Tag Archives: ornamental pepper

Weed weeder weedest!

All week I’ve been tidying up in the garden. Weeding here (cleaning out the gravel strip), pulling dead or dying plants out elsewhere (dead rosemary, salvia, dianthus, herb garden). I’ve pruned back on a few plants (such as the gaura) and transplanted a few (ginger mint into the cinderblock wall). I’ve observed some unusual sights, like the brown-burnt asters in the blue bed that are still blooming, the flowering Mexican heather in the purple bed, and the Autumn Monarch azalea that put out a few more flowers this week. I am in awe of the salvia/marigold tree ring in the front yard, though I have also noticed a ton of ant condos springing up everywhere lately. Time to get out the ant killer!

‘Tis the time to be fertilizing and weed-killin’. I hope to have some funds to invest in a good pre-emergent and lawn food this weekend. With the summer drawing to a close, and the weather amenable, it’s easy to get out in the yard to do some work. I spent this morning killing some crabgrass in the courtyard. But of course, I saw some more patches in the front yard.

I also turned out the last of the bathroom tenants. The pepper plants are getting some quality sun time on the patio. I hope to transfer them into bigger pots and get a chance at some fruit before the winter frost. And speaking of fruit, what about some eggplant? Should I sink my Chinese eggplant into the herb garden bed, or bring it indoors over the winter? It keeps flowering but not producing any fruit. It seems to prefer more room to spread its roots.

This is also the time to ponder the fall-winter flower display, not to mention purchase the spring flower bulbs. I’m writing up a list!

Perhaps on this list, we’ll be adding a new Japanese maple. My JM unfortunately has been confirmed dead. And I discovered some alien fungus residing in the pot. Scawy!

9/28/2011 End of Summer Blooms (1) 9/28/2011 End of Summer Blooms (2) 9/28/2011 End of Summer Blooms (3) 9/28/2011 End of Summer Blooms (4) 9/28/2011 End of Summer Blooms (5) 9/28/2011 End of Summer Blooms (6) 9/28/2011 End of Summer Blooms (7)

Day 34: Ouch!

One month of straight 100+ degree weather. The paucity of blog posts here is directly related to how much time I’ve been spending in the garden–which amounts to the least number of hours possible.

The man and I did spend a few hours this past Saturday morning weeding and cleaning out the front flower bed. We took stock of our ailing azaleas and parched lawn, gave them all a good soaking, before going back into hiding. However, it seems that soaking every other day is not helping our plants or our lawn. Though I’m loathed to see our water bill for every day sprinkler watering, that may be our only recourse to keeping things alive. That, and more cedar mulch.

So after weeding, I took stock of our garden and found that the heuchera are all dried up, the Autumn Embers azaleas extremely dehydrated, and my once-thriving rosemary plant with one foot in the grave. Of course the rosemary suffered due to an over-abundance of watering, spawning a fungus killing off its roots. One of my salvia greggiis (Royal Raspberry) wasn’t immune to the poor weather either, having lost most of its top growth.

My poor Salsa Asiatic jasmines have turned brown with leaf burn if they’re not already dead. Because of their young neighbors died off in the heat, they lost some valuable shade in the process. Other potted plants fare well only with daily watering. They would prosper if I increased their watering to twice daily, but my reluctance to stand in the heat has seen me outside only once a day.

Yesterday as I was watering the courtyard, I did find that the Shu ornamental pepper had begun dropping its fruit, one of the golden oreganos in the cinderblock wall had gotten burnt, and the aster in the blue bed has started blooming sporadically. Also, the eggplant has retained its one flower so far, but I’m not sure if I should expect any fruit.

The upside to this extreme weather is that I haven’t gotten bitten once. Mosquitoes must be thrown off by all the ambient heat and lack of human CO2 to find a host to feed on.

Triple digits: day 25

I caught sight of my first cosmos bloom of the year. Plenty more marigolds are a-popping. The vincas are going strong both in the front beds and in pots. The catmint is bountiful in its blooming spires, like the neighboring pineapple mint.

7/26/11 Cosmos and Marigolds (1) 7/26/11 Cosmos and Marigolds (2) 7/26/11 Cosmos and Marigolds (3) 7/26/11 Cosmos and Marigolds (4) 7/26/11 Cosmos and Marigolds (5) 7/26/11 Cosmos and Marigolds (6) 7/26/11 Cosmos and Marigolds (7) 7/26/11 Cosmos and Marigolds (8)

This heat streak has been tough on the delicate plants as well as anything in pots. I surveyed the yard and found many losses: the lobelia, Purple Palace heuchera and Capetown Blue Felicia Daisy among them. The 2 Autumn Embers azaleas are particularly affected. I’m concerned that without a soaker hose in the bed they won’t get the watering they require. Chances are, we won’t see them for their summer show this year.

Bloomin’ things

It’s been a hot week, but despite that, the flowers still keep coming. Especially on the basils. I’ve been trimming them back like mad all week, but they persist in throwing up blooms. The thai basil, for example, has been sheared back multiple times–I used some of its leaves for some fried rice but I never use enough of the basil to make a dent in their growth. Today, my lime basil threw up a floret spire for the first time this year. Now, if we could only grill up some burgers so I can make some lime basil mayo.

7/17/2011 Bloomin Things (1)

Among the other flowers captured today:  Midnight Blue rose starting another flush of blooms, Aztec Red verbena, Calico ornamental pepper, picoteed dianthus, catnip, the mystery dianthus which I originally thought was Diana Blueberry…and the caladium! Yes, after closer inspection, that dried up floppy top hid a flower spike. A second flower spike will soon be blooming. I’m also happy to note that the other caladium (in a spot that receives more afternoon sun) finally deigned to joined us. Just in time too, because the Purple Palace heucheras are looking crispy.

7/17/2011 Bloomin Things (2) 7/17/2011 Bloomin Things (3) 7/17/2011 Bloomin Things (5) 7/17/2011 Bloomin Things (6) 7/17/2011 Bloomin Things (7) 7/17/2011 Bloomin Things (8) 7/17/2011 Bloomin Things (9) 7/17/2011 Bloomin Things (10) 7/17/2011 Bloomin Things (11) 7/17/2011 Bloomin Things (12)

Hello, Mr Dragonfly…I wish I took better macro pictures so that I could photograph how pretty you are.

7/17/2011 Bloomin Things (4)