First Time Cuttings

Today, for the first time, I tried to root cuttings. I mixed 50% perlite with 50% Sphagnam peat moss to root 3 Green Velvet boxwoods and 3 lavender plants. I put a seed heating mat under them and put them inside a produce bag, leaving one end open. I'll check in 2 weeks to see if they root.

Mr. Bentley

A gratuitous picture of Mr. Bentley. Here he is, this year, at 3 years old:

New Garden Bed by the Mailbox

C and I spent the last two days creating a garden bed near the mailbox in the back of the house. Since there were a bunch of fantastic deals at The Home Depot, we picked up:

2 Wintercreeper Emerald Gaiety (Euonymus x fortunei)
1 Azalea Pink (Rhododendron x hybrid)
1 Azalea Delaware Valley White (Rhododendron x hybrid)
3 Hosta Patriot (Hosta x fortunei)
3 Hosta ? [it's about the same size as Patriot, but with solid green leaves]

To this selection, I added two different hostas that I had planted a year or two earlier and was able to divide one of them to get another plant and some purple bearded irises from the iris bed that needed dividing. In the center of it all, we set up the birdbath that C's mom gave us and finished the bed with some black mulch left over from an earlier project. I wanted some brown mulch because it blends into the original soil better, but C wanted black so we picked up some more black mulch at The Home Depot to fill in the bare spots. After convincing him, he said that we can do leaf mulching the following year and I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out. Supposedly, plants love it!

Although it doesn't seem like a lot of plants, I think it should fill out nicely if the plant size information is correct. I mention this because there were two widely different size specifications on the back of the Wintercreeper tags (36" tall x 36" wide and 4-5' tall x 4-5' wide), although the scientific names were the same.

Originally, I was depressed that C cleared away more branches and trees from the site than I had expected (I wanted the site to have a closed private woodland look), but when everything was put together, it didn't look as bad as I thought it would. Once I download the pictures of the new bed from the camera, I'll post them here.

This is the bed we created last year. The artemesia is a new addition from this year. I don't like how it is splitting down the middle. Next year I will stake the Russian sage so that it won't flop all over the place. May add the catmint from the front of the house too.

The other side:

2012 Plannings and Plantings

Started the following seeds today:

Achillea Summer Berries (Yarrow) (2)

Eupatorium Purpureum (Joe-Pye Weed) (2/4?)

Asclepias Cinderalla (Butterfly Weed) (2/4?)

Salvia Farinacea Fairy Queen (8)

Petunia Double Cascade (sprinkled 35 minute seeds into a pot)

Lupine Sunrise (I forget how many. Direct sowed in front of the irises, since I have not had good luck with transplanting them. They never seem to do well, but I would really like to see what they look like in person since they seem beautiful in pictures.)

To be planted:

Acroclinium Best Mixed (Paper Daisy)

Sunflower Giant Sungold

Evening Primrose Innocence (Oenothera)

The parsley I planted last year is still around and seems to be doing well. Saw some red dots on the tips of the irises planted in the semi-circle and clipped them off. The primroses by the back door looked really vibrant this year. There seems to be baby primroses growing around the one which gets the most sun. Bleeding hearts is filling out nicely and had quite a few stems of flower. I'm very pleased with it. Also started some sweet pea in a pot earlier this year which are starting to take off. Hopefully I will be better about watering them. The tulips planted out in the front looked good (not exceptional, but not bad either). Now I'm wondering what to plant in its place. I started some yellow cosmos from the free seeds I received from the National Gardening Club and will probably put them out there. Since I don't use the front door very often, that area tends to be a bit neglected in terms of watering and care. Would love to start some Sweet Woodruff again for the back of the house, but have to remember to find seeds.

Also planted the English Daisies that I purchased a few weeks ago from The Home Depot into the ground by the back door. I should probably plant them in a sunnier spot, but the spot I had in mind was too shallow. I suppose I can move it a bit later. For now, the ground seems to be a better place for it than the pot, which, from experience, I tend to neglect. Because of this, I told myself that I would only buy one potted plant at a time since a lot of the time I don't have time or forget to to get them into the ground. 

The David Austin Rose was pruned hard after the canes started to bloom in March. I thought I killed it since nothing happened for a few weeks after that, but I now see some leaves which gives me hope. I'm thinking of planting some peonies by the fence near it. 

Ferns would probably make the front of the house more inviting, but I'm now thinking that maybe it is too sunny in the front. The lavender there are doing well. The one which always seemed to be doing better than the rest seems to be getting a slow start this year. 

Some of the plants on my wishlist are:

Lily-of-the-Valley

Azalea

Sweet Woodruff

Outhouse Hollyhocks and Emerging Spring Crocus

Planted Outhouse Hollyhock seeds yesterday next to the mailbox. Yesterday was a recordbreaking warm day and I thought that in case we are having an early spring, I might be able to start them early in hopes of flowers this year.

The petite lance-like leaves of the crocuses I planted are beginning to push their way through the soil. I may have spotted the yellow flowers of crocuses planted a year or two ago in the front lawn while walking B.

Summer 2011

I've been so busy with work, that I haven't had a chance to really tend to the garden this year. Here is a short recap:

1/ Visited Rutgers Garden's annual spring plant sale for the first time. There was a very nice variety of plants on sale at very good prices. I brought, at least, three different baptisas and two lavenders. There was probably a few other things, but I forget what they were. This year I got them all into the ground within a matter of weeks (compared to times when I didn't get them in the ground at all and they all died. There is the exception of the astilbe though... it was still struggling from last year, so I figured since it survived so far, why not try planting it... I did and there was a small showing of white plumes which did not last too long... I wonder if the thing is rootbound). Unfortunately with work, I have limited opportunity to blog... hopefully that will change because I would really like to write more...

2/ Brought some snapdragons and ivys and salvias from a local nursery. They got off to a slow start but seem to be doing better now, especially the darker salvia near the arborvitae. Also spotted salvia farinacea at the local Home Depot. I wish I saw that one earlier... I prefer the lighter purple and delicate look of the salvia farinacea.

3/ The only seeds I started this year are the Lupine Sunrise, just because they didn't do so well last year and look so intriguing and pretty in the catalog that I wanted to give them another try. Last year I probably planted them too late. This year I planted them a bit earlier. Of the three or four that I put out in front of the house, one or two have died and the other two are struggling. I wonder if it is a matter of too much sun or not enough water or a combination of both....

4/ Some stray zinnia seeds fell near the edging. They seem to be doing really well and are bigger and stronger than the ones I planted behind the boxwood. It must be all that sun.

5/ The marigold seeds that I direct sowed have grown into plants, but alas, no flowers!

6/ The butterfly weed and swamp milkweed from last year have finally flowered! The butterfly weed is short and not very impressive. The swamp milkweed is really pretty and is maybe about 2 feet tall now. It's not a very bushy plant though. Two of my lavender plants from last year have also flowered this year! The ones farthest away from the house, which probably gets more sun, are doing a lot better than the ones closest to the house and shaded during the late evening. Maybe they wouldn't be a bad idea for the side of the house. I thought that a large lavender planting there would be nice...

Well... it is getting late and I should go. I just wanted to record my thoughts and observations here before I forget for future reference.

Watered rose bush and mulched new flowerbed of stock and alyssum. Also mulched three new So Sweet hostas at the side of the house as well as the three new begonias and strawberry plants from last year.

Thank goodness it is raining right now. Hopefully it is enough to penetrate the mulch and keep the soil cool.

The sweet peas have sprouted. I always wanted to grow them. Hopefully this year I will be successful.