Late winter garden update

3/8/2011 Asahi Zuru Leafing OutThe biggest challenge in the outdoor space is the henbit and broadleaf weed invasion that has dominated all of our yards. Because of unseasonably warm weather in February, the weeds grew in and spread like wildfire. We’ve sprayed the lawns twice, after taking stock of the situation, because the infestation is extreme. Hopefully the weedkiller we’ve applied will make the difference so we can finally get to applying the preventive.

3/8/2011 A Bundle of Tiger LiliesSome observations I’ve made of the outdoor space: Prairie Sky hosta is displaying a crown of leaf buds, Emerald Snow loropetalums are blooming, daylilies have all leafed, yarrows are spreading. I’ve done some additional pruning and mulching on salvias. I’ve transplanted the Japanese maple into its new home, an 18″x18″ redwood cedar box. Yesterday, I planted 2 scabiosas that I obtained from Home Depot and added a Sinaloa sage to the blue bed. I brought indoors the other Sinaloa sage due to some serious dieback after going without water for several days. I am uncertain at this time but I believe that one of the foxtail ferns is attempting to make a comeback. However I don’t know how it will fare given the cooler temperatures we’ve been seeing lately. This morning I had the honey plant a bag of Tiger lilies purchased from Home Depot in the front yard shade bed. Given their vigorous nature, I feel comfortable in knowing that these Tiger lilies will endure in this space.

In addition to my Home Depot purchases, I have a lavender and a bag of Crimson Pirate daylilies that have yet to be planted.

3/8/2011 Mushrooms in my Hosta?Indoor space: all the hostas have now begun to sprout. They must like sitting in the bathtub, getting warm and cozy. I transplanted all the seedlings in the first cell pack into their own pots, with only a few basil and one pepper plant lost in the transition. I’m debating on whether to put them outside; but currently cool temperatures prohibit that.

Did I mention the vinca have sprouted within a few days? I should bring them into the light soon, I imagine. Also it appears that the golden fleece are making a showing…though the sprouts are extremely tiny. At this point, I highly doubt that they are daisies, but I’m hoping.

I bought a Jiffy tray full of coir pellets this weekend. Ever since the 2nd tray of seedlings has been exposed to air, some of the seedlings have perished (ice plants) while other seeds have failed to sprout (phlox/blue knoll chrysanthemum). Because I’ve had some luck with the coir pellets, I think I will use them from now on. They seem easier to transplant than the Burpee XL Growing system. In addition to the seedling tray, I also bought a packet of convulvulus.

Need to plant those cool season annuals now!

Herb garden rebuild and a shade companion

2/28/2011 Golden Oregano Displaying Spring GrowthPurchased 4 cinder blocks from Home Depot this weekend to complete some renovation work on our herb garden. We removed the original white brick border and replaced them with spare cinder blocks that we recovered from the back yard. Going by what we saw at NHG, the cinder block holes will be useful in isolating the pineapple mint which has grown rampant in the herb garden. I also plan on removing the oreganos and thymes to plant into the wall, then raise the soil a few more inches before we plant out our peppers and basils. In assessing the herb bed, I am concerned that the rosemary has displayed some winter leaf burn and hope that it is only that, and not a sign of die off from lack of water.

However, we do have a new rosemary topiary that we picked up from Walton’s Gardens. It is a 3 gallon specimen shaped as a Christmas tree that we got on sale, 30% off I believe. It is nearly 3 feet high and in good health. The man dug up the bed right next to the patio door to provide it a good home with lots of drainage. Here’s crossing my fingers that it will endure in its new place–such a lovely fragrance to walk out to!

2/28/2011 New Oxalis in Lily BedAlso purchased a green shamrock, oxalis regnellii or more commonly known as oxalis triangularis, this past weekend at Calloway’s Gardenfest. I planted it in the lily bed, but I should have thought about putting 2 in the front yard shade bed instead. I’ve been so impressed with the vigor of the purple shamrocks that I hope the green leafed version displays a similar tolerance for our Texas heat.

After attending a workshop hosted by Calloway’s on Bulb Hunter Cris Wiesinger’s picks for southern heirloom bulbs, I am eager to find more shade-loving bulbs that are native to this region for planting in the front yard shade garden.  I have a keen interest in the oxblood lilies, crinum, roman hyacinths and fragrant narcissus (small flowered kind) for planting in the shade garden (added to wishlist), alongside the ferns, hostas, and loropetalum.

BULB GONE!

2/28/2011 Potted 1 year old Ballerina GauraSome industrious critter thieved one of my hippeastrum bulbs. The telltale mound of dirt it had dug up was the only evidence left of the missing bulb. I am hoping it wasn’t one of my pups…’coz I’d be really upset.

After discovering the theft I began the laborious work of transplanting the gaura, dianthus and white salvia. Who knew gaura could get so huge? I have them currently residing in what I believe are 5 gallon pots. I am not sure how well these will respond to transplanting, but I am hoping that given the sprightly spring growth that they will survive. Can gaura be divided? That mass of huge roots suggests otherwise; I am going to have to do a little research.

Two dianthus specimens that had languished in the purple bed have been moved into the lily bed under the myrtle, which will hopefully be a happier home for them. I also transplanted a third into a pot, the tiniest surviving dianthus from the purple bed. The remainder will stay put until I’ve determined how to reorganize the bed.

White salvia moved. I am now deciding if a weed mat should go down on the salvia wall. The ground is uneven and could use some leveling, but I’m also thinking that it could benefit from some additional specimens of sage. A cultivar of the Mealy Cup Sage, salvia farinacea, Henry Duelberg, recently caught my eye. What surprises me is that it’s supposed to be perennial, being a relative of the Victoria Blues that we used to dress our front yard bed. Methinks with the harsh icy weather we had in February that these Victoria Blues have been killed off. They had begun sending up shoots when the blizzard came around. Even the potted specimens that I took have shown no signs of reviving…and this mild weather has been causing all the salvias to leaf out. I have another farinacea cultivar, Strata Sea Breeze, in seed form ready to be sown.

Hippeastrum and blue garden update

2/25/2011 Dallas Star Daylily end of winter shootsThe red garden amaryllis bulbs are planted! Yesterday morning, during a break in the late winter showers, the bulbs went into the lily bed in front of the Delaware White azalea. In the course of digging I hit a neighboring lily bulb, which I hope won’t be too badly damaged by the disturbance. In the process of cleaning up the bed this past weekend I’ve noticed that the Dallas Star daylilies have sent up green shoots. The Hyperion daylily only came to my notice about mid-week, so it is definitely slower to bolt than the Dallas Stars.

2/25/2011 Oxalis End of Winter LeavesMeanwhile, early this week I discovered a couple of interesting sights in the blue bed. First, I noticed that the yarrows had apparently spread underground and had begun sending up shoots about 6-8 inches from the mother plants. I had not known that yarrows were aggressive spreaders so these two specimens bear watching in the coming year.  Second, the oxalis have begun to leaf out. I have been thinking of relocating them in the lily bed to provide additional color throughout the year once the lilies have died back. Finally the violas in this bed have begun to ramp up flower production…though not as vigorously as the red and white violas in the lily bed.