Wednesday, March 31, 2010

first timers



Yukon Gold potato seedlings (above)! I guess they're a little bigger than "seedlings" now, and I'm so excited that my first experiment growing potatoes is looking good so far. While I've been cooling my heels waiting to move my potted tomatoes and peppers into the ground (this weekend, I hope), I bought a few new plants. Another first: soaked and sowed Mahogany Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) seeds.


Proven Winners Safari Plum Nemesia fruticans--appears to be a good spring-summer container bloom


Gray Shrub Sage (Salvia chamaedryoides)--supposed to have pale violet flowers at some point


Upright Germander (Teucrium chamaedrys)--dwarf evergreen shrub that claims it will have purple flowers. I planted three of them among some gray santolina for contrast.



The verbena I planted two years ago has reseeded, popping up all over the front yard in a very pleasing manner. I never would have planted a verbena right up in that oregano, but nature did and it looks great!

9 comments:

LindaCTG said...

Some of my best "designs" have been thanks to nature seeding itself where it wants. I've never had luck with verbena re-seeding, so congratulations. And yea on Yukon golds. I've got some coming up in my compost pile (as always) so I don't turn the pile until they're ready. Too fun to have homegrown taters.

katina said...

I also never had luck with verbena re-seeding. You lucky duck.

What was the verdict on the purple cauliflower flowers?

Iris said...

Linda and katina--Maybe I planted the moss or prairie or trailing verbena? I need to pay more attention--sorry. And now that I really think about it, I probably planted it at least three years ago, so maybe it just takes that long to re-seed?

What I DO know is that it's not the homestead purple verbena.

katina--So far, no verdict yet on the purple cauli--it's still bolting and hasn't quite flowered!

katina said...

Iris,

Well tell the cauliflower to get a move on. :)

TexasDeb said...

Such purply wondrousness. You must be very pleased with how things are shaping up for 2010.

I was trying to figure out when it would be safe to plant tomato babies. You think before April 15th is OK after all? I'd been watching PM lows, trying to keep away from temps below 50....

(and seriously, Ms. Cauliflower - get ON with it!)

Iris said...

Deb--I'm pleased with the front yard but am getting distracted from weeding the vegetable garden. Need to stop browsing at the nursery!

katina and Deb--Just checked the damn cauliflower and it's still not flowering!

Iris said...

Deb--Forgot to address your tomato question. Our weather over the past year or so has been so weird, I don't really know what to think, but husband Kurt's available to prep beds this weekend, and my gut says tomatoes will be okay in the ground before the 15th. How's that for scientific?

TexasDeb said...

That is about as scientific as it needs to be I think. Anybody making any guarantees about Texas weather, especially given the past two years is somebody I'd like to talk to about buying a bridge I've got....

Bird said...

Late comment - that purple homestead verbena we bought last year (the brighter purple) is blooming like CRAZY for me this year! It looked pretty sickly all last summer, but now it is taking off. Hooray! Some results after a year or two are nice!