thyme – Page 3 – variegatagal

Winter Yard Works

Larkspur, flax, and viola seeds have been planted. We had plenty of mulching, raking and chainsawing to do this weekend. I also accomplished cleaning out the tree ring bed, scattering some marigold seeds in the process. Elsewhere, the mild weather is enticing bulbs and flowers to put out color and growth. Coral Nymph salvia managed to bloom in a protected spot, while the variegated lemon thyme shows off some pink color. The loropetalum in the purple bed is about to burst into fuschia flowers, while the dusty miller grows taller in the pansy bed. I hope to purchase more seeds soon!

Cosmos, hostas, marigolds, petunias and more

My Stokes seeds order arrived. It had probably been sitting in the mailbox a few days before we finally got around to emptying it. Since something had been digging up the tree ring bed, L had to replant a few uprooted marigolds so proceeded to sow the cosmos anyway. The first wave of cosmos seedlings are of course up and growing, some faster than others. I’m hoping at 500 seeds a packet, the tree ring will now get full coverage on cosmos. Now if the Ladies in Red will start blooming already. I’m beginning to think that starting them from seed so late might have been a mistake; but impatience isn’t a good trait for a gardener. I’ll have to satisfy myself with the coral nymph blooms for now, although I’m worried they’ll overrun the other salvia. I’d also like to get that outer ring improved with the remainder of the marigold seedlings and thyme cuttings, but they’ve been slow to propagate. I might have to take some golden oregano cuttings to add to the tree ring.

The hostas getting afternoon sun are taking a beating. All three varieties has suffered some damage. Combined with the daily buffet assault, they are half their foliage since spring. Even the supposedly sun-tolerant Gold Standard hosta isn’t able to withstand that grueling afternoon sun. I am thinking about installing some sun-friendly perennials in that corner of the shade bed to see if it will provide some relief. But can a sun perennial survive there given the brief afternoon exposure?

What’s up with all these ornamental kale? They’re about 2 feet tall now; they seem to like the mostly shade front door bed. Our poor gardenia, still struggling all these months, is making the stand of kale look bad. Of course, the dried out pansies are doing a better job of making this bed look unkempt. I need perennials in this bed, getting weary of switching it out every season.

Check out the chili pepper–it’s loaded with blooms. I expect a good harvest of chilis from this thing. The cinderblock herb garden is filling out nicely, while the purple bed is starting to look overrun. I need some ornamental black peppers in there! I wish my seedlings weren’t so puny.

More of my petunia seedlings are blooming….but what’s the deal? Are the rest of them purple??? I was expecting to see at least one red seedling, but so far I’ve seen one white and nearly half a dozen purple buds. So much for my patriotic planter. At least the caladium is looking good, even if one of the leaves appears half eaten.

The thai basil is flowering. I really need to snip it down to size…they are making the other basil look puny. They look lovely with their red-purple stems and bud crowns, but they seem to outgrow the other basil. Very much suited to our hot Texas summers.

And here’s what’s left of the azaleas in the lily bed. I kept the dwarf gumpo white and the Hot Shot red azalea. The gumpo azalea didn’t produce any blooms this year, whereas Hot Shot produced a handful. Is this typical of $2 shrubs? The gumpo gets one more shot at impressing me next year; otherwise it’s out of there. I did like that Hot Shot came out of the winter with dark maroon foliage before it lightened up by the end of spring. I must remember to keep the neighboring Hot Lips salvia pruned back to give the azalea some more light.

First vinca and June blooms

The first vinca to bloom from seed in our front yard bed is the Titan Lavender Blue Halo vinca, part of the Titan mix packet of seeds I purchased from Stokes earlier this year. Because I sowed it indoors in February, I suspect we bought at least 3-4 weeks head start compared to the seedlings that started outdoors from the 2010 planting.

With the summer heat upon us, many of the heat-loving plants are taking off. The Confetti lantana appears to finally have settled in, nearly doubling in size since planting, and boasting a new crown of blooms. The Hot Lips salvia transplanted into the front garden also has grown in size since it moved in. Of course, the daylilies are now in full swing; the Stellas have joined the Dallas Stars in staging a show. One of the fungus-infected coreopsis in the courtyard, though very sickly, is gamely producing sporadic blooms. The cosmos seeds sown in the tree ring have made an entrance; I spotted dozens of seedlings poking their tiny heads out of the ground. A second marigold has deigned to bloom. And all of the herbs are taking off: mint, basil, thyme and oregano!

With the advent of June, we say goodbye to the spring bloomers. The Navona Asiatic lilies have peaked and are slowly winding down. The abundant spring blooming dianthus need a shearing if I’m to coax them into another full flush. The pansies are looking a little heat-stressed these days, as our temps climb into the high 90s. Our Midnight Blue rose is finishing another floriferous run of flowers as it braces for the long hot summer.

I ordered some more Cosmic Yellow and Red cosmos, along with a packet of Toy Choy Pak Choi seeds from Stokes today. I’m hoping to experiment in some veggie goodness later this summer.

Herb garden work

Despite teeter-tottering temperatures this week, the weather proved mild enough to allow some work in the herb garden during the weekend. I successfully moved all of the herbs: oregano, thyme and pineapple mint into the cinder block border. Following that, the honey raised the bed by another 6 inches (with bought topsoil, compost and leftover Calloway’s shrub mix and Scott’s garden soil). Then we planted variegated society garlic and the lavender stoechas Bella which had been sitting in a pot for some time. Hopefully the lavender will flourish behind the rosemary. Since I first bought it, the lavender blooms have been long-lasting and have shown very little signs of fading.

I am crossing my fingers that the golden oregano and hot & spicy oregano divisions will survive; I was reluctant to move the herbs since they came back this spring so vigorously. My one herb disappointment is the coconut thyme, which appears to require more moisture than the other thymes. Because of its lighter texture and habit, I suspect it may not be able to withstand the coming summer heat.

I planted peppers in the front row, alongside the rosemary: four bell peppers and two chili peppers. I am hoping they will get more circulation and sun being out of the lee of the basil plants I plan on including.

As for the basil plants, I trimmed down the Thai basils to see if that will promote more leafing. Meanwhile, the lime basil that I seeded about a week ago sprouted but were very slow to take off under grow lights. I’m thinking I should try outdoor sowing the seeds since they tend to enjoy the heat and bright lights.

I’ve taken some extra oregano divisions for more baby plantings to give away. Also I’m hoping the garlic chives will do better outdoors, but with all this cool weather we’ve been having, it seems their growth has been slow to moderate. I expect them to take off when we see steady 80-90 degree temps.

Coconut thyme! and other plantings

A Tuesday herb sale at Calloway’s yielded a pot of Coconut thyme. This thyme has a lighter texture and stringy habit compared to the upright lemon variegated or the lime thyme I currently have. I took some rooted cuttings in hopes of having a 2nd planting soon. So far, the cuttings appear to be surviving in the bathroom nursery.

The Autumn Embers and Monarch are currently in full bloom. Since we cleaned up the front bed, they are front-and-center the main attraction in the bed, along with the white-flowering loropetalum. Our late bloomer, Autumn Twist is laden with buds but has yet to make a bloom. Given that we’ve only seen two seasons of color last year from this particular specimen, we’re hoping for a good spring show. My guess is that it’s just not as vigorous as the red- or scarlet-flowering azaleas.

Even the Hot Shot azalea sitting in the lily bed is ahead of the Autumn Twist, already boasting some open blooms. The shrub itself has reverted back to a mostly-green foliage, though still a darker shade than all the rest of the azaleas. Of the bargain-priced azaleas, the Macrantha orange has the best foliage, looking completely lush and full despite coming out of a harsh winter season. It sits directly under a crape myrtle, but I can’t imagine what other factors have caused it to appear so vigorous. The Delaware Valley White and the Crimson azaleas are about as spindly-looking as the medium-height Encores in the front bed, and while I anticipate them to flower well this year, I expect them to also look fuller due to early-season feeding.

The hunny got some mulching done, raked up the remaining leaves in the back yard, planted the white gauras to flank the Midnight Blue Rose, and got the newest oxalis plants into the lily bed. He also managed to redo the border on the rosemary topiary, though I’m not sure if any of the work is justified given the health of the plant. He also made the observation that the japanese painted fern in back of the shade garden looks particularly vigorous, counting out 2-3 more fronds than last we saw it. I’m still concerned that the other painted fern hasn’t made a showing yet.

This Ecosense brand spray from Ortho appears to be working on my hostas. Barely any nibbles since I last sprayed them heavily. Of course, I have yet to put down some bug killer around the base of the plants. If the weather continues to stay dry this weekend, I plan on getting that done.

I have to mark the passing of my red salvia plant. It did not survive whatever caused it damage (possibly weed killer). I plan on replacing it and the soil it sits in with last year’s cutting, which hopefully will grow up fast to fill the void. The other red salvia seems to be hanging in there, though looking a little better than its sibling.