I’m catching up on my gardening activities from last week. This past Memorial Day weekend, I relocated the purple potato vines to their own pots to keep a couple of newcomers, caladiums, company. In their place I planted 2 Chocolate Chip Ajuga that I picked up from Walton’s Garden Center.
The callas are blooming. First up: Flame. These blooms display brilliant yellow, with a touch of orange or red. I am assuming that as the weeks go on, they will deepen in color per their namesake. As an aside, the single blooming purple flower of my Devil’s Wine calla has barely faded but held its true shape. It’s a testament to how long-lived these calla blooms are!
My Blossom Farm order came in last week, but 2 of the lavender plants I ordered do not appear to be faring very well. I’ve been keeping a close watch on them, but it appears the smallest of the 4 has given up the ghost. I’ve messaged Blossom Farm for assistance…perhaps they are not beyond rescue. I’m just glad that I have one each of the 2 larger specimens, Coconut Ice and White Provence.
I’m not too thrilled with the Bewitched Purple potato vine (which appears to be mislabeled) threatening to take over my planter. While the palmate shape of the leaves are attractive, they are much too large and overshadowing the neighboring plants. I intend to pull it out as soon as I can find a suitable replacement, preferably a petite-leaf purple potato vine, similar to the compact bright green potato vine (which may be a Sweetheart Light Green) in the other planter.
Today is an example of a perfect morning on the patio, cool weather and warm sun. I should invest in a folding patio set. Perhaps I can shop for one this holiday…if the fiance will let me out of bed this weekend. 😀
It seems my pups have a taste for dill. My poor dill plants have been nibbled and grazed on. Methinks I need new dill plants. Also, my lavender plants came in last week…I managed to get them onto the patio this weekend…before the pups did any more damage to them. But the photos demonstrate that the herb garden is thriving despite the attention of vegetarian pups.
This weekend marked the beginning of my modest herb garden. Since I needed to drop by Home Depot to pick up a bag of garden soil, I decided to replace the dead ornamental pepper plant and pick up some filler for 2 unused planter troughs I still had sitting on the patio. I decided with all the cooking I’ve been doing lately, I might as well stop spending money on store-bought fresh herbs and grow my own. I purchased 2 each of the following: lemon thyme, thai basil and fernleaf dill. I suppose I should read up on the care and maintenance of these plants. (Edit: good info on care)
In addition to the new plantings, I finally got my white salvia into its new pot, which will hopefully prevent it from drying out. I also sank the remainder of my calla lily bulbs in the new herb planters.
My lavender plant grower contacted me this morning to inform me that my order will take another 2 weeks before shipping. I can’t wait for the lavenders to arrive!
While I am lamenting the loss of the purple pepper plant in the second box planter on my patio, my first brightly colored planter is hosting an emerging calla show. It appears that the Mango callas are bursting out of the ground…no sign of Flame yet. Here’s hoping to see it soon!