Tag: oxalis

The pre-winter graveyard

It’s been a good two weeks since my last post. The climate has turned to rain to freezing temps back to chilly. Since we experienced a solid week of sub-freezing wind chills and temps, it’s natural that the annuals have succumbed to the frost. Where certain parts aren’t buried in leaves, my garden transformed into a graveyard in a matter of days. I hope to clear out the debris when the weather turns mild. Thankfully, the man started with pruning the Midnight Blue rose.

Goners: basils, vincas, marigolds, cosmos, ornamental peppers, salvia coccinea.

Dead top growth: caladiums, sweet potato ornamental vines (not sure if these Illusion potatoes will come back next year), callas, Sinaloa salvia, the purple oxalis in the blue bed, most of the asters.

Subject to change: foxtail ferns, Mexican heather.

Surprises: a few of the petunias are still green, all of the coreopsis have green foliage and appear to have grown, the larkspur seedlings appear unaffected by the freeze, one of the Autumn Embers azaleas actually had a (wilted) bloom on it, succulent planter looking pretty.

Annoyances: the yarrow continues to spread, weeds have invaded my lily bed!

Warning: images of dead plants ahead. On my Xmas wishlist: a compost bin from the city’s Park & Recreation dept.

12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (1) 12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (2) 12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (3) 12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (4) 12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (5) 12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (6) 12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (7) 12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (8) 12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (9) 12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (10) 12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (11) 12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (12) 12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (13) 12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (14) 12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (15) 12/9/2011 Pre-winter Graveyard (16)

Late year, young plants…and the wand of precipitation

Rarely do I see more than two blooms on the Valentine dianthus. I’m looking forward to seeing more in spring.

10/26/2011 Twin Valentine Dianthus Blooms (1) 10/26/2011 Twin Valentine Dianthus Blooms (2)

The new dianthus plantings are calling the lily bed home. They will provide a vivid border early next year. Notice the oxalis triangulis and columbine sharing the bed? Both are same year plantings. The oxalis eked by this summer, just liked its purple siblings, giving rise to the occasional flower. The columbine is one of three surviving seedlings: 2 in the lily bed and one in the shade bed. I considered them delicate, but they persevered. Let’s hope the lily bed columbines are both red.

10/26/2011 Lily bed hosting new dianthus plantings 10/26/2011 Dianthus, oxalis, columbine, pansies

Here lies before you a broken wand. Early this week, we discovered that the hose had expanded, disallowing the detachment of the wand head. The trigger was destroyed by our forceful attempts to remove it. I finally managed to disconnect it peacefully this morning. Now the search begins for a new wand of destiny…

10/26/2011 The Wand of Precipitation destroyed

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.

7/13/2011 First Sinaloa sage blooms (1) 7/13/2011 First Sinaloa sage blooms (2) 7/13/2011 First Sinaloa sage blooms (3) 7/13/2011 First Sinaloa sage blooms (4)

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.