More new bloomers!
Ballerina white gaura in the purple bed (these have yet to be divided), standard purple oxalis, a surprise viola in the blue bed (returning from last year, another shot of the 3rd camellia, Thalia narcissus in full bloom and bud, azalea Autumn Embers (the newest shrub), green oxalis triangularis, and of course Bella purple lavender stoechas.
Welcome to week 11 of my Peak Body Transformation subscription. I’m now working out 5:15a to 6:00a, an hour earlier than my previous session. Technically it’s supposed to be an alumni class, but we still have several newbies enrolled in this class.
Ever since the time change, it’s been dark going to and from class. And unfortunately, that’s also deterred me from my morning jogs and dog walks. This of course puts a time crunch on me, making me late for work. I was hoping to reverse this 10-wk trend, but looks like I need a hard reboot to get my schedule aligned correctly. Hope to get this all worked out soon; I dislike exercising after work and I can already tell the mosquitoes will be populous this year.
My scale broke this morning. It finally had enough of my too-frequent weigh ins and croaked. This prompted an early morning trip to Walmart to pick up a new scale. I took home a Healthometer which is a body fat meter and scale. It also calculates BMI, hydration level, and daily caloric intake and stores measurements for up to 4 user profiles. Lastly, it allows users to set a goal weight and calculates in weeks how long it will take to reach. (FYI, it told me that to reach my goal weight of 130lbs, it would take 18 weeks at roughly 1600 DCI.)
Since I had long suspected that my previous Sharper Image digital scale was inaccurate, I was glad to see that this new Healthometer was closer in measurement to the scale at the gym and at the doctor’s office. It read my body fat % consistent with the Omron body fat meter used by my gym. Though I’m sad to see that I am once again over 145 (and once heavier than I thought I was), at least I will be more comfortable knowing my true weight from now on. Now how long will this scale last?
So my little MFP ticker will need some recalibration. Goodbye, 144; hello, 147 (again).
]]>A few new sights to find in the garden. Can you tell which ones are the newest?
Easy Wave White petunia (excuse the night-time camera settings), red lantana, more Origami Red and White Columbine, Iris Mariposa Skies, yet a 3rd camellia (Mabel Bryan, and Thalia Narcissus.
Wishlish plant of the day: Malvaviscus candida Variegata or Variegated Turk’s Cap (a shade plant for Texas)!
First stop is the planter box by the patio door. I dropped some cuttings of stonecrop (?) that I took while trimming my succulent planter. I didn’t have high hopes that these stray cuttings would flourish, but they look pretty alive in that dirt, don’t they?
The oxalis in the blue bed appear lush and full. Notice the remnants of the yarrow I pulled out a couple of weeks ago lying in wait to take over.
I am baffled by these rosettes in the blue bed. These are the surviving Blue Knoll Chrysanthemums, aka Heteropappus Meyendorfii. They are reportedly annual, but these two are starting their second year in this bed. They sat in mulch, tolerating dry-to-drought conditions, part sun and displayed no flowers last fall. They have not grown beyond the size they currently are. Is there a chance that these might provide some autumn color this year? I’m going to have to pull out the Days Aster–it spreads everywhere and has invaded the camellia bed on the other side of the fence.
The next camellia bud is about to burst. This particular bloom occurs very low on the plant and to the back. It requires some position to take it in full view.
Front flower bed: tulips bursting out of the mulch and the newly transplanted Valentine dianthus. Notice the white edging on the tulip leaves; this appears to be the Happy Generation tulip planted last fall. The other tulip sprouts are smaller and do not display edging; most likely they are Tubergen’s Gem.
Hot Lips salvia starting out with red blooms, but the bicolor blooms are coming on fast. I just love the variability of this salvia.
Daffodil buds have appeared. I expect to see them bloom in a matter of days.
This particular foxtail fern has new plumes. The foxtail ferns did not die back down into the ground this due to the mild winter weather. It was pleasant to see them provide some greenery and vertical shape to the shade bed. Check out the japanese painted fern behind the foxtails!
The lily bed would like to welcome our newest bloomer: origami red and white columbine. Beautiful spurred flowers are blooming on this one specimen. The other columbine is looking rather straggly but at least it endured summer and winter. The colors are synching with the red-and-white theme of the neighboring dianthuses and pansies. I hope in a future season, we will see some lush foliage and growth show off this bed. For example, the orange and white mums appear to be bulking up in anticipation. The Charmed Wine oxalis appear to be a little shy coming out of winter; they don’t show off as many blooms as the neighbors in the blue bed, and they are half the size.
I filled in the new garden bed this morning and tried to level the ground up to the bed at the same time. We’ll be requiring some good soil to fill in the rest and start arranging the cinder block edge. Now if it would stop raining/sprinkling long enough for us to get some garden work done!
We’ve dipped back down into the 50s this weekend, after a short 2 weeks of pleasant spring weather. I suspect this is winter’s last gasp and we are headed into the 70s-90s for the next 3-6 weeks. We’re also seeing some rain for this weekend, which means work is suspended on the new garden bed. But at least we’ll know the seal is tight on the newly-repaired sprinkler pipes.
I sowed some Coreopsis tinctoria Roulette seeds today, brought in the Pesto Perpetuo basil and snapped up some pix of the bathroom greenhouse. The dusty miller cuttings are having a hard time, so I have covered 2 of them to see if a more controlled environment will help them thrive. The thyme and oregano cuttings are certainly doing well, putting out new growth. I’m still wary of the salvia cuttings, not sure if they are developing new roots under the surface. The alyssum have begun to sprout; I will be monitoring their progress in the coming weeks to see how well they grow. I’m anxious to get some of their pastel colors out into the gardens in time for Easter. We shall see!
