Week 25, Year 2: The Teenage Years

My garden is in an awkward in between stage. While many of the plants have grown significantly, they are in a weird place where they are looking a bit unfinished. They can't decide if they are going to play nice with one another and everything is looking a bit unkempt as a result. Half of them are growing in every which direction, refusing to be trained and still resisting gentle directioning. Essentially, they are acting like rebellious teenagers. Here are some examples:

The Rebels

The rebels are the plants that just refuse to cooperate. They are dead set on defying me.

Plumbago - The plumbago is a late bloomer. Supposedly, it will grow downward, but right now, it really is only willing to grow straight up. Eventually, the weight of the branches should cause it to fall downward, but until then, it just grows straight up and leaves the box feeling unbalanced.

Clematis - Similar to the plumbago, the clematis does not want to grow downward. While I bought it a nice fancy trellis, it is happier growing straight up, even when I wrap its vines around the trellis.

The Ugly Ducklings

These guys are just on the verge on greatness, but have to go through a final round of acne and braces before they truly bloom.

Lisianthus - This is a native prairie flower. It has grown into an incredibly tall plant, but has yet to bloom. However, it has just developed buds, and I have to believe it is on the verge of greatness, but I'm not sure what it needs to take that final step.

Mandevilla - The mandevilla is supposed to be a vigorous climber. The only problem is that it thrives in humidity. We haven't exactly had the best weather lately, and the plant has struggled for it. However, it is just starting to come along and has developed several buds - I feel like it has turned the corner and should be growing fairly quickly in the coming weeks. Unfortunately, I don't have a very good picture as I planted oregano and parsley in the pot and they sort of obscure the image, but I'll be sure to post a picture once it turns the corner.

The Nerdy Freshmen

These guys are seemingly stuck in those horribly awkward and uncomfortable stages. Oddly enough, these were some of my best performers last year, so I have faith they will get it together eventually.

Petunia & Sweet Potato Vine - The plants in this box are at a weird length. They aren't ready to grow downward yet, but they are too long to grow straight out - so they are just growing in every which direction. I'm trying to steer them in the right direction, but they seem to be struggling with it for now.

Portulaca - also known as cabbage rose, these guys are certainly proving it. So far, no buds or blooms have grown, but we have seen a number of thick vines that look almost like dreads. I'm not sure what to make of this guy to be honest, but I hope he figures it out soon.

The Prom Queens

Like any annoying popular kid, these guys are simply showing off and enjoying their glory days. Here's a quick photo tour:

Painted Tongue - There's a new color every week with these unique blooms. So far, I've seen red with yellow stripes, yellow with light yellow stripes, purple with yellow stripes and deep red/purple with matching stripes.

Flowering Maple - The painted tongue's box mate is also having a nice June. While not as splashy as its neighbor, it is quietly producing bloom after salmon bloom.

Stock - The stock is beautiful and fragrant, though not bullet proof. Like any teenager, it has its problems. In this case, the new growth is the definition of awkward. The blooms seem to shoot out of these spiky little sticks and I can never tell if the sticks have yet to bloom or not.

Week 22, Year 2: Early Bloomers

This year, I’m trying my hand at timing. Not all plants bloom continuously all summer. Unlike most annuals, many varieties of perennials will only produce flowers for a short time until they bloom again in the next year (e.g., tulips, daffodils, and irises). Last year, I mostly had annuals and continuous bloomers because without a yard it can be hard to truly enjoy such short producers. However, this year, I wanted to try my hand with at least a couple of timed bloomers with the hopes of having new things to look at each month. My first crop of early bloomers peaked in late May and most of them did incredibly well.

Bearded Iris These had already started blooming when I bought them. While most irises are just now blooming, my guys were eager to get started and brought me two weeks of incredible joy. They produced the most flagrant flowers (think grape popsicles) and outshone all of their other deckmates. The only downside was that their dead-heads are not the best looking, shriveling up into prunes, so it was important to remove them right away so as not to distract from the beauty of the newer bloomers.
Poppy

I was little nervous about the poppies. However, my worries were misplaced and they truly thrived. These little pod like creatures grew, and opened into beautiful, dainty orange flowers with yellow centers. The plant produced about 10 blooms, with a few new ones each day. The blooms only lasted 1-2 days each, but were perfectly timed so that we had continuous blooms for about two weeks.

Pansies

Despite being annuals, pansies usually wilt once the temperatures start climbing. So far, mine are hanging in there, but I suspect they will be ready to move on once we hit mid-June. For now, they are happy cooling the clematis’ feet.
Now, the only question is what to do with the perennial’s remains. The iris’ foliage is interesting enough that it is worth keeping for the summer. However, the poppy’s is not much to look at. I’m considering transplanting the rootball to a fancy cardboard/texturized container for the winter. I’ll have to do some research and decide if it’s worth starting this experiment – plus, that also means I will have an empty pot to fill with another new and interesting specimen.

Next up for the timed flowers: June Bloomers

Week 22, Year 2: New Faces, New Pages

The starting line up for 2011 is basically complete. So, I've created a new page for 2011 showcasing all of the flowers for 2011. Hopefully, I'll be able to focus on the more interesting participants in individual posts as the summer goes on.

Week 20, Year 2: Dahlia Woes

I'm killing a dahlia. Last week, on the first 80 degree day of the year, we purchased this hybrid dahlia with cheery yellow flowers. It seemed to be a great addition to the garden and I was hopeful that it would provide us with sunny cheer every time we stepped outside.

9 days later, and there are no vestiges of its former cheeriness (well, it really only took it 2 days to kill it). Honestly, it just never seemed happy in the pot, it leaned and never perked back up. We just haven't had enough warm weather to keep it happy. It has drooped over and basically given up.

It came with a 1 year guarantee, so I have to believe it could come back with warm weather and sun, but how long do I wait? It seems to get worse by the day and I'm afraid it will start to depress the other flowers.

In an act of frustration, I also decided to plant the struggling verbena with the dahlia, figuring they deserve each other. That way, if they both give up on me, I can just wash my hands of them at the same time.

Week 19, Year 2: Hope Springs

It has been a slow spring. The trees are two weeks behind. The weather is cold with below average temperatures, dropping into the 30s during the evening. It's also been a hard spring personally. The cold, gray weather seems to have been in line with my mood as of late. Although this is a gardening blog, I would be remiss to ignore the fact that this has been the hardest two weeks of my admittedly short life. We had to say goodbye to our beloved cat, Wooly, last Saturday. Someone so special cannot be reduced to a blog entry, and I won't attempt that here. It's been a cold, gray time, and it's been hard to find a lot of bright spots. However, in the week since her passing, she is finding ways to show us that hope truly does spring eternal.

This Humming Bird was the truest sign of spring - my husband and I couldn't help but hope that he was a small present from Wooly.

Week 18, Year 2: New Beginnings

Well, it's time to start again. Having survived my rookie year, I'm heading into Year Two with the hopes of cultivating another beautiful container garden, having fun and learning a lot more along the way. Unfortunately, I had to give up on last year's perennials. Life intervened, and I was too busy to nurse them along, so I've decided to start fresh. The lone survivor was snoke poke, our blue spruce tree. So, on this beautiful Mother's Day, my faithful assistant (pictured above) and I spent the morning on the deck planting the first group for 2011.

My sister also contributed a wonderful addition to the garden - a basket for my supplies! Last year, I got really sick of looking at all of these items strewn about inside the deck door. So, I'm really enjoying this new addition.

Although none of my flowers survived from 2010, I did pick up some repeaters of varieties that I really enjoyed. My main goal, however, is to keep learning and trying to grow new kinds of flowers in my containers. My first batch comes from Johansen's Greenhouse in Madison. Like last year, I went for a mix of annuals and perennials. I planted all of them with an outdoor potting soil. I'm not sure if all of these are going to make it in containers, but that's part of the adventure! Now, without further ado, it's time to welcome the initial members of the Class of 2011:

Papavera Poppy - This is probably the riskiest plant to try to grow in a container. I just love poppies, so I thought I would give it a shot, but I'm not sure how successful this will be.

Snowpoke was the lone survivor from year 1. He doesn't have a lot of room to grow, but he continues to plod along.

Oceana Blue Salvia - This member of the sage family produces bright blue, stalky flowers.

Lisianthus - I'm not sure if I will like this one or not, but I was curious enough to give it a go. It produces tall flowers that have a more old fashioned look to them. I'm not sure what color I will get, the tag claimed "blue" but the picture had a mix of pinks.

Black-Eyed Susan Vine - Last year's favorite is back, but this time, we are trying it in orange!

Rieger Begonia - this is another repeat from last year. Its shade loving nature makes it a great option for my deck and it was so successful last year, that I had to go for it again.

Window Box #1: Hungarian Speedwell, Portucala, Plumbago

Plumbago - this plant is supposedly a pretty good climber, and produces light purple blooms. I'm hoping it will climb down like the petunias.

Portulaca - this plant, also known as moss rose, produces bright yellow flowers with red centers. The cactusy like leaves give it a little edge, and I think it should be a good contrast to its purple box mates.

Hungarian Speedwell - not to be confused with the feisty Hungarian Horntail dragon that Harry

Potter defeated in the Triwizard Tournamnet, this plant is a variety of Veronica that produces purple flowers (a.k.a. "Crater Blue").

Window Box #2: Verbena, Mexican Heather & Lisianthus

Verbena - This was a great success last year, and loves the partial shade, so I picked it up for a second turn at bat.

"Allyson" Mexican Heather - a tough sprawler with fuschia buds.


Finally, I had extra lisianthus, so I stuck them in this box. I don't think they will stay here, but until I decide what to do with them, they'll be hanging out in here.

Window Box #3: Petunias

I just loved the way these trailed down the balcony last year. The deep blue purple and silvery purple flowers also made for a lovely contrast, so I've decided not to mess with success. They are back and in the same spot.

Hanging Basket #1: "Bonfire" Begonias

This hanger houses a unique variety of begonia with fire red blooms. Although red is not in my usual color palette, I couldn't resist the bright, cheerfulness of this hanger.

Week 6, Year 2: Winter Notes

Since shutting down my garden for winter, I've kept a pretty low profile gardening wise. However, I do have one project in the works - my herb garden. For Christmas, my in-laws bought me these cute and arty seedling kits from Restoration Hardware. They are part of a gardening collection designed by local Wisconsin potter, Guy Wolff. The first set is the "Italian" Collection with Parsley, Oregano and Basil.

The second set is the "French" Collection with Thyme, Sage and Rosemary.

My new nursery was born in the new year and at approximately 5-6 weeks is doing pretty well.

In researching herbology, I learned that most herbs like to be "misted" (like African Violets) rather than watered directly. So, my husband bought me an industrial nozzle sprayer and a small travel hairspray bottle to experiment with. The heavy duty one emits a large spray, but it can be a bit like a tidal wave on some of the more delicate babies (e.g., the Parsley). The hairspray bottle is so small, however, that it needs to be refilled 2-3 times per watering. My research also suggested that herbs should not be overwatered either, so I've been keeping them fairly dry.

All of the pots have growth, except the Oregano seems to be a bit stunted. I'm not sure if it requires more water than the other ones or if it is just a slow bloomer. I've never actually grown something from the seed up (well except for bean sprouts in elementary school), so it's hard to measure my progress.