salvia – Page 21 – variegatagal

And yet more plants

We can’t seem to not find anything we like at Strong’s Nursery: 1 basil lime, 1 lemon balm (melissa officinalis), 1 pineapple mint, one Spanish Lavender and another Hakonechloa Aureola (Golden Japanese Forest Grass looking a little burnt). At Home Depot, we finally got our paws on 2 catmints, Nepeta faassenii, though they didn’t look at all too happy sitting out in full sun, plus a larger rosemary specimen, Tuscan Blue. From there I also picked up a cheap 6-pack of marigolds (Durango or Safari series mix, Bolero being the choicest color), 2 more bicolor salvia coccinea, 2 Calico and 2 Purple Flash Ornamental Peppers, and a Tropical Breeze verbena (for my blue-themed planter). My man also picked up some sale items at Calloways, 2 Oertel’s Rose Common Yarrow and 2 Golden Fleece (Dahlberg Daisies).

I planted my yellow-themed box with marigolds and coleus, with the old Salsa Jasmines as bookends to the box. I still have plenty of coleus to spare as I consider setting up another planter box in the same theme.

The first lily bloom is not surprisingly the shortest lilies in the flower beds: Lollypop. It made a showing last Saturday with 2 flowers. An even younger bulb boasts 3 pink-edged blooms on a 18″ trunk. Another surprise bloomer is the Red Peppermint Super Parfait dianthus. One of the seedlings hatched yesterday, and it appears several more seedlings are budding. I’m not sure that I should pinch them back to stimulate more foliage. Other bloomers include Macrantha orange and white gumpo azaleas. The orange actually looks more like what Crimson should have looked like, and the white gumpo is a pretty single-flowered form.

The first purple garden is in place, with the Lorapetalum as centerpiece, and rosemary Tuscan Blue close to the patio door, next to the house wall. It is currently populated with 2 Compact Ballerina white gauras, one Calico and one Purple Flash ornamental pepper, one Spanish Lavender, 2 violet salvia greggiis and 3 bicolor salvia coccinea. I also transplanted the purple picoteed dianthus from the lily bed to this one, since the colors worked well.

The 2 golden fleece and the Cherry Brandy gaura have been planted in the front flower bed, in front of the shorter azaleas.

Plants currently making an entrance in the flower beds: 1 Fanal Astilbe (in corner bed), 1 Picasso calla lily

More seeds are in. I get to experiment with the seed sower I purchased and give the Burpees pellets another shot.

Lessons in gardening

Lessons learned:

Don’t put out Impatiens seedlings out in the sun. Despite copious amounts of watering, the tender leaves faded, threatening early seedling demise. I immediately moved the impatiens flats into the shade of our photinia hedge, which seems to have improved their outlook.
Dianthus seeds do not need tray starting. However, since we are talking about starting an uncommon or rare dianthus seed here, I did not want to take any chances. The seedlings would have probably started just as well in Jiffy pots or in the 3″ pots they are currently inhabiting. As they are now, they are slow to adjust to the sudden transition from indoors to outdoors. I am hoping they will perk back up soon. It’s been a week since I moved them outside…
Fresh salvia cuttings need to stay in shade for a period of 1-2 weeks during spring. Getting full sun tends to dry them out too quickly. Also, it helps to direct their energy to rooting and leafing, so pinch off any buds that develop. The cuttings I took from Hot Lips all budded, so I had to nip those right away. Luckily, the cuttings took root, and they are now residing outdoors to harden and grow. I have also half a dozen red salvia greggii cuttings that I’m waiting on to root, before they can share the sunlight with the other babies.
If you see a plant you want at the store, don’t hesitate to snap it up right away. Especially Nepeta (a.k.a. Catmint). We saw several Walkers Low specimens at Covington’s a week or two ago, and were dismayed to learn they had been sold out on another visit yesterday. If it looks good, chances are it will sell right away. With this pleasant spring weather, consumers are flocking to garden centers in droves and picking up the prettiest plants currently in full bloom.
Take pictures of your garden frequently. I can’t stress this enough. The garden looks different every day. Flowers are ephemeral, lighting differs, new foliage continuously appear on old plants. And your perspective will change throughout the day. Beauty is fleeting, and a picture captures a single moment in time to preserve it forever.

New beds, new plants and a new weapon

I couldn’t resist picking up some Passionate Blush Gaura and Japanese painted ferns at Home Depot this weekend. I also couldn’t resist snapping up a bicolor sage, Salvia coccinea, which was mismarked as Lady in Red. This particular sage has broad, somewhat fuzzy green leaves with large salmon and white-colored flowers. After doing a little reading on Salvia coccinea (Scarlet sage), I’ve discovered that it is a promiscuous seeder and more attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies than the greggii. I’m looking forward to seeing this grow wild in our flower beds.

My man and I started on the courtyard beds, digging up alongside the house and laying down stonework. The hard clay soil softened since the rain, so it was easier to till than I thought. We dug up about 6 feet of earth and framed out two beds with stone. The herb garden will have to wait since we need a better grade of soil to fill the raised bed.

Dissatisfied with my soapy water approach, the man decided to pick up a bottle of Bayer Advanced insect repellent earlier in the week. He sprayed the coleus in earnest, though I am somewhat apprehensive that we saved the little plants in time. The hosta near the back wall was nearly eaten to the ground. We may have to purchase the hose attachment version to attempt a more aggressive means of protecting the bed.

I also transferred the dianthus seedlings into 3″ pots this weekend…what a pain that was. The Burpees tray did not relinquish the seedlings easily, and it ended up a messy affair to extract all of the plants to put into 18 pots. I’m not looking forward to removing the impatiens.

Seedlings and starter kits

A quick look at our DIY grow light stand, along with the impatiens, dianthus, salvia cuttings and basil seedings:

6 more bulbs to go, more seeds, and the search for more flowers

I counted 9 lily bulbs out of the 15 asiatics have sprouted. Only the lollypops are not in evidence. The flower bed is almost in full shade now. The tallest of the lilies (almost a foot tall) has begun its lean toward the sun. Of the azaleas in the same bed, only Hot Shot and Delaware Valley White have bloomed. Note: overhead watering should be avoided for these plants. I’m just not convinced that it is the preferred method. I always had better results using a soaker hose.

The lone astilbe in this bed continues to leaf out, but I don’t think it will bloom this year. We will have to see. The pansies are rapidly declining as the heat ramps up, but the dianthus are taking over, putting out masses of red and white blooms. Speaking of dianthus, my seedlings are raking the top of the starter tray. I plan to transfer them to pots soon to finish their growth outdoors. I love these vigorous little plants so much that I’m considering investing in another packet of seeds.

The 200 impatiens are crowding their tray pockets, but I’m a little leery of transplanting them. They seem to be more delicate than the dianthus. However I’ve popped the tray off to see how well they do with better circulation. Of this tray system, only 7 cells remain empty. It appears that the seeds in these perished due to mold or contamination. I am uncertain that I will purchase cell replacements since they are only available online. I imagine this system is beneficial for the types of seeds that require more starting maintenance than others.

I’ve noticed that with the daylilies receiving more sun they have put on a few inches and new strap leaves. It appears that they have settled into their new homes and have begun their journey to summer blooms. The free Hyperion that I received with the Dallas Stars has shown the most progress. Also, regarding fast starts, it only took a little more than 48 hours for the basil I sowed to germinate. I almost missed seeing the Red Rubin basil germinate (because of their rich dark leaves against the soil) but apparently basil are fast-growing. All of the seedlings have their cotyledons, whereas the catmint did not make an entrance until the 3rd-4th day, of which I’ve seen only 2-3 starts so far. I’m not sure if this is typical of catmint or if they dislike the starter soil I’m using. It’s also taking some time to convince the salvia cuttings to enjoy their controlled environment, but I think the secret is water, water, water…until they take root.

With so many plants under our grow lights, I’m hooked into starting more plants from seed. Right now I’m pondering snapdragons, more dianthus and felicia, and maybe even petunias. I also would like to get a hold of some ornamental pepper plants too. And more natural bug repelling plants, such as catmints, lavenders, and marigolds.