Tag: dianthus

Feels like spring

I spent my lunch hour today visiting Cristina’s and Lowe’s. I walked out with an 18-count flat of dianthus (Telstar mix) from Cristina’s. At Lowe’s, I scooped up a 6 pack of white tulips that were going for 50% off and bought 3 3.5″ pots of Chocolate Chip Ajuga. Dad told me I should’ve waited out the local chain home improvement stores for the plants I wanted. šŸ™ But of course there weren’t any Salvia greggiis that caught my eye (was hoping for white greggii).

So…for homework, I’m looking to propagate the following plants over the weekend: rosemary, salvia, and gaura. Not sure how the Crimson Brandy gaura that’s thriving in B2 will take to a disturbance, but this plant has intrigued me to the point of experimentation. As for rosemary, I’m inclined to believe that our yard is ready for a hedge of them, if only to alleviate the dog smell wafting from our yard. Dad says that 5 days in water will persuade it to root, and I’m thinking that unruly specimen in B5 is in dire need of a whacking. As for the salvia, the one remaining white salvia in B4 looks to be resurrecting itself in the warm weather. I’ll be inspecting it regularly for cuttings. And I’m going to keep trying to propagate more of the Hot Lips for sharing–I’m amazed that the 3 cuttings I took last year and sank into the ground before winter are still there, if a tad bit to puny. Hopefully I can also harvest some cuttings of the new Salvia chamaedryoides in B3.

Donā€™t shop a flower by its picture

Now why can’t I follow that advice? I swung by Home Depot after lunch today to purchase some gardening gloves, and walked out with 2 packets of Burpee seeds: Dianthus deltoids Microchip Mix and Centaurea cyanus Blue Boy Bachelor Buttons. I opened the seed packets to see the likelihood of sowing these seeds for spring…as usual, I can’t see how dianthus seeds successfully sprout given their near-microscopic size. The bachelor buttons look more likely to produce some results; I’m looking forward to adding them to S1 and B3, along with Miss Jekyll Blue nigella damascena.

In addition, I rediscovered a seed packet I received from Wildseed Farms last year. Bluebonnet, coreopsis, Indian Blanket, Black-Eye Susan, Lemon Mint, Drummond Phlox, Cornflower, and Corn Poppy are listed. I’m debating the placement of these seeds; I’m uncertain that I want to introduce these into the beds but it may give the flower beds a burst of color for spring, until the lilies and flowering perennials can come into their own.

Another rain, another bloom

Wondering why it’s been muggy lately? That’s because we had another shower, and my flowers are loving it. Some time last week, I deadheaded the spent Cosmos and Dianthus blooms, and now they’re back for another show. I am loving these Cosmos! So much so, that I’ve ordered an ounce of the Psyche White from Wildseedfarms.com and 4 packets of the Ladybird Dwarf Red from Dianeseeds.com to try out. Let’s hope I can get them to grow even though it’s mid-summer already.

Those “purple blue” salvias that I planted in the middle bed last year didn’t bloom true. I found 3 of the 4 salvias showing off rose-colored flowers…so I transplanted them this morning to the corner beds. One of them even had volunteer rootlings which I quickly planted into different holes, with some good soil. I’ve been meaning to fill those corners with salvia anyway.

I was also happy to see one of the Flevo glads laden with blooms this morning. Not exactly the crimson red I expected, but more of a dark rose redĀ  color. Very rich and very vibrant. While this gladiolus was reported as a dwarf in Brent and Becky’s catalog, my specimens averaged three feet tall, and the flower spike needed some support. I noticed not all of the other glads were faring well…some pest is making a meal of the glad leaves.

I’ve become obsessed with finding some true blue salvias of the same habit as my greggiis; current candidates are Salvia azurea and Salvia reptans to fill the holes in my blue & white bed. Oh, and add Salvia chamaedryoides and coahuilensis to the wishlist….

Flower wishlist

What happens when you window-shop garden catalogs in winter? Your wishlist and shopping carts grow longer by the time spring arrives. Here is my current wishlist of flowers, which covers the gamut of annuals and perennials, seeds and tubers/bulbs. I’m going for some early flashy color this season, which is why annuals made it into my list.

Zinnia elegans Candy Stripe
Zinnia elegans Swizzle Cherry & Ivory
Dianthus chinensis Corona Cherry Magic
Dianthus chinensis Velvet ‘n Lace
Cosmos sulphureus Cosmic Mix
Anemone blanda Blue Star or Blue Shades
Stokesia laevis Blue Danube, Bluestone or Peachies Pick
Caryopteris x clandonensis Dark Knight
Salvia x jamensis Sierra San Antonio

…and a large white-flowered reblooming evergreen daylily, perhaps a spider form.

I am still researching the white daylily as there are many cultivars available. Many online stores have huge selections of white/near-whites…now it’s just a matter of time trying to discover a particular Hemerocallis that will fit all my criteria.

I’m also expanding my blue-and-white garden, as evidenced by the number of blue flowered plants on my wishlist.