chinese eggplant – Page 2

Weed weeder weedest!

All week I’ve been tidying up in the garden. Weeding here (cleaning out the gravel strip), pulling dead or dying plants out elsewhere (dead rosemary, salvia, dianthus, herb garden). I’ve pruned back on a few plants (such as the gaura) and transplanted a few (ginger mint into the cinderblock wall). I’ve observed some unusual sights, like the brown-burnt asters in the blue bed that are still blooming, the flowering Mexican heather in the purple bed, and the Autumn Monarch azalea that put out a few more flowers this week. I am in awe of the salvia/marigold tree ring in the front yard, though I have also noticed a ton of ant condos springing up everywhere lately. Time to get out the ant killer!

‘Tis the time to be fertilizing and weed-killin’. I hope to have some funds to invest in a good pre-emergent and lawn food this weekend. With the summer drawing to a close, and the weather amenable, it’s easy to get out in the yard to do some work. I spent this morning killing some crabgrass in the courtyard. But of course, I saw some more patches in the front yard.

I also turned out the last of the bathroom tenants. The pepper plants are getting some quality sun time on the patio. I hope to transfer them into bigger pots and get a chance at some fruit before the winter frost. And speaking of fruit, what about some eggplant? Should I sink my Chinese eggplant into the herb garden bed, or bring it indoors over the winter? It keeps flowering but not producing any fruit. It seems to prefer more room to spread its roots.

This is also the time to ponder the fall-winter flower display, not to mention purchase the spring flower bulbs. I’m writing up a list!

Perhaps on this list, we’ll be adding a new Japanese maple. My JM unfortunately has been confirmed dead. And I discovered some alien fungus residing in the pot. Scawy!

Bring it on! More plants that love the heat

Today reached the hottest temperature in the Dallas area this year. So far. At 105 degrees (not including heat index) it was broiling hot out in the garden. I had made an error in putting out some ornamental peppers from the previous day into a planter trough, and all but one Purple Flash shriveled up in the heat. Haven’t I learned by now not to put seedlings out in summer?

As part of my morning gardening activity, I started watering and weeding the front bed. The azaleas had been looking mighty stressed all week, so I felt they deserved a good watering. Unfortunately, the weeding of the bed looked more like an all-day task, not something to embark upon during a work day. I did hack down the gaura by 2/3rds its original height. It had been slouching over all week, looking rather unattractive. As much as I hated cutting down the honeybee-magnet, it really needed an early summer shearing.

The blooming pineapple mints in the herb bed border also got a much-deserved haircut. I don’t know how readily they reseed, but I wasn’t interested in finding out. All the herbs, for the most part, are thriving in this heat. Even the frail little coconut thyme is looking healthy. Of course, the courtyard beds receive a dose of heavy watering every other day–the potted plants get water every day. The ginger mint is also blooming, but in a way I can’t describe: the inflorescence work their way up the stems, not something I’ve seen before. Is this typical of ginger mint?

That’s a Calico ornamental pepper seedling and the chinese eggplant in the background. Sadly, the eggplant flower disappeared, so that means no fruit yet. Hard to believe that the 2 ginger mint plants started from one specimen; I’m thinking of evicting 2 pineapple mints and moving them into the cinder block wall.

Among the losses, I counted the variegated felicia as another goner. While weeding the border between the herb and blue bed I stumbled upon its skeletal remains. All I have left now of the variegated felicia are 2 cuttings that have barely taken root. I’m seriously considering a liquid root fertilizer to speed up the process. But perhaps they just aren’t designed to tolerate this weather, despite being in a somewhat protected spot. The regular daisy is blooming sporadically but seems to like that spot it currently resides in.

More May Plantings!

Uncommonly cool May temps (66 degrees!) has persuaded us to putter in the garden all day yesterday. After paying a visit to nurseries and big box home improvement stores, we brought home several bags of topsoil, compost, landscape mix and garden soil. I also managed to find the first of the season’s Cape Town Blue felicia at Home Depot. It seems this Carrollton location always keeps a good stock of “Proven Winners” plants. This year, I plan on aggressively taking cuttings from the felicia for experimental rooting.

With the tree ring weed matted, we proceeded to put down 4 bags of topsoil and 2 bags of landscaping mix. I then proceeded to plant out about 4-6 of the coral bicolor salvia coccinea and 4 of the Lady in Red salvia coccinea. Incidentally we saw flats upon flats of these Ladies in Red at Strong’s Nursery yesterday, and I couldn’t help but notice how much yellower the foliage is.

I had a brilliant notion to border the tree line with variegated lemon thyme cuttings. I am thinking that will keep the invading grass and weeds at bay as well as maintain a perennial border in the ring. I hope to take several cuttings and give it a try. I was also thinking of purchasing a weed preventer granule like Preen to keep the weeds suppressed until the plant ring is established, but I’ve read using it produces mixed results at best.

With the extra garden soil and with the help of the man, I’ve filled out the remaining holes in the cinder block border of the herb garden. The variegated oregano now has a home, and it’s just a matter of time before planting out the rest. I do have some concerns about the lone Chinese eggplant we obtained last week; it can grow up to 4 feet high, and I’m not sure that our herb garden can support such a large plant.

I also gave the shade bed hostas another heavy dusting of insect repellent granules as well as full spray coverage with the Bayer Advanced system. Much of the Wide Brims have been decimated by pests. Luckily the Prairie Sky hosta is so big and thick that the pest damage is much less evident on it. The Gold Standard hosta also rises higher above the ground and tends to sit out in more sun than the neighbors, so the damage is controlled there.

The first and only Dahlberg daisy that I’ve successfully cultivated indoors is now outside with its 4 other companions. Apparently there wasn’t much of a root stock and it became a disintegrated mess before planting. But I hope to see it do well in its new home.

Finally my man decided to overseed the ugly brown patches in the front yard with a package of Scott’s waterwise bermuda grass formula. He went a little crazy because he managed to empty the package before he could cover up all of the bare spots. I also pointed out to him the unlikelihood that some of the shady areas he overseeded would see any growth. He’s optimistic however, since he did all of the work.