Tag Archives: hosta
Blue and herby
As soon as I had decided on what to plant in the blue garden, the fiance and I rushed out to Strong’s to pick up some white coneflowers and asters (Wood’s Blue), but we had to make a detour first at Covington’s to see if they had anything else to add to our garden. I ended that shopping trip with 4 annual phlox, 2 scabiosa (Butterfly Blue), and a blue hosta, Prairie Sky, which was in the middle of sending up some lovely flower plumes.
The extreme heat isn’t doing our herb garden any good, so we’ve decided on twice daily watering for the time being. Having sprinkler systems is a great boon, which means the lawn is getting some much needed loving as well!
Victoria Salvia and dianthus
This weekend the hunny framed out the herb garden. We took off to Strong’s to pick up a flat of Victoria Salvia and then over to Christina’s for a pot of Imperial Blue Plumbago and a flat of dianthus in purple shades. Mixed in with the picotees were Super Parfaits Strawberry and Raspberry, at least two pots of each. I have to remember to collect the seeds from these. They seem to be shorter than the vigorous Ideal-type dianthus that I purchased with them, no more than 8-10 inches tall, and darker in leaf.
The Victoria Blue salvias were installed in the front flower beds for a splash of blue color and some vertical lift. They contrasted quite well against the golden Japanese grass, the last of which we planted on the far end of the bed. I’m almost convinced we should install the remainder of the salvia in the front bed just for the added blue color. Not to mention the extra visits from bees and butterflies. While digging in the front flower bed, we checked on the status of the astilbes and hostas. Apparently only one of the Minutemen hostas thrived–the other root was a dessicated ball. I’ve transplanted the hosta into a pot and put it in a sunnier location along with the potted Gold Standards, in hopes they will thrive. We also dug up the 2 remaining astilbes that haven’t made a showing, Fanal and Amerika. I potted the Fanal to place in shade, while we replanted the Amerika which seemed to be slowly developing. Hopefully these will catch up soon.
The third Lollypop bloomed this past weekend. The next lilies burgeoning with buds are the Red Alerts, with their super-huge tubes ready to burst. I have to also mention that the rest of the Gumpo Azaleas have started blooming their heads off this week, single-flowered whites and pinks. I’m almost tempted to purchase more calla lilies to cover the bare spot in the lily garden. There is a difference between the callas blooming in full sun versus partial shade. But the callas now have reached remarkable heights of 2-3 feet and show no sign of stopping.
Other notes: transferred the chocolate chip ajuga to the spot vacated by a picoteed dianthus in the courtyard flower bed. Many of the salvia cuttings have taken off, rooted well and are thriving. The last Picasso calla lily, one that I had potted on the patio, has sent up a shoot. I emptied the cosmos seeds I had in the tree bed along with the last of the baby’s breath and forget-me-not seeds. I put in another order for seeds yesterday, for cosmos, impatiens and sweet bell peppers.
Weekend purchases
One Frostproof Gardenia (planted as of yesterday next to the front door), one ageratum, 3 Ballerina Compact White Gaura, 2 Purple Pastel Salvia Greggii, 2 White Salvia Greggii, 2 Desperado Texas Sage, 2 Violet Salvia Greggii, 1 more 18-count flat of Coleus Wizard Mix, 2 Pink Salvia Greggii, 1 Royal Raspberry Salvia Greggii, 1 Cherry Brandy Gaura, 2 Black Pearl Ornamental Peppers, 1 Scented Geranium Orange Fizz and 1 Lorapetalum of the purple-leafed kind.
On mail order from Burpee, Salvia Farinacea Sea Breeze and Diana Blueberry Dianthus seeds.
New beds, new plants and a new weapon
I couldn’t resist picking up some Passionate Blush Gaura and Japanese painted ferns at Home Depot this weekend. I also couldn’t resist snapping up a bicolor sage, Salvia coccinea, which was mismarked as Lady in Red. This particular sage has broad, somewhat fuzzy green leaves with large salmon and white-colored flowers. After doing a little reading on Salvia coccinea (Scarlet sage), I’ve discovered that it is a promiscuous seeder and more attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies than the greggii. I’m looking forward to seeing this grow wild in our flower beds.
My man and I started on the courtyard beds, digging up alongside the house and laying down stonework. The hard clay soil softened since the rain, so it was easier to till than I thought. We dug up about 6 feet of earth and framed out two beds with stone. The herb garden will have to wait since we need a better grade of soil to fill the raised bed.
Dissatisfied with my soapy water approach, the man decided to pick up a bottle of Bayer Advanced insect repellent earlier in the week. He sprayed the coleus in earnest, though I am somewhat apprehensive that we saved the little plants in time. The hosta near the back wall was nearly eaten to the ground. We may have to purchase the hose attachment version to attempt a more aggressive means of protecting the bed.
I also transferred the dianthus seedlings into 3″ pots this weekend…what a pain that was. The Burpees tray did not relinquish the seedlings easily, and it ended up a messy affair to extract all of the plants to put into 18 pots. I’m not looking forward to removing the impatiens.