Although there was ice in the birdbaths this morning, the sun was shining brightly and it promised to be a dandy day for getting a few things done in the garden. I took a stroll around my corner of Katy, sipping my morning roar (Lion Coffee from Hawaii, Toasted Coconut) and casting a critical eye on one area and another, trying to assess the possible damages to come. In the course of my stroll, I noticed a number of Gulf Coast Penstemon seedlings in less than felicitous surroundings. I grabbed a trowel and dug them up, then carried them to the back to transplant them into more appropriate spots. I also took a little time to admire the cool season annuals that are brightening my winter-ravaged garden. The 21st Century Phlox are blooming so beautifully ... I hope they'll still be doing so this time next week.
Have you ever looked at a Lobelia bloom close up, not the big perennial Lobelias, but the annual variety of Lobelia that has miniature blooms about the size of your pinky fingernail? This is one of several Riviera mix I brought home a few weeks ago. It just melts my heart with its delicate beauty.
This Gartendirektor Otto Linne rose just started blooming recently. I may have to cover it to protect it from the freezing temperatures. In addition to this truss of blooms, there's another cane loaded with buds about to open.
Every year there are new Violas introduced and I find new Violas to love. Last year Pandora's Box and Psychedelic Spring were my favorites. This year the chosen one is the aptly named Cutie Pie.
I did more than just take pictures in the garden today, though. The bulbs I posted about a couple of days ago are now comfortably ensconced in the ground. Once I got those settled in, I mixed Linaria seeds with sand and then overseeded that mixture in half of the rose bed. This was necessary because in a classic case of undoing all the hard work of a previous day, I got it into my head last week that nothing would do but I must move moss rocks from the back gardens into the rose bed and add compost on one side to raise the bed. This was AFTER I'd already scattered a goodly number of seeds in that area, seeds which are now covered by several inches of compost. So after planting the bulbs, I REseeded the previously seeded area, you see. (These are the kinds of random acts of gardening which drive the Head Gardener to distraction.) I also dug up and moved a Lafter rose which has been languishing. It's likely to end up being banished from the garden for poor performance. OK, so maybe it's not fair to the rose to transplant it right before a big freeze and then tell it this is its last chance but that's tough love, my friends: no sissy baby plants!
And tomorrow my order of pre-chilled bulbs from Brent and Becky's Bulbs arrives! It might be a good idea for me to refresh my memory as to just what exactly I bought ...
Have you ever looked at a Lobelia bloom close up, not the big perennial Lobelias, but the annual variety of Lobelia that has miniature blooms about the size of your pinky fingernail? This is one of several Riviera mix I brought home a few weeks ago. It just melts my heart with its delicate beauty.
This Gartendirektor Otto Linne rose just started blooming recently. I may have to cover it to protect it from the freezing temperatures. In addition to this truss of blooms, there's another cane loaded with buds about to open.
Every year there are new Violas introduced and I find new Violas to love. Last year Pandora's Box and Psychedelic Spring were my favorites. This year the chosen one is the aptly named Cutie Pie.
I did more than just take pictures in the garden today, though. The bulbs I posted about a couple of days ago are now comfortably ensconced in the ground. Once I got those settled in, I mixed Linaria seeds with sand and then overseeded that mixture in half of the rose bed. This was necessary because in a classic case of undoing all the hard work of a previous day, I got it into my head last week that nothing would do but I must move moss rocks from the back gardens into the rose bed and add compost on one side to raise the bed. This was AFTER I'd already scattered a goodly number of seeds in that area, seeds which are now covered by several inches of compost. So after planting the bulbs, I REseeded the previously seeded area, you see. (These are the kinds of random acts of gardening which drive the Head Gardener to distraction.) I also dug up and moved a Lafter rose which has been languishing. It's likely to end up being banished from the garden for poor performance. OK, so maybe it's not fair to the rose to transplant it right before a big freeze and then tell it this is its last chance but that's tough love, my friends: no sissy baby plants! And tomorrow my order of pre-chilled bulbs from Brent and Becky's Bulbs arrives! It might be a good idea for me to refresh my memory as to just what exactly I bought ...
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