variegatagal – Page 86 – gardening in zone 8a tx

Bloomin’ things

It’s been a hot week, but despite that, the flowers still keep coming. Especially on the basils. I’ve been trimming them back like mad all week, but they persist in throwing up blooms. The thai basil, for example, has been sheared back multiple times–I used some of its leaves for some fried rice but I never use enough of the basil to make a dent in their growth. Today, my lime basil threw up a floret spire for the first time this year. Now, if we could only grill up some burgers so I can make some lime basil mayo.

Among the other flowers captured today: Midnight Blue rose starting another flush of blooms, Aztec Red verbena, Calico ornamental pepper, picoteed dianthus, catnip, the mystery dianthus which I originally thought was Diana Blueberry…and the caladium! Yes, after closer inspection, that dried up floppy top hid a flower spike. A second flower spike will soon be blooming. I’m also happy to note that the other caladium (in a spot that receives more afternoon sun) finally deigned to joined us. Just in time too, because the Purple Palace heucheras are looking crispy.

Hello, Mr Dragonfly…I wish I took better macro pictures so that I could photograph how pretty you are.

First Sinaloa sage blooms

I happened to be giving the gardens their morning drink when I happened to spot these blooms on the sinaloa sage. They were so tiny I nearly missed them hiding behind the oxalis and scabiosa. A nice electric blue…I hope the sages will go on to produce a mass of blues so as to truly catch the eye.

Both of my specimens in the blue garden have really picked up this summer. They are still under 18″ tall and forming lovely well-behaved mounds of bicolored foliage, green with chocolate rims. They get about 4-6 hours of sun in their current spots, protected by yarrows, oxalis and scabiosa. They don’t seem predisposed to woodiness, unlike the greggiis, but I’m not sure if it’s because of their current location or nature.

Enduring the heat 2011

Ten consecutive days of 100+ degree weather in the Dallas area. This is already the third hottest June on record here. It is also taking a toll on the garden. I can’t imagine what our water and electric bill will look like in the coming months.

Still, there are still a few plants still making a show…the scabiosa continue to bloom their heads off. The vinca and lantana truly enjoy this heat. I’m still waiting to see the marigold and salvia tree ring come to life; I’ve been catching sporadic blooms of the Durango marigolds, but have yet to observe the whole ring explode into color. The Dallas Star daylilies in the front beds still have a handful of buds waiting to burst open. And the Emerald Snow loropetalum in the front flower bed has surprised me with a smattering of white fringe flowers.

There were a few losses of course. The ornamental kale have reached the end of their life. I’m amazed they survived this long but they couldn’t take more of this weather, so I pulled them up. An old white dianthus mound gave up the ghost this weekend, which left an empty hole to fill in the lily bed. It also appears I will lose the raspberry salvia greggii in the salvia wall. The tricolor sage cutting appears to have lost the fight (I could try to rescue it by repotting it). And I’m down to the last Seabreeze salvia seedling. Those young plants that need the most protection (i.e. common chives), I’ve put into the ground or in the planters. Very few plants are surviving in pots, like the callas, petunias and sweet potato vines. Even the lobelia which I thought would endure are looking very dried and shriveled.

Another variegated pepper purchase

We visited North Haven Gardens yesterday, with the intent of picking up some sedum. Sadly, their sedum selection looked sparse (I imagine they had been cleaned out, since most of their sedum aisle stood empty), so I looked elsewhere to satisfy my new plant bug.

I caught sight of this ornamental pepper in their bedding section. This had been a variety I had been eyeballing ever since I saw it in the Park’s Seed catalog. Shu displays green and creamy-white variegated foliage with narrow, tapering cream to scarlet fruit. The specimen I picked up is about 12 inches high. I suspect that it will grow up to no higher than 2 feet tall like most of the variegated ornamental peppers I have grown. It is an eyecatcher and will definitely add a splash of color to a dark background.

A quick review of the July seedlings

The cover is off! The June-sowed seedlings are growing without the protection of their humidity dome. It has been nearly 3 weeks and most of the seeds have germinated. Only one Jupiter bell, one Thai chili, one banana pepper, and the salvia greggii failed to germinate. I’ve seen only one parsley seedling so far, barely out of the ground, but I’m not holding my breath on these seeds. Like the salvia greggii, I’m not even sure that they’re viable.

Since I doubled up on the Red Rubin basil and banana peppers, I’ll thin those out to separate pots soon. I also brought back indoors the last ornamental pepper seedlings that I attempted outside. It is joining its 5 other brethren in the bathroom greenhouse. Sadly, it appears only 2 are going to make it; the other 3 peppers probably won’t revive from the scorching exposure.

I’ve cleaned out the non-performing cuttings and still have a number of felicias left. I don’t think my oregano cutting is going to catch; I may have to run the community garden for another try.