Well, it’s not all about the weekend haul. I took some pics from the past week’s garden and Valentine’s Day present. Yes, we adopted an orchid! His and hers lucky bamboo too!
Tag Archives: azalea
Spring blooms in the garden bed
And yet more March buds and blooms part deux
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.
Winter growth and winter colors
The mild weather this week gave us plenty of colors to look at. Is it too early to hope for spring?
So I had to make sure the bathroom greenhouse was emptied so that the tender plants could get some sun. From the split-personality variegated Pesto Perpetuo basil…
…to the irrepressible Oriental Limelight artemisia and Easy Wave petunias bustin’ out of their pots…
…to the vibrant loropetalum burgeoning with blossoms…
…from an unexpected previous-year volunteer (Sorbet Coconut Swirl Viola)…
…to the unpredictable buds on the Encore Azalea Autumn Monarch…
…and the lovely winter foliage of the Lanai Purple Star verbena.
The signs of spring are everywhere–you just have to look closely.
Coming up next: my 2012 seed orders!
Pre-Thanksgiving look at the garden
It’s that time of the year. Almost every year that I cook for the holidays, I make sure to use ingredients in my garden, even if it is only one sprig of rosemary. But since it’s been 10 days since my last post, I thought it time to do a little inspection.
The Shu ornamental pepper continues to hang on for dear life. Peppers are perennial in zones 9 and beyond, but here in my garden, it’s going to be a challenge to keep them alive in the ground during winter. My potted peppers have been sitting outside since this past weekend when we saw temps reach the high 70s. We’re back down to the high 30s to mid-40s during the evenings, but we will continue to reach the 70s in the daytime for the Thanksgiving holiday.
All the garlic have emerged and are looking tall.
The sage seems to appreciate the cooler weather; I used some sage leaves from this specimen for my turkey brine last night.
Those appear to be larkspur seedlings surrounding one of the irises. Unfortunately, the man sprinkled it heavily on one side not realizing I only had one pack of Shades of Blue Larkspur (Consolida ambigua). I may have to purchase another pack.
Finally, a good macro picture of the Oertel’s Rose yarrow blooms!
I love the white-mottled Snow-n-Summer asiatic jasmine foliage; emerging leaves are a beautiful shade of pastel pink.
The Autumn Monarch azalea is our only fall-blooming azalea this year. It received a fair amount of protection from the neighboring Hot Lips salvia this year, unlike the other azaleas on the opposite end of the bed.
A lone vinca has grown in the lee of an azalea. I had already pulled out its neighbors, but kept this one to see how it would fare. The petunias also appear unstoppable. Even with this crazy weather, they are continuously putting on new growth.
My eggplant doesn’t appear to put on much growth in the last 10 days; though the plant is leaning farther due to its weight. It still feels way to hard to the touch.
Valentine dianthus…what a beauty. All the dianthus in the garden favor this cool climate; most are putting on several buds if not blooming.
A surprise on the camellia: this bud has swelled to 5 times the size as other buds.
Lemon thyme: I plan on cutting several sprigs of this to insert into my turkey. The other herbs of course are looking fabulous. The Thai basil looks amazing with its flowery spires; I just dread how many seedlings I’ll get out of it. The Red Rubin basil also loves this cool weather. I am curious to see if they will endure into next year.
