variadm – Page 108 – variegatagal

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.

And yet more plants

We can’t seem to not find anything we like at Strong’s Nursery: 1 basil lime, 1 lemon balm (melissa officinalis), 1 pineapple mint, one Spanish Lavender and another Hakonechloa Aureola (Golden Japanese Forest Grass looking a little burnt). At Home Depot, we finally got our paws on 2 catmints, Nepeta faassenii, though they didn’t look at all too happy sitting out in full sun, plus a larger rosemary specimen, Tuscan Blue. From there I also picked up a cheap 6-pack of marigolds (Durango or Safari series mix, Bolero being the choicest color), 2 more bicolor salvia coccinea, 2 Calico and 2 Purple Flash Ornamental Peppers, and a Tropical Breeze verbena (for my blue-themed planter). My man also picked up some sale items at Calloways, 2 Oertel’s Rose Common Yarrow and 2 Golden Fleece (Dahlberg Daisies).

I planted my yellow-themed box with marigolds and coleus, with the old Salsa Jasmines as bookends to the box. I still have plenty of coleus to spare as I consider setting up another planter box in the same theme.

The first lily bloom is not surprisingly the shortest lilies in the flower beds: Lollypop. It made a showing last Saturday with 2 flowers. An even younger bulb boasts 3 pink-edged blooms on a 18″ trunk. Another surprise bloomer is the Red Peppermint Super Parfait dianthus. One of the seedlings hatched yesterday, and it appears several more seedlings are budding. I’m not sure that I should pinch them back to stimulate more foliage. Other bloomers include Macrantha orange and white gumpo azaleas. The orange actually looks more like what Crimson should have looked like, and the white gumpo is a pretty single-flowered form.

The first purple garden is in place, with the Lorapetalum as centerpiece, and rosemary Tuscan Blue close to the patio door, next to the house wall. It is currently populated with 2 Compact Ballerina white gauras, one Calico and one Purple Flash ornamental pepper, one Spanish Lavender, 2 violet salvia greggiis and 3 bicolor salvia coccinea. I also transplanted the purple picoteed dianthus from the lily bed to this one, since the colors worked well.

The 2 golden fleece and the Cherry Brandy gaura have been planted in the front flower bed, in front of the shorter azaleas.

Plants currently making an entrance in the flower beds: 1 Fanal Astilbe (in corner bed), 1 Picasso calla lily

More seeds are in. I get to experiment with the seed sower I purchased and give the Burpees pellets another shot.

Lessons in gardening

Lessons learned:

Don’t put out Impatiens seedlings out in the sun. Despite copious amounts of watering, the tender leaves faded, threatening early seedling demise. I immediately moved the impatiens flats into the shade of our photinia hedge, which seems to have improved their outlook.
Dianthus seeds do not need tray starting. However, since we are talking about starting an uncommon or rare dianthus seed here, I did not want to take any chances. The seedlings would have probably started just as well in Jiffy pots or in the 3″ pots they are currently inhabiting. As they are now, they are slow to adjust to the sudden transition from indoors to outdoors. I am hoping they will perk back up soon. It’s been a week since I moved them outside…
Fresh salvia cuttings need to stay in shade for a period of 1-2 weeks during spring. Getting full sun tends to dry them out too quickly. Also, it helps to direct their energy to rooting and leafing, so pinch off any buds that develop. The cuttings I took from Hot Lips all budded, so I had to nip those right away. Luckily, the cuttings took root, and they are now residing outdoors to harden and grow. I have also half a dozen red salvia greggii cuttings that I’m waiting on to root, before they can share the sunlight with the other babies.
If you see a plant you want at the store, don’t hesitate to snap it up right away. Especially Nepeta (a.k.a. Catmint). We saw several Walkers Low specimens at Covington’s a week or two ago, and were dismayed to learn they had been sold out on another visit yesterday. If it looks good, chances are it will sell right away. With this pleasant spring weather, consumers are flocking to garden centers in droves and picking up the prettiest plants currently in full bloom.
Take pictures of your garden frequently. I can’t stress this enough. The garden looks different every day. Flowers are ephemeral, lighting differs, new foliage continuously appear on old plants. And your perspective will change throughout the day. Beauty is fleeting, and a picture captures a single moment in time to preserve it forever.

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.

Battle plan

A good general knows when and how to turn the tide of battle in his favor.

Armed with the recipe for a DIY insecticidal soap, I resolved to reverse my fortune on the garden battlefield and take action against the whiteflies destroying the coleus and the young hosta. I had a leftover 5 gallon plastic jug used to store raw garlic. I then combined 4 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of generic brand lemon-scented liquid dishwashing soap in said container and began shaking. Once it reached a frothy consistency, I grabbed a used Febreze spray bottle which had been doubling as my seedling spritzer, emptied it, and poured my secret weapon into it. Into the cool morning I marched and started spritzing the ravaged coleus. It seems that only 2 of the survivors were hardly affected, perhaps because of their longer exposure to sunlight. But they received the full bath, as well as the 2 Gold Standard Hostas that had been sitting in the bed. The hosta in the back (again, one that does not receive any sunlight) had been targeted mercilessly, having lost most of its new leaves to the attackers.

I surveyed the lawn to see if my previous day’s efforts had taken root. I had tackled the issue of the raggedy, browning lawn and turned loose the broadcast spreader. With a bag of Scott’s Turf Builder Bermudagrass Seed, I overseeded the front and courtyards with seed, in an effort to eradicate the patches. I realize that my efforts might be hampered to the amount of dead and tall grass, plus any hard soil that had not been previously raked. But I was resolved to get the task done and perhaps reseed at a later date in May to patch any remaining holes in the lawn. Let’s see if that 85% germination rate claimed on the label comes true!