Heuchera

Great garden color combos to perk up the fall garden…

A big package from Plant Delights made me squeal with delight yesterday.  Because I already had two flats of small plants for containers and the garden waiting impatiently in the garage, I vowed to spend the time to get these right into the ground.  

As I considered where to put them — they are additions to collections I’ve already started — I thought I would just mix them in with the existing varieties.  The order included 3 heucherella ‘Solar Eclipse,’ and 2 hellebores — ‘Berry Swirl’ and ‘Golden Lotus’ — and 1 sprekelia (red – so going elsewhere).  And, sitting in my garage for two weeks – 2 ‘Tutti Frutti’ shrimp plants.  

Hmmmm. chartreuse and burgundy and cranberry and yellow — that looks like a fabulous combination.  So, I looked for a spot to place them all together and found a corner with 1 existing ‘Tutti Frutti’ and plenty of room.
Oh, and see my new shovel?  It’s the first time I’ve used it — it has a nice flat bar to step on and provide more power and stability and has a nice handle that makes it easier to press down on it and put some oomph into it.  Especially great for me, with tendonitis in my arms and an occasionally cranky back.
It was much easier to use and it’s a little smaller than a standard shovel – just my size. I found it at Red Barn Garden Center up north when I was up shopping for a client the other day.
It was getting dark when I finished, so this isn’t the best photo of it all done.
Now, Central Texas is flooding, the rain is about to come into my garage and I expect my plants to swim by at any moment.  So much for getting them in before a nice rain!

Catalog shopping spree for the spring garden…

Thanks to cool nights by the fire, flipping the pages of glossy catalogs filled with stunning photos of the swimsuit edition versions of new plant offerings, there are exciting new additions to my garden.

Pictured here, Aralia ‘sun king,Heucherella ‘gold zebra,’ Rudbeckia ‘prairie glow,’ and Eupohorbia ‘rainbow ascot.’

In light of the chilly temps, they are all still hanging out together in a tub trug – going out in the morning and coming in at night.  They are jockeying for prime places in the garden — each of them whispering to me: “I’d look fabulous paired with the verbena or calylophus or salvia…or whatever!”  They speak to me when they think the others aren’t listening.

I feel like they are the judges on “The Voice.”  Pick me, pick me, pick me.

But I haven’t picked yet — I’m still ruminating about the best spot for each of them — determined not to just plop them somewhere willy nilly.  This I do know, because of it’s color palette, the rudbeckia will be embarking on an adventure of its own — off to a very different part of the garden than the other shade or semi-shade plants.  It’s going to find its own hot spot in a yellow/orange themed bed.

Have your catalog weaknesses …(oops)…orders arrived yet?  Who will be joining your garden this spring?

Blooming beauties on bloom day

Most of my summer bloomers are all still blooming this Bloom Day. Carol, of May Dreams Gardens, encourages us to share our blooms on the 15th of each month, and mine are thrilled to be enjoying a reprieve from the summer’s heat and drought.

The rain has revived them all and they are blooming to their hearts’ content. Because they are the same plants that were barely blooming in September, I’m just going to highlight a few interesting things in the garden today.

Above is a fabulous bloom from my brand-new Bottle Brush tree. It’s a new addition to the bed where I removed an ugly cedar tree earlier this year.
The Turk’s Caps are all standing at attention with the rain renewal. And the cooler temps have really helped, too. Even though it was 92 and sticky today, we have had rain and cooler temps with nights into the high 50s. Fall is trying to show itself here.
I know this does’t qualify because it’s not blooming, but it makes me happy as a bloom would. It is new growth on the 3 new Heucheras I planted this spring. In just a few short months it will have beautiful blooms. So, today, I am celebrating the anticipation of blooms!
And the heady scent of blooms and the sweet rains must have brought romance to our garden toads, because I have hundreds of itty-bitty, teeny-weeny toad babies hopping all over my yard, garden, driveway, pathways … you name it, there are toads there!
I was trying to give you perspective — I failed! he’s about as big as my index fingernail, if that.
Isn’t he cute? Wanna adopt some?

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