salvia – Page 23 – variegatagal

That time of year again

In the past week, the weather in Texas has been unseasonably warm. Hard to believe it’s winter! The fiance and I raked up some leaves, moved some stone work, and did general clean up work in the front and central yards. Getting a general feel for the planting areas…much of the yards are in part to deep shade. This will be an interesting change in landscaping, dealing with shade-friendly plants. Right now my attention is on the Chocolate Ajuga that I have surviving in one planter. I’m not sure how robust it still is, but I imagine that if it survives any future freezes, I’d like to use it in the center yard for under-planting in the beds. The flame red salvias are hanging on, but looking rather reedy in their pots. The white salvia unfortunately drowned. Two rosemary plants experienced extremes in watering and temperature…I’m fairly certain they are on their way to the compost heap–if we had one! Two salsa jasmines appear to be surviving, along with a thyme plant (strangely hanging on despite the horrid conditions). The potato vines and caladium I’m certain are DOA, the Silver Dragon type liriope specimens are gamely holding their ground, and the occasional dianthus is showing a bit of green.

Did I mention I had pulled all my calla bulbs last fall for storage in the pantry? I’m hoping they will survive for planting this year.

Of course, having all of these gardening catalogs coming in the mail is adding to all of the excitement.

Salvia on my mind

With the pending move to a house, my excitement builds with the thought of landscaping and gardening. Salvias have been on the top of my shopping list so far…and I am eager to obtain some rare cultivars to add to the flower beds.

Salvia chamaedryoides
Salvia greggii Chiffon
Salvia greggii Creme Caramel
Salvia greggii Peach
Salvia greggii Rachel
Salvia greggii Salmon
Salvia greggi Sierra San Antonio
Salvia greggii Stormy Pink
Salvia greggii Sungold (Devon Cream)
Salvia greggii Teresa
Salvia greggii Texas Wedding
Salvia greggii Yellow Cloud
Salvia x jamensis California Sunset
Salvia x jamensis Cienega de Oro
Salvia microphylla Hot Lips

Unfortunately, I have to report that the my potted salvia are scraggly and dropping leaves. The white one in particular I had to prune down to a couple of stalks after a fierce rainy season drowned it in its pot. I can’t wait to set these plants free in the landscape.

Casualty list

All of my lavender plants are gone…the rosemary bush is on its final legs. Let this be a lesson: xeric plants that don’t like their feet wet MUST have a sandy soil mixture that doesn’t retain water. Perhaps I will need to consider older specimens in the future, as well bigger planters with sufficient drainage.

I noticed that my Devil’s Wine calla is dropping all of its leaves…I suppose that it’s done for it’s summer show. The other callas are following suit. Perhaps it is the planter environment, or perhaps they just don’t get enough sunlight to keep the greenery up. I generally have had longer foliage life when the callas are in a garden setting, but perhaps these callas are a little less hardy here in the south and less suited to a patio environment.

I’ve noticed that one of the ornamental pepper plants have ripening fruit. What started as a rich purple fruit has now ripened to burgundy-red color. With sporadic flowering of the neighboring dianthus, the colors stand out marvelously.

I am not sure why the potted salvia are looking thin and reedy, despite sufficient watering. I am wondering if their potted state just isn’t giving them enough room to grow and spread.

The patio herb garden

This weekend marked the beginning of my modest herb garden. Since I needed to drop by Home Depot to pick up a bag of garden soil, I decided to replace the dead ornamental pepper plant and pick up some filler for 2 unused planter troughs I still had sitting on the patio. I decided with all the cooking I’ve been doing lately, I might as well stop spending money on store-bought fresh herbs and grow my own. I purchased 2 each of the following: lemon thyme, thai basil and fernleaf dill. I suppose I should read up on the care and maintenance of these plants. (Edit: good info on care)

In addition to the new plantings, I finally got my white salvia into its new pot, which will hopefully prevent it from drying out. I also sank the remainder of my calla lily bulbs in the new herb planters.

My lavender plant grower contacted me this morning to inform me that my order will take another 2 weeks before shipping. I can’t wait for the lavenders to arrive!

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.