Tag Archives: leeks

March Blooms and New Plantings

A quick peek in the seed starting room shows first use of the new heat mat I recently purchased from Burpee. I’m hoping the additional bottom heat will help the heat-loving seedlings like peppers thrive. Of course, I can’t seem to have much success with starting oregano from cuttings. It seems I will have to continue to draw variegated oregano from root stock, at the risk of losing the original parent–because these herbs tend to be very sensitive to root disturbance.

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However, despite the dual grow lights my hunny recently installed, I’m not having the miraculous response that I expected. The peppers are still having a difficult time thriving due to the moisture. I need to find my bottle of hydrogen peroxide and spray down the soil to kill any fungus. I’ve also had to re-sow some seeds due to some non-responsive seeds.

The loropetalums are bursting into bloom. First up is the purple fringeflower. We also took some time to flank our newly pruned Midnight Blue rose with 2 small lavender flowered lantana. Hopefully these are the dwarf kind and will form a nice carpet underneath the rose. We also planted our Home Depot petunias (blue, purple and pink) in the border. With any luck, these will thrive and spread, forming a nice lush colorful border during summer.

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The blue bed is also seeing action. This is one of the most floriferous years I’ve seen Mariposa Skies iris in bloom. By my account there were at least nine buds on one plant. The irises must love this site. I dropped a couple of the creeping phloxes (Emerald Blue?) into this bed. Hopefully these perennial types will last much longer than the annual types I tried last time.

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The diascia “Romeo Red” I picked up from North Haven Gardens will fill in the void in the lily bed (I should drop the name since the lilies really aren’t thriving in this bed) while my dianthus cuttings catch up. I find that it’s easier to propagate the red dianthus rather than the white, probably due to the particular cultivar. I’ve also transplanted one of last year’s Chocolate Chip ajuga cuttings I had in a planter back into this bed which will hopefully continue to spread and fill in the border.

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The Oriental Limelight artemisia are bursting back into good health. I found that this particular pot had rooted into the ground, which I immediately moved to another location. The artemisia wilted but I have no doubt it bounce back. I was disappointed with the performance of the Charmed Wine oxalis and the one green shamrock (oxalis triangularis?) in this bed. Both the purple shamrocks have remained woefully stunted (perhaps due to lack of water) while the green barely clung to life. It particularly got buried when I weeded out the bed, dusted the area with Preen and layered with cypress mulch. It remains to be seen if the green will bounce back. But I am happy to report that my Origami red columbine from seed are still hanging in there. Three specimens are still living in the bed, though I have to take particular care to see that do better this year. Maybe some fertilizer?

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Snapdragons are cool! Literally, they are cold-weather plants and love this chilly early spring air. I think I will have to remember to plant them in boxes again next year so that I can look forward to late winter color. I believe these are the Montego Sunset snaps that I purchased from Stokes last year. They sat unmolested and heavily mulched in the blue bed after I had given up on them late in the year, only to have dug them back up late fall early winter and placed into a box, thinking they were a salvia sport. Joke’s on me. It’s been a real joy to watch these colors progress from rose pink to sunset orange.

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Much work went into the new veggie garden. I planted spinach, eggplant (Bride), arugula, gai lan, cilantro. I also transplanted some of the silver lemon thyme (which had reverted back to solid green), dropped some catgrass, Alaska nasturtium and common chive seeds in the cinderblock holes. Did I mention the leek cuttings also went into their new home? Next week I plan on adding the asparagus to the bed, after I decide on where to place them!

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Wishlist plant: Emerald and gold mint or variegated mint.

2013 Gardening Notes

January and February has seen waves of warm weather alternating with cold. With temperatures rising into the 70s at times, winter landscape was tricked into showing some green. Even our weed lawn sprang into verdant purple bloom this month. However, there was also enough rainfall to entice some of the herbaceous plants to put out new growth, as seen in the pot of Oriental Limelight artemisia growing on our doorstep. I expect to see one or two more cold snaps before we permanently warm up for March and outdoor planting. As of this morning, I rescued a cutting from my old succulent planter to place into a tiny sake cup for planting. If it takes root, I’ll be able to resurrect one of the winter-killed plants.

Leeks are so robust! These are three roots I saved from the kitchen scraps and dunked in some water.

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Spring is coming…the evidence in photos below.

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Wishlist plants: Golden Japanese Stone Crop (Sedum makinoi Ogon) and Bleeding Heart ‘Golden Heart (Dicentra spectabilis).

New Plants and Blooms of March

My High Country Gardens order arrived. I’m somewhat disappointed by the tiny specimens I was sent. Given that they appear so delicate, I’m placing them under grow lights for the time being.

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Check out the new blooms on the ornamental pepper Purple Flash and the “perennial” Easy Wave Petunias. The red petunias have opened, while white buds threaten on the other.

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Lavender stoechas Bella Purple is in bloom. The buds appeared about a month ago, and I’ve been reluctant to shear it back since it started to sprawl. As soon as the blooms have faded, I’m trimming it back by at least a  foot so that the neighboring chives, garlic and sage get more light. Notice the lavender bud with the crane fly perched on it? Crane fly populations have exploded in Texas since the temperatures have warmed up (i.e. early February). There’s not a day that I get in a collision with a cloud of these crane flies while puttering in the yard. A friend indicated that these prey on mosquitoes; however, I researched this and discovered that they do NOT feed on mosquitoes at all. They love nectar and their larvae will feast on vegetation, and may cause considerable damage to turf and plants. I would like to find a natural way to get rid of these flies; maybe by enticing more birds to visit.

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I finally caught some good pictures of my yellow salvia greggii in bloom. The camera is still having difficulty capturing the pale yellow colors, but at least I now have a record of it.

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The potted oriental artemisias look like they are enjoying the cooler, moist weather. I do recall that these are part shade plants and they experienced a difficult time last year in the full sun. The yarrow I uprooted from the blue bed is adjusting to its temporary home. I also snapped another picture of the growing leeks in the herb garden bed.

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I also spent some time this morning sowing more seeds to the bathroom greenhouse. Stardust Ice Plant, Blue Fescue, Dreams Patriot Mix petunias, Zinnia Profusion mix and Zinnia Starlight Rose are now planted. Thankfully I had easy seeds to deal with this recent go-round, pellets and chaff-like seed aren’t as difficult to stick in Jiffy pellets.

Recipe: Asparagus Spinach Leek Soup…or quite simply Spring Soup

I haven’t posted a recipe in a quite awhile, but the ingredients in this soup include some of my fave veggies: asparagus, spinach, and leeks! I discovered my taste for asparagus soup after a recent dinner at Greenz in Addison, who served up a creamy, yet refreshing version of this. My recipe is a modified version from How2Heroes.com, which includes buttermilk and is served warm.

Leeks, 1 bunch (2 or 3 leek roots = about 1 cup), sliced
Garlic, 10-12 cloves, chopped
Asparagus, 1 bunch, chopped into 1-2″ stalks
Oil, 4 tbsp (I used canola/EVOO mix)
Baby Spinach, 2 cups
Buttermilk, 0.5 cup (substitute milk, cream or yogurt)
Vegetable Broth, 2 cans (2 cups ea.)
Shredded or cubed cheese (optional)
Scallops or other seafood protein (optional)

Slice the whites and light green parts of the leeks (omit the dark tops) and saute in pan with oil over medium heat. Add garlic when leeks have softened, saute until aromatic. Add chopped asparagus, reserving tops; saute until softened. After 3-5 minutes, add vegetable broth to pan and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add buttermilk to thicken, then add baby spinach. Remove pan from direct heat. Stir spinach into soup until lightly wilted. Immersion blend the soup mixture to desired consistency. Serves 2 people at about 380 calories per serving.

Garnish with cheese or add seared scallops for extra protein.