Coleus Starts

This year I got a little rebellious about the high price of plants. Not that I have anything against the wonderful nurseries-I know that the labor for these things are intensive and inputs are high priced. But I decided to cultivate a little patience and start some of my own plants.

I planted some of the old standby coleus variety “Rainbow” and I think every seed sprouted. I love the colors, textures and shapes and they really brighten up the shady areas. And I'm so glad I planted the seeds….I mean seriously, what's cuter than a baby coleus plant?

I hope everyone is having a wonderful memorial day weekend. Take a moment to honor our servicemen and women with a silent, respectful reflection on the freedoms we have. ~JB was here.

Rainbow Sorbet (Even tho it sez.....Raspberry)

OK-Photo typo. But the idea is the same. I thought the colors were so varied and fun.

Reporting from the (Ozarks) Desert!

It's been two weeks since I've posted! I have tons of pictures and experiences over the last two weeks, but have just been crazy busy! It's funny how my day job gets in the way of my gardening fun. :) Anyway, it is very dry again here. Some experts say that the El Nino pattern we have seed will change to a La Nina pattern this summer and will give us cooler temps and more rain. I think I could handle that. Pictures and posts coming soon! ~JB was here.

Rainbow Sorbet Rose

I love this rose. I took a bunch of photos of it the other day when it was at the top of its game…..and I'll post more later. It really does look a little like a carton of all different kinds of sherbet blew up or got mixed together like so much confetti. I think I'll do a colour palette with it too, it's such a fun rose. There's lots of different colors on it during all the buds different stages of blooms. Orange, Pink, Yellow and variations thereof. A bonus is, once established, it's extremely easy care. I haven't done very much to it besides feed occasionally, and I did give in and stake it just now with the wind and rain we've had so it won't break down.

Thanks for dropping in if you stopped by. Have a great week!

Container Progress and Micro Enviro Disasters....

I guess every gardener probably has “gardener's remorse” at some point. Today was my day. I feel (very) behind. I haven't been able to spend much time with my plantings and to me, they really show the lack of attention. Then I went out to check on my tomatoes. The first row of eight that I planted had been doing great despite my lack of attention recently. Today, suddenly two were badly wilting. I thought, well, is this a disease issue? One had pretty tomatoes already set on. It just made me sick. Suddenly I thought, hmmm. They've had plenty of water lately, so that's not it. They're hybrids, so realistically, it surely isn't regular wilt. The rest still looked fine. Additionally this is a sudden development, almost like……and then it dawned on me,oh horror of horrors-maybe something had disturbed the roots! Then I saw the tell tale signs. A mole run. Sure enough upon further investigation there were burrows under both plants. But it gets even worse. I saw the ground….moving…..and me with no weapon of any kind! No hoe, no shovel, nothing. I was so angry I dug in there by hand. That would have made America's funniest videos, I'm sure. Of course it quit digging and moved….on somewhere I guess. I just thought there was no hope for those two tomatoes but I put dirt back in around them where the thing had tunneled and I watered them really good. Interestingly by tonight they had perked back up, so we'll see how it all works out. I really hate moles.

The good news in the garden this week was, I had a lot of salvia seed and also I think some coleus coming up, and the plants are so cute. And my containers really are looking great. I have two more big ones to do and decide where I'm putting them. Like I said, between finishing those and just some regular planting and the way everything is several weeks ahead this year, I feel very much behind right now…..maybe it's gardener's guilt instead of gardener's remorse.   Here are some of the Containers in the flower bed in front of the house by the sidewalk.

Ivy.

Coral Bells, Sweet Potato Vine, Begonia. This one sits in the shady part of this area.

Petunias, Geraniums.

This last photo, the pot nearest the camera is full of Rosemary, and I used a little of it yesterday to make Chicken Florentine Soup. Fresh is definitely better. It was so good!

Have a good week in YOUR garden and watch out for those mini environmental disasters! ~JB was here.