variadm – Page 95 – variegatagal

Photinia hack job

Spent Sunday afternoon raking leaves and managed to snag 3 bagfuls from the front yard. Too bad we don’t have a compost bin to utilize the debris…though I may have found some 3×3 wire bins on AceHardware.com. The man started hacking down the photinia. The plan is to install a bed where it currently sits and perhaps put up a barrier on the other side of the chain link fence. Preference for plants would be any shrub that isn’t established too close to the fence. The black spot-ridden photinia was an aggressive grower that grew through the links of the fence.

Spring to summer seed packets

I stopped by North Haven Gardens this weekend to pick up some seeds. It was very difficult to resist picking up their 50% off sale on spring bulbs! I can’t wait to outdoor sow them! The rains this past weekend has made the ground damp enough for me to put down some violas into the door strip bed.

Also: picked up some cat grass seed for the kitty; he’s taken a huge interest in the ginger plants I have parked by the door.

Under the grow lights

The top growth on the eggplant died, but some foliage is emerging from the root ball. Looks like I’ll be able to keep this eggplant come spring. Still planning on using the single fruit for seed stock–I can’t imagine it’s edible up till now. All of the potted plants are taking up counter space, limiting the amount of real estate I can use to grow from seed. We’ll see what happens when mid-month rolls around.

Mums in post-Christmas bloom

I was lucky enough to have some time to deadhead the mums this morning. They were trying to bring some color in a relatively colorless lily bed.

We think we’ve discovered what’s been grazing on my garlic chives…a big unwelcome rat.

Who ate my garlic chives?

I noticed something nibbled the tops off my garlic chives last week. I inspected it this morning and noticed it was growing back. I can’t think of anything roaming about in the cold, wet few days that feasts on garlic chives. One of the variegated society garlic clumps nearly got uprooted since it had been in the way. (I have several common chives potted up that were untouched.)

Asters and mums are making a second round of blooms. Obviously not as floriferous as the first round, especially since I neglected to deadhead them.

The larkspur seedlings are coming along…I’m thinking of uprooting the yarrow in this bed and replacing it with a stand of angelonia come spring.