Tag Archives: basil

Red basil, mint blooms and ripe chilis

July 8, 2011 epicureasian

The Red Rubin basil never did stay red for me. These days the leaves emerge green with red veining, but never fully color out. They have remained this way ever since I transferred them into starter soil, then placed outside during late spring. Could it have been stress-induced reversion? After reading some internet literature, I found out that the purple color in basil tends to be unstable and reversion back to green is typical. However, it still retains its characteristic basil scent when one draws close enough for a sniff.

The pineapple mint specimens are all blooming like crazy. I need to cut them back again…I’m concerned they might reseed heavily, like the coral nymph salvia which has jumped into the lawn.

Finally, the Thai chili peppers are ripening. The scarlet and orange chili fruit are very eye-catching. K reported that these were some spicy-hot chilis; he harvested one a couple of weeks ago from a specimen I gifted him.

Ye Olde Garden

July 4th colors

July 4, 2011 epicureasian

Check out the eggplant bloom. I’m hoping that it’s position underneath the gaura will entice pollinators to visit.

Ye Olde Garden

Behold the blue

June 21, 2011 epicureasian

Is it a Mum? An Aster? I found the blooms hiding underneath the faded Oertel’s Rose yarrow. They looked nearly identical to the scabiosa blooms just barely a foot away, but smaller–about the size of quarters.

We had quite a thunderstorm last night, with strong winds that broke tree limbs and scattered debris across our yards. Of course the storm dumped quite a bit of rain as well, which probably gave rise to some new blooms in the morning.

I sowed a new flat of peppers (Jupiter bells, Thai chilis, and banana), chives, parsley, and Red Rubin basil. This time, I’m using 3″ pots with MiracleGro garden soil for flowers and vegetables. I’ll be growing them under lights and clear cover in order to promote faster germination. By the time they are ready for transplanting, it should coincide with the proper planting time for peppers. Fingers crossed.

Ye Olde Garden

Cosmos, hostas, marigolds, petunias and more

June 9, 2011 epicureasian

My Stokes seeds order arrived. It had probably been sitting in the mailbox a few days before we finally got around to emptying it. Since something had been digging up the tree ring bed, L had to replant a few uprooted marigolds so proceeded to sow the cosmos anyway. The first wave of cosmos seedlings are of course up and growing, some faster than others. I’m hoping at 500 seeds a packet, the tree ring will now get full coverage on cosmos. Now if the Ladies in Red will start blooming already. I’m beginning to think that starting them from seed so late might have been a mistake; but impatience isn’t a good trait for a gardener. I’ll have to satisfy myself with the coral nymph blooms for now, although I’m worried they’ll overrun the other salvia. I’d also like to get that outer ring improved with the remainder of the marigold seedlings and thyme cuttings, but they’ve been slow to propagate. I might have to take some golden oregano cuttings to add to the tree ring.

The hostas getting afternoon sun are taking a beating. All three varieties has suffered some damage. Combined with the daily buffet assault, they are half their foliage since spring. Even the supposedly sun-tolerant Gold Standard hosta isn’t able to withstand that grueling afternoon sun. I am thinking about installing some sun-friendly perennials in that corner of the shade bed to see if it will provide some relief. But can a sun perennial survive there given the brief afternoon exposure?

What’s up with all these ornamental kale? They’re about 2 feet tall now; they seem to like the mostly shade front door bed. Our poor gardenia, still struggling all these months, is making the stand of kale look bad. Of course, the dried out pansies are doing a better job of making this bed look unkempt. I need perennials in this bed, getting weary of switching it out every season.

Check out the chili pepper–it’s loaded with blooms. I expect a good harvest of chilis from this thing. The cinderblock herb garden is filling out nicely, while the purple bed is starting to look overrun. I need some ornamental black peppers in there! I wish my seedlings weren’t so puny.

More of my petunia seedlings are blooming….but what’s the deal? Are the rest of them purple??? I was expecting to see at least one red seedling, but so far I’ve seen one white and nearly half a dozen purple buds. So much for my patriotic planter. At least the caladium is looking good, even if one of the leaves appears half eaten.

The thai basil is flowering. I really need to snip it down to size…they are making the other basil look puny. They look lovely with their red-purple stems and bud crowns, but they seem to outgrow the other basil. Very much suited to our hot Texas summers.

And here’s what’s left of the azaleas in the lily bed. I kept the dwarf gumpo white and the Hot Shot red azalea. The gumpo azalea didn’t produce any blooms this year, whereas Hot Shot produced a handful. Is this typical of $2 shrubs? The gumpo gets one more shot at impressing me next year; otherwise it’s out of there. I did like that Hot Shot came out of the winter with dark maroon foliage before it lightened up by the end of spring. I must remember to keep the neighboring Hot Lips salvia pruned back to give the azalea some more light.

Ye Olde Garden

First vinca and June blooms

June 2, 2011 epicureasian

The first vinca to bloom from seed in our front yard bed is the Titan Lavender Blue Halo vinca, part of the Titan mix packet of seeds I purchased from Stokes earlier this year. Because I sowed it indoors in February, I suspect we bought at least 3-4 weeks head start compared to the seedlings that started outdoors from the 2010 planting.

With the summer heat upon us, many of the heat-loving plants are taking off. The Confetti lantana appears to finally have settled in, nearly doubling in size since planting, and boasting a new crown of blooms. The Hot Lips salvia transplanted into the front garden also has grown in size since it moved in. Of course, the daylilies are now in full swing; the Stellas have joined the Dallas Stars in staging a show. One of the fungus-infected coreopsis in the courtyard, though very sickly, is gamely producing sporadic blooms. The cosmos seeds sown in the tree ring have made an entrance; I spotted dozens of seedlings poking their tiny heads out of the ground. A second marigold has deigned to bloom. And all of the herbs are taking off: mint, basil, thyme and oregano!

With the advent of June, we say goodbye to the spring bloomers. The Navona Asiatic lilies have peaked and are slowly winding down. The abundant spring blooming dianthus need a shearing if I’m to coax them into another full flush. The pansies are looking a little heat-stressed these days, as our temps climb into the high 90s. Our Midnight Blue rose is finishing another floriferous run of flowers as it braces for the long hot summer.

I ordered some more Cosmic Yellow and Red cosmos, along with a packet of Toy Choy Pak Choi seeds from Stokes today. I’m hoping to experiment in some veggie goodness later this summer.