Tag Archives: cosmos

Ye Olde Garden

A visit to Gunters

I made a stop at Gunter’s greenhouse on my way to work today. I had wanted to see if they had anything unusual to add to my patio garden, but as usual, the orchids are the biggest draw. I stepped into the prehistoric jungle and wended my way among the spectacular blooms. Orchids rock! I recommend the place highly if you are looking for something different in plant life.

I potted up a couple of dark red dianthus with my calla lily/jasmine. I also have 3 planter troughs now, sitting on my patio, waiting for paint to dry. I imagine it won’t take much for me to find something to plant in them. Methinks I’ll be needing another bag of garden soil now. I intend to put a mix of garden and potting soil in each of the troughs, to gently remind them that they will find a home in a real garden some day.

Around the apartment complex where I live, the indian hawthorn are bursting with flowers, and the pink and white salvias are starting to show their colors. I plan on stealing a couple of sprigs of white salvia so that I can grow them on my own.

Now where are my cosmos seeds???

3/20/2009 Orchids at Gunther's (1) 3/20/2009 Orchids at Gunther's (2) 3/20/2009 Orchids at Gunther's (3) 3/20/2009 Orchids at Gunther's (4)

Ye Olde Garden

Sowing that I forgot to mention

The weekend prior to the previous posting, I actually was able to get seeds sown into the beds. I dumped all of the Wildseed Farms mix into B5, and scattered White Cosmos, Cornflower and Damascena seeds in S1 and B3. I also got a new gaura, Passionate Blush, planted in B4. We saw some rain last Thursday night, after tornadoes ripped thru parts of the DFW area. Luckily, the seeds weren’t scattered about by the strong winds. This morning, I saw some seedlings sprouting in S1, most likely Cosmos seedlings.

I also managed to do a little trimming on the salvia that got too leggy in the back beds. I especially took some cuttings of the purple salvia, and am looking forward to getting it to root. The white salvia cuttings I took earlier this month have finally shown some rootstock. I plan on transplanting them into soil very shortly. No root stock on the salvia chamaedryoides yet.

I have to mention that the dianthus chinensis in all the beds are putting on a brilliant display…tons and tons of flowers.

Ye Olde Garden

Gardening accomplished this weekend

I was able to persuade DH to extract 3 volunteer nandinas from the front flower bed (F2) for transplant in the back beds. I discovered that most of these offshoots seem to have sprouted from buried trunks and stems from the parent, since we required shears and clippers to sever them. Luckily these volunteers had small but developing root stock, so I am hoping they will thrive in their current locations (B1 and B5). I also have to mention that I removed the 1 surviving nandina in S1 for transplant into B5, where I hope it will enjoy more sun.

In its place, I finally planted the new Azalea Gumpo White. I hope that its position next to the patio will give it sufficient protection against summer; I usually dump water into this part of the bed, especially when the dogs’ feeding bowls are set outdoors. I also had to get the purple salvia I purchased last week into the ground, after I discovered its mauled remains scattered in the backyard. Sadly, it met a deadly fate when Dash tore through the S1 bed a couple of days ago. I’m hoping it may have enough root stock left to make a comeback.

Speaking of mauled plants, I also had to set one of the ajugas into S1 after I discovered the half-torn pot lying strewn in the bed. I suspect that strong winds or a rambunctious pup may have knocked it off its brick wall perch. It seems to be blooming quietly and happily next to the replanted ring of tulips.

B5 also required a little fixing; I discovered a crushed dianthus and uprooted lilies and muscari, which I had to reset into the ground. B5 is in serious need of ground raising and leveling; I hope to get some gardening soil into it next week.

The soil will also be useful when I start broadcasting seed into the back beds. I have packets of cosmos, bachelor buttons, nigella, and a wildflower mix that are begging to be sown right now!