More plant orders and a weekend chill

My Forestfarm order came in, a very nicely packed Kalmia and sprouting Hosta. The dining room table is filling up with plants and bulbs. However a sudden freeze has stalled our landscaping efforts this weekend. By midday Saturday, temperatures plummeted, and we saw snow around 8pm. Truly bizarre Texas weather…even our city Farmer’s Market was delayed for another weekend. I’m banking that this will be the last freeze of the season; the coming week temps look to be in the 70s.

I’ve put in an order with Stokes Seeds for the Xtreme Hot! Impatiens mix (250 seeds), 1 packet of Super Parfait Red Peppermint, Thai Basil, Red Rubin Basil, and Garlic Chives. It took me a long time to whittle down the Impatiens varieties, but given the recent introduction and success of the Xtreme series, it seemed logical to choose it over the Super Elfins, Accents and New Guineas. Maybe later, I will go back and pick up more color blends as well as explore other varieties such as the Athena Doubles, Orange Flash and Red Flash, and the Super Elfin XP Stellar Mix Impatiens.

A word about the dianthus: I’ve been looking to see if a “hot” blend of colors are available in the Ideal mix. It appears that the 4 surviving specimens that I transplanted to the courtyard bed may have been Telstar varieties, likely scarlet or carmine reds, and possibly a white. I have my eye on Dianthus Valentine, but I’d like to find a supplier that offers it for reasonable prices.

First orders in-house

Awaiting me when I got home from work yesterday was my Brent & Becky’s order. As usual, I’m always pleased to find a well-packaged order of healthy, good-sized bulbs. If weather permits this weekend (a possibility of snow and freezing temperatures forecast on Saturday), I will be putting the new arrivals in the ground.

The honey and I went to Lowes to see about fabricating a light stand. However, we had a hard time finding any pieces for even a decent price. The wire/metal stand started at $40 which I decided not to purchase, and we found with a fluorescent grow light for about $15. I may just return the light and craft something simpler, as shown in the CFL grow light video. The honey had a good idea to re-purpose our unused 2nd bathroom as a seedling house and we may be trying PVC to craft a light stand.

While at Lowes we also picked up two bags of hosta: Gold Standard and Minuteman. These will join the Eternal Flame I ordered from Forestfarm, which should hopefully arrive today. I’d like to add a blue hosta to our collection and am surfing around for candidates.

Colors in the shade, DIY grow lights

The honey and I have been designing our flowerbeds prior to filling them in. I’ve put in an order for some shade-loving daylilies to add color to the beds. Dallas Star, a pale pink semi-evergreen spider, at Oakes Daylilies and Orangeman, an orange spider known to go dormant, at Bloomingfields Farm are both known to thrive in part to full shade. (Edit: I’ve put in the Dallas Star order, but holding off on Orangeman due to high shipping charges.)

I’ve also submitted an order for some astilbe, Fanal and Amerika, at American Meadows. While I was browsing the site, perennial Japanese Forest Grass, such as Hakonechloa macra Aureola and Nicolas caught my eye. I am aware that this type of grass is known to thrive in shade, and I’ve been thinking of adding one or two to the front fence bed. Big Dipper Farm has a nice selection of Hakonechloa to peruse.

Finally I’ve found several YouTube videos on DIY grow light kits and stands. I’m not opposed to making my own cart, after seeing some of the steep asking prices in this season’s gardening catalogs.

My first order from Brent & Becky’s has arrived, and I can’t wait to get home to inspect them. Despite last minute changes to my order, they managed to get it to me within a week of initial ordering. I’ve always been pleased with their online store and I plan to make future orders with them.