Spring hostas are in their broadleafed prime now mid-May, with some sending out buds and blooms.
Dancing Darling is of course a beast, overflowing the shade bed.
Monstrous Dancing Darling
Dancing Darling Bloom
Color Glory is a step down in size but no less robust.
Color Glory
Color Glory Budst
Island Breeze is a nice glowing addition to the shade bed.
Island Breeze
Hans is always an eye catcher, but the creamy white leaves will start frying from the occasional sun.
Creamy leaves margined with blue green
Hans showing some scorching
The only failed start this year is Fire and Ice, which appeared to be the breakfast of champions. Not sure if it was slugs or insects but it got eaten to the ground. Hoping it’ll come back stronger and sooner.
Fire and Ice delicate…
…and delicacy
The shade bed still receives a blast of morning sun which tends to dry the hostas. Still developing a solution to this
My plant wishlist for 2024 stayed surprisingly modest. I still had some plants from previous years that definitely stayed in my plant shopping consciousness early this spring.
I pulled the trigger on one of those wishlist items in March when I attended Rose Weekend at North Haven Gardens.
My Rock N Roll rose now sits in a spot vacated by previous rose tenants. It displayed some new leaf growth and as of today is tipped with rosebuds.
In a previous post, I lamented the lack of volunteer basils this year. So I added African blue basils to my wish, which I will likely have to shop for to obtain the sterile version.
My stock tank garden is sparsely populated with green onions. I got a heads up that there may be some heat tolerant romaine lettuces in the market that I can try to grow. However, I need to figure out what’s been grazing on the plants in one of my stock tanks. The green onions and chives that I planted in it have been razed to the ground. I may have to drop some marigolds in there just to deter pests.
This past weekend on May 11th, I attended the Denton County Master Gardener garden tour. It was an opportunity to see how Denton county gardeners beautified their outdoor spaces. I enjoyed walking through four yards and a community garden, got to talk to homeowners as well as docents who volunteered their time to manage this tour.
I got really excited when I spotted some must-haves for my wish list at the tour. Flame Thrower redbuds, purple coneflowers, Egyptian walking onions, and a variegated Turks cap won my attention.
As soon as I got home, I shopped Etsy and found variegated Turks caps for sale at a vendor in South Carolina. Sold!!!
A couple of homes heavily featured native plantings which made me appreciate more the Texas tough perennials and annuals that thrive in our climate.
Overall, it was a great tour and we enjoyed mild weather to walk through all the beautiful yardscapes.
I spotted these seed pods on my variegated milkweed, Asclepias curassavica Monarch’s Promise aka Butterfly Kisses, in late November. This is the first year I’ve seen seed pods on my milkweed and I was highly anticipating seeds from this variety.
Pods!
My previous attempts to propagate this milkweed from cuttings have ended in failure, and I just want to avoid buying replacement plants next year. The fact that this specific plant is a survivor from a May 2019 purchase makes me want to preserve it even more.
I placed small ziplock snack bags over the pods in hopes of capturing seeds when the pods ripened and burst open.
Alas, it took only one frigid night in December to damage the top growth of the plant and render my collection efforts futile.
Chilled to the bone
Needless to say, I was disappointed to find a pod branch had simply dropped off the plant. I expected the rest of the pods would follow, so I removed them all.
Will they grow? One of the pods was already molding in the bag…
I don’t know if I can collect seeds from these green pods if I let them mature and dry out like some fruits. Google search hasn’t yielded answers on this subject. So I’ll just sit them out on a counter and see what comes of it.
I need help figuring out what milkweed is growing in my beds. I started milkweed in 2018 which found its way into the backyard. I also bought and transplanted other specimens as well.
The only ID I’m certain of is the variegated butterfly weed which overwintered in the garage. The Home Depot version lists as Butterfly Kisses, but it didn’t stop me from picking up another variegated milkweed from North Haven Gardens, Monarch’s Promise. Maybe they’re one and the same.
Previous year potted milkweed2020 New planting of Monarch’s Promise
Anyway, the following milkweed springing up from my beds are defying attempts to identify them properly.
Mystery Milkweed #1 in Long Bed (a)
Mystery Milkweed #1 in Long Bed (b)
Mystery Milkweed #1 in Long Bed
Mystery Milkweed #2 in Rogue Bed (a)
Mystery Milkweed #2 in Rogue Bed (b)
Mystery Milkweed #2 in Rogue Bed
True to the Rogue bed’s name, milkweed #2 appears to have reseeded rogue, with over a half dozen volunteer starts. The young leaves start out green which mature to the gray-green color seen in the pics.
Then there is the one potted milkweed that I can’t recall what it is. But I’m glad it emerged, suggesting that garage overwintering suits these plants. Now if I can only remember what it is. Hint: I bought 3 packets of Botanical Interests milkweed seed — Common (A. syriaca), Showy (A. speciosa) and Irresistible Blend (A. incarnata). If I remember right, one of the 3 proved difficult to germinate and didn’t take to water sowing at all.
