…and After!

So I cleaned up the leaf-burned foliage with fabulous results. Next I’ll have to find a new home for them!

10/23/2011 Gingers and Sedums (1) 10/23/2011 Gingers and Sedums (2)

Doogie decided he wanted to pose for me so I couldn’t miss this opportunity to photograph a spotted dog against the striped foliage.

10/23/2011 Gingers and Sedums (6) 10/23/2011 Gingers and Sedums (7) 10/23/2011 Gingers and Sedums (8)

I couldn’t resist this eye-catching succulent planter when I wandered over to Flower Mound and visited Westbrook Outdoor Solutions, a family-run garden center. I tell ya…I need a new camera with better flash. Or I need to stop taking pictures during dusk and dawn.

10/23/2011 Gingers and Sedums (3) 10/23/2011 Gingers and Sedums (4) 10/23/2011 Gingers and Sedums (5)

Finally, one (albeit poor) shot of the new ornamental kale still looking for a home.

10/23/2011 Gingers and Sedums (9)

Wishlist plant of the day: Hydrangea macrophylla Silver Variegated Mariesii or Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Variegata’, or the Endless Summer sport called Light o’ Day.

Before…

Last week while I toured the nursery centers in search of pots and plants, I happened to notice these ginger lilies beckoning to me from the 75% off clearance racks at Lowes.

10/22/2011 Alpinia zerumbet variegata

Speaking as a girl with a tasted for variegated plants, it was a deal that could not be denied. I brought home 3 2.25qt pots of variegated gingers: 1x Alpinia zerumbet variegata and 2x Stromanthe sanguinea tricolor.

10/22/2011 Stromanthe sanguinea tricolor

Not pictured here are two 4″ pots of purple curly-leafed ornamental kale that I picked up at Blooming Colors Nursery in Grapevine.

Tomorrow, I’ll post pics of the cleanup I performed on the gingers. I had to plant the last of the pansies flats before nightfall.

Lacy and herby

I may have acted too late. I spotted what remained of the variegated Prince Rupert scented geranium (French Lace) in the blue bed. It seems the cool weather had finally turned it brown. I had to get it into a pot immediately and bring it indoors during the evening. I’m not sure it will make it, but I’m hoping. The photo I took of it is very disheartening. For more than a year it languished in part shade. I supposed it might have preferred full sun but the heat wave we experience this summer might have killed it. It looks so frail compared to the original plant I bought in April.

10/21/2011 Variegated Prince Rupert Scented Geranium

The red rubin basil has returned to its purple self. During its seedling stages and for much of the extremely hot summer months, it nearly lost most of those jewel purple tones…appearing splotchy hearted rather than the stunning dark beauty it is today. This particular specimen was hacked back down nearly to the root, but possessed enough side shoots to make a comeback.

10/21/2011 October Herbs (1)

The lime thyme and variegated oregano really took off this summer.

 10/21/2011 October Herbs (2)

I think I’ve discovered the name for the kidney shaped weed that has been invading the lily bed lately. I believe they are dichondra, which may have hitched a ride from a previous tenant, or it’s just never had a chance to come into its own until today. I’ll have to do some research…it looks nothing like the silver falls dichondra we see around the arboretum.

Wishlist plant of the day: Alaska mix nasturtiums.

One point five inches!

My eggplant’s size is enough to make any girl blush!

10/20/2011 October Garden (1)

One of the ginger mints I transplanted into the cinderblock border wall is recovering. Its sibling however did not.

10/20/2011 October Garden (2)

The variegated society garlic wanted to be noticed! It stuck this bloom head directly into my camera lens.

10/20/2011 October Garden (3)

Chrysanthemum (Heteropappus) Blue Knoll…I don’t get it. What’s happening to this thing? I have 2 of them situated in the blue bed. I read that it’s an annual, but it still grows like a weed. It hasn’t bloomed this fall. And I don’t expect that it will this year at all. Will it make it to next year? Or is it really just a weed?

10/20/2011 October Garden (4)

Wishlist plant of the day: Sedum lineare ‘Variegatum’.

October Wonders

I wonder where I’ll be siting this Snow-n-Summer Asiatic Jasmine. I’ve been thinking about planting it in the shade bed, along with the hostas, but methinks it may get too much exposure there under the canopy of 2 crape myrtles. Currently, it sits next to the camellia planting in the front door bed. However, I am skeptical that this bed will get any more moisture than the shade bed during the warm summer months. And, I want to be sure to that it maintains its dainty pastel coloration during all the seasons.

 10/19/2011 October Wonders (1)

I wonder about the Pesto Perpetuo basil blooms. I read that this particular variety does not produce flowers, but here I have 2 specimens in my garden putting forth buds. I wonder if the seeds will be viable. Notice that the top half of this basil has reverted to solid green leaves during our summer heat wave. I am waiting out to see if it will produce variegated foliage with our cooler weather, or if I will have to snip off the solid-colored leaves.

10/19/2011 October Wonders (2)

I wonder about these Pacifica vincas still blooming their heads off in the planter box next to our backyard door. Neither heat nor drought has slowed them down. And while the vinca seedlings in the front yard bed are displaying some yellowing due to extra watering, these particular vinca have remained verdant and boldly colored. Next year, I’d like to plant some “true red” vincas.

10/19/2011 October Wonders (3)

I don’t have to wonder much about the Coral Nymph salvias. They continue their reseeding and blooming cycle three seasons long. I have them planted in the tree ring bed in the front yard, in the purple bed (next to the purple salvia greggiis, the Midnight Blue rose, and the loropetalum) and in the rosemary bed (in a dry zone behind the rosemary topiary). There isn’t a zone that has daunted the growth of the salvia coccinea. Next, I’ll be trying them into a full shade bed just to see how vigorous they are!

10/19/2011 October Wonders (4)