Tag Archives: dianthus
April Gallery of Flowers
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.
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!
More spring gardening buys
I stopped by Lowe’s and Cristina’s again for lunch today. At Lowe’s, I finally caved in and purchased a $2 quart of Azalea Gumpo White. Interestingly, the red azaleas are all in fierce bloom at the moment. I also spotted some Salvia greggii purples among the Hot Lips salvia; I picked up 1 pot of the purple. (I saw a curious microphylla-looking salvia labeled Crimson Sundae with rose-pink flowers also, but haven’t had much luck finding it on the net.) It was a long line at the Lowe’s checkout stand, but I managed to walk out with 2 plants and 2 bags each of the following: landscape soil, compost and red mulch. At Cristina’s, I picked up an 18 count flat of Dianthus mixed, making sure to collect some scarlets, reds, and whites this time. They did have a somewhat bigger selection of Salvia greggiis in 2″ pots, but whites were absent from the mix. Looking forward to planting this weekend.