geranium – Page 2 – variegatagal

Yard plan and whirlwind weekend buys

We covered a lot of ground in the first weekend of March, literally speaking. From Chambersville Tree Farms to Covington’s Nursery, we amassed a truck-bed full of plants. So many in fact, that one resourceful canine thought we could do without one. I’ll tag them for now and call out some of our plant selections in future posts.

First Haul, Mostly Bedding and Container Plants

After determining that he needed to set the flagstone differently, (in sand as I had originally argued) the man began the arduous task of digging up/destroying all the topsoil and weed mat we had already laid down the previous weekend, breaking a few of the stone in the process. A frustrating outcome to be sure as we had initially paid for the labor to remove the sod the first time around. To redo that work seems such a waste!

A Mudpit While It Rains - Flagstone Path 2nd Pass

Unfortunately, all our plans were stymied by week-long rain. It’s evident that we probably won’t be able to return to the yard crash until the following Sunday or Monday at the earliest. This also disrupts any plans to visit more nurseries in search of our focal tree (Metro Maples in Ft Worth is at the top of our list).

I invested in a garden planning app to get my fix in the mean time. Garden Puzzle is a decent enough desktop application with a solid database of flora. I found it by way of Better Homes and Gardens’ online design app. Interestingly enough, I can also import plant designs that I worked over with Photoshop to fill out what is missing from the GP desktop database.

Blooms, Buds and Sprouts

Waltons Pickups

Of course, what was a trip to the Arboretum without stopping in at Waltons Garden Center across the street for a spell? I really was intent on picking up some Dixie Chip ajuga but unfortunately they weren’t available. However, a couple of variegated plants caught my eye which I HAD to have: Wilhelm Langguth geranium and more variegated oregano!

After getting home, more tidying and planting occurred, including getting the new columbines in-ground, re-potting and adding new soil to calla lily and hosta pots, trimming back the herb bed wall since the mint and oregano got a bit crazy this spring. I removed some of the invasive aster trying to compete with the groundcover salvia in the blue bed. We also hard-pruned all of the salvias along the neighboring wall to prep the bed for a redo. We hope to get it looking nicer this year.

Wagon o’ Plants!

Temperatures peaked in the low 80s on Saturday, prompting a flurry of gardening excitement and run to the nearby nurseries. Strong’s and Home Depot are represented in this wagonload of plants. (By the way, this is a great idea to showcase small, planter-sized plants–I may have to shop around for a metal wagon to add to the garden decor!)

On the wagon name list: zonal geranium American White Splash, hybrid verbena (multi-color), verbena “Superbena Royale” Peachy Keen. Homestead Purple verbena, Limemound Spirea, Lemon Chiffon Coral Bells, multi-colored thrift, licorice plants, and boxwood basil.

Another impulse buy at Strong’s which I hope I won’t regret are these beautiful Songbird Bluebird columbines which I will plant in the blue bed and heavily mulch.

We accomplished plenty this Saturday. Weeds were pulled, much of last year’s debris cleared. Our compost bin got a good turning. Lawn got a good low cutting, and we plan on getting some weedkiller down this week. Many of the plants we bought previously finally got planted in their respective spaces and we even discovered some oldies making a comeback. More on this subject later.

Limemound spirea, thrift (armeria unidentified cultivar), licorice plants went into the front azalea bed. Lemon Chiffon Coral Bells and Curcuma roots went into the front shade bed. Asparagus and boxwood basil into the veggie garden bed (I had emptied spinach, cilantro, arugula and gai lan packets into this bed earlier in the week). Various thyme plants made it into the cinderblock wall; however, I failed to care for the Pesto Perpetuo basil plants which perished when I put them into the leek row. Hot and spicy oregano cuttings also made it into the cinderblock wall.

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.

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.

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

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.