Late May seed sowing

5/26/2011 Basil and Sage Cuttings 1Timing may be late since we are on the cusp of summer, but the ground is wet enough for seed sowing. I dumped all the alyssum packets in the shade bed (Wonderland White) and on the bald patches of ground surrounding the fence door (Deep Purple and Mulberry Mix). I’m not holding my breath that the seeds will take, but it would make me happy to see the empty areas disappear under some kind of color.

I put all of the cosmos seeds in, after scraping the tree ring soil into a trough. My honey finished the sowing mission by dumping the rest of the Durango marigolds and Lady in Red salvias also in the same ring. No point in hanging onto them; most seeds have a shelf life.

As a side mission, I also planted out 6 columbine seedlings that have long sat under the grow lights. They appeared to be browning–from age, I hope–so I went ahead and potted them up, put them out in the lily bed.5/26/2011 Basil and Sage Cuttings 2

While I was inspecting the cutting planter boxes, I was pleased to discover that one of the Tricolor sages has a healthy root system breaking out of the jiffy pot (should be about 4 weeks old now). All of the sage and basil cuttings appear to be putting on new foliage–a great sign! The Thai basil seedlings in the same planter box are taking off, growing several branches and heavy foliage. I think with all the warm weather the rest of the week, I will bring out the basil and salvia seedlings from the bathroom greenhouse. Heck, I might just bring them all out.

Storm tossed Tuesdays

Still more rain today. Still no A/C today. Email from the landlord says unit has shipped, waiting on installer. I can’t blame the installer; who’d want to work in the rain?

So no new pictures today. Observations aplenty however. Like, how there are no Asiatic lilies blooming right now, just waiting on the Navonas to bust out. Along with the Navonas, all our Dallas Stars have buds on them, and still more buds to come. Can’t wait to see them in bloom. I think I spotted a couple of buds on our new Stellas; but the other one doesn’t seem to be cooperating. Their leaves have turned yellow quite a bit, so I imagine they are acclimating to their new home. The only daylily without a single bud this year is–you guessed it–Hyperion. I asked the honey to cut back the Hot Lips which has again overgrown the lily bed. Perhaps the Hyperion will benefit from the shearing.

The replanted callas might be enjoying all this rainfall. Some of the Flame specimens I replanted along the salvia wall seem perky; the leaves appear lively and healthy-looking. I should think about rehoming some of the potted callas.

The dozens of coral salvia seedlings are assembling into a formidable army of growing plants. Some of the transplants are militantly swelling in size and girth–crazy! I hope the Ladies in Red are similarly vigorous. I’d hate to see them overrun by the corals…I was counting on a brilliant red display in the front yard. In addition, I hope to finally get the cosmos seeds sowed into the tree ring. along with more marigolds; and alyssum in the bare patches near the front yard fence line. I figure I might as well sow them somewhere and hope they don’t mind the short growing season.

5/24/2011 Spider Lily Bulbs Needing PlantingEgads, temps are looking to be around the 90s the rest of this week, with the wet weather behind us. I expect humidity and a lot of lying about the house…until the A/C is fixed. I’m hoping we don’t go cooler-less this weekend…I want to get some work done in the garden before summer hits. Those two bags of Spider lily bulbs won’t plant themselves!!!

On my garden wishlist today: variegated Snow Fairy caryopteris and variegated lacecap hydrangeas.

Rain, humidity and marigolds

5/23/2011 First Durango Marigold BloomWe’ve been experiencing fierce spring storms in Texas, with storm cells affecting most of the south and midwest US. When it’s not raining, it’s terribly humid, which of course feeds more storms. Unfortunately, having no a/c is miserable especially with the heat and humidity. Therefore, I haven’t spent much time out in the yard to putter around. What efforts I made in protecting the hostas, for instance, has been washed away. (Not to mention, all the grass seed we sowed last week.) So I’m relegated to sitting back and watching things grow.

My first Durango marigold bloom of the year happened on Sunday (or maybe Saturday)–a nice golden yellow bloom. Another Droid2 image capture, so image is not the best.

Saturday trips

On Saturday my honey and I finally made it to the Taste of Addison. We got to sample some tasty food but then the day grew too hot and humid to withstand. So we decided to cool off in the car before heading out to take in the sights of the Farmer’s Branch Rose Gardens. And what beautiful gardens they were! Daylilies were definitely the showcase flowers on display! Check out the crinums in the historical garden park too.

5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (49) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (48) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (47) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (46) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (45) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (44) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (43) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (42) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (41) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (40) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (39) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (38) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (37) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (36) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (35) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (34) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (33) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (32) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (31) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (30) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (29) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (28) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (27) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (26) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (25) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (24) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (23) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (22) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (21) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (20) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (19) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (18) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (17) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (16) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (15) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (14) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (13) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (12) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (11) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (10) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (9) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (8) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (7) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (6) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (5) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (4) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (3) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (2) 5/21/2011 Rose Gardens of Farmers Branch (1)

Veggies!

I have a hankerin to grow some veggies. Of course, being late in the season means very few direct-sow options left. Here’s a short wishlist of ideas:

  • Soy beans (edamame)
  • Bush/French beans (preferably stringless)
  • Okra
  • Peppers (yes more of them!)
  • Swiss Chard (ornamental)
  • Sweet Potato (ornamental)

According to Burpee, these veggies can be direct sown into the garden this time of year. More regional-specific reading can be found at the Aggie Horticulture site.

Question of the day: what’s eating my Lobelia erinus Regatta Midnight Blue?