover how stingy they were with the seeds.  (Fewer than ten seeds in the pack!  Sheesh.)  But maybe they're so easy to grow that each one is guaranteed to sprout into a luxurious bower of beauty.  ;o)  I planted them; now to wait.

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Last year, I was late planting some of my seeds.  The black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and purple coneflower (Echinacea) were among them, and though there were some leaves, there weren't many-- and that was it.  I wasn't even sure which one it was that put up leaves!

When autumn came, I went ahead and stuck them in the flower beds, just in case, not sure whether to expect them to return, or not.  Well, after I'd all but forgotten them, several of them have put up new leaves this year!  I guess that tells me that they are coneflowers, right?  Because the Rudbeckia I planted is an annual and could only have come back if it had reseeded (which of course it couldn't have done, without blooming). 

I'll be keeping a close eye on those mystery leaves.  Even though I'm pretty sure I know what they are, I'm still curious.  Will they bloom this year?  I haven't been thrilled with the success rate of the Echinacea seeds I planted earlier this spring, so I hope the ones from last year can get established.

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Another plant I'm keeping my eagle-eye on is the passionflower vine.  We planted it last spring, about mid-April.  The soil in that spot is not the best, but we amended it with mulch-dirt, and the passionflower seemed very comfortable all summer.  It grew and grew-- and bloomed.  When the cold weather came, it lost its leaves, as expected, and the vines all looked so mold-spotted and bone-dry that I cut it back to just six inches or so above ground.

This variety is supposed to be extremely cold-hardy, and our winter wasn't that bad, so we have every reason to expect it to return.  Only it hasn't, yet, and I can't seem to find a definitive answer as to when they usually put out new growth.  I fully expected to see leaves by now, but I can't believe it's gone kaput-- not after the crazy health of last summer.

Waiting is difficult!