The (nearly) everblooming Double Knockout Rose is off to an energetic start this year.
This is the first time since planting that I’ve seen multiple blooms on the Mountain Flame delosperma.
Tiny but mighty pink blooms on this groundcover thyme. (Can’t remember which thyme this is…Elfin? Woolly?)
Betony, salvia and Autumn Lily Azalea:
The bulbs are blooming!
Planter purchases:
February is the start of mild spring weather in Texas while the rest of the north is still in the thrall of frosty winter. Comfortable temps means time to go plant shopping! A few of the purchase this month include: Catmint Walker’s Low (and Little Trudy again), Abelia Kaleidoscope, Nandina Blush Pink and Purple Pixie Loropetalum from Strong’s Nursery. From North Haven Gardens, a couple of Heuchera (Electra and Snow Angel), White Margin Snow Rose (serissa foetida), dianthus, herbs, and petunias…
North Haven Gardens was already awash with spring color!
Shade bed in the front yard, before (left) and after pics. I had to remember that I sank about 3 dozen daffodil bulbs late fall last year in this bed, so it was a bit tricky planting around them.
This Everillo carex nearly tripled in size in its little corner by the fence gate, staying evergreen through winter. In stark contrast is the salvia regla or Mountain Sage which is deciduous unlike the salvia greggii in our climate. But like many salvias, this one already knows spring is around the corner and is displaying new shoots off old growth.
These are the last blooms to grace the October flower beds as we head into the chilly temps of winter.
Rose Sugar Moon displays some pink tinged petals that records the temperature swings we’ve experienced lately. As usual, it boasts a lovely fragrance, regardless of weather.
The salvias are showing off some fiery blooms. I’m quite fond of the salvia regla’s tidy upright habit and the splashy foliage on Dancing Flame salvia splendens.
We neglected the front yard beds over the height of summer (June-August) and emerged over the Labor Day weekend to perform some maintenance. I spent a couple of weekends in September cleaning up the beds, trimming back some shrubs, and uprooting the casualties. Some plants obviously did not take too well the stretch of 100+ temperatures in August, most noticeably the young azaleas and our Waterfall Japanese Maple. At first we thought the drip line system to blame, but when we had a contractor come out to inspect our sprinkler system, he recommended that the drip system be run a minimum of 20 minutes–much more than the 5 minute run we had originally programmed. Safe to say that the plants are much happier going into Fall.
The cleanup obviously opened up some gaps in the garden beds to introduce new plantings as well.
Now if I can only muster up the energy to get some spring-flowering bulbs into the ground!
