Tag: rosemary

Drying the Rosemary

6/16/2009 Rosemary drying outI’ve determined that the rosemary bush on my patio is getting way too much water, thus it has been slowly browning from bottom, working its way up. I’ve decided to hard prune the plant and remove it away from the sprinkler heads that water the rest of the patio garden. I’ve also removed the surviving lavender plants as well, to keep the rosemary company. They all still get morning sun, but hopefully they won’t have to suffer root rot due to over watering. I’m contemplating moving the rosemary to a larger pot and changing the soil medium into something that won’t retain moisture…perhaps some gravel and sand.

The Patio Garden

I added to the garden this weekend: a white salvia from Plants & Planters; red and white dianthus, yellow and red/orange french marigolds, and yellow potato vine (Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Light Green perhaps) from Cristina’s Flowers; Sweet Caroline Bewitched Purple potato vine (which actually looks like a Caroline Purple) from Lowes, Devil’s Wine Calla Lily and 2 Purple Flash Ornamental Peppers from Home Depot. The troughs are divided between the yellows/reds and the whites/purples plants. I still have two mini troughs that are begging for attention. I am thinking about adding another rosemary shrub to the garden, and I’m contemplating white hostas.

3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (1) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (2) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (3) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (4) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (5) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (6) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (7) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (8) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (9) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (10) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (11) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (12) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (13) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (14) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (15) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (16) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (17) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (18) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (19) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (20) 3/23/2009 March Patio Garden (21)

Early spring on the patio

A pleasant discovery: there is a sprinkler head position in front of my patio. So it seems my salvia and maple are getting watered without any intervention from me. I’m not certain that the maple is getting its requirement, but since the weather has been cool, I’m not increasing the amount it is currently getting.

I visited Puckett’s Nursery in Allen and picked up a rosemary bush. I’ve decided to expand my aromatic herb selection and am currently shopping for a lavender bush to add to the patio garden. I’m considering a white-flowering cultivar, compact but preferably with a strong perfume. Ellagance Ice is one cultivar I currently have my eye on.

Meanwhile, I have decided to shelve the caladium idea and try my hand at heuchera and heucherella. They possess the fiery color which I believe will pair well with calla lilies. I also hope to finally get my mitts on a couple of Salsa Asian Jasmine. I just need to paint the new planter trough I purchased and start sating my spring gardening cravings.

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. 🙁 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.