One more addition

Found another plant tag and it was not previously listed: Pandora Vine Pandorea

This photo is from last year; I have a smaller version this year which survived the winter as a cutting in my large pot of Rosemary. It never bloomed prolifically but it was a nice addition of color and texture to my gardens.

This week in my garden ...

Bat-Face Cuphea

Cuphea x neubertii

This is a wonderful plant: hardy, decorative and ... red! Click on the photo to see the "bat faces" in the blooms. This is a selected section of a larger photo, so the clarity is compromised a bit.

There has been enough rain and moderate temperatures that my gardens and lawn are recovering nicely from the record rainfall. It is wonderful to see so much green! — in July, no less!

Tomorrow will be a garden day. Although I have been weeding daily, and tending to the growth and pruning of all the wonderful plants I have been blessed to grow — there remains numerous tasks to mark off my list.

As I was cleaning out my garden work bench, I came across some plant tags (which may or may not have been previously cataloged). These include: Palace Purple Coral Bells, Heuchera micrantha (which are growing very well!); Pineapple Mint (which does not like all the rain ...); and Scaevola aemula (see below) which is actually a low growing perennial herb (although it looks like a succulent). It has not thrived in the damp, sandy soil of my gardens ...

The Sweet Potato Vine, Ipomoea batatas has certainly thrived! Finally! I depend on it to grow into my Mints and to cover areas that are usually — by this time of year — looking a bit burnt. I have several Zinnias popping up in the area I planted seedlings last year. Plant seeds seem to work their way to far down in the sandy soil of my gardens. Therefore I usually only have a few seedlings.

With the exception of something I believe to be Purple Ruffle Basil. This is a prolific item in every one of my gardens. As a result, countless seedlings ended up in my compost! :-)


My Patio Tomato plant fell victim to dampness (I suppose). One day I went out to check on my raised bed of veggies and Marigolds and the main stem was completely folded over. :-( I still have peppers and some struggling green onions. There is always next year! — the gardeners' faithful cry!

My Roses are having a bit of a struggle, too. I shall be pruning them up tomorrow so that the leggy stems can recharge and reflower.

Well, that is it for today ... Happy Gardening, ya'll!

How does my garden grow?

With all the hot sunny days of this week, there is a bit of color to celebrate in my gardens this week. These two views are my favorites ...

I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers. ~Claude Monet

Gardening Grace

Garden Angel

Gardening despite chronic pain has its creative moments. Like this morning when I balanced myself on the trash can I was using to collect my pruned pieces of Althea and the various and a sundry other prunings.

Right now, I am on a break from "power pruning" ... This is when I find a spot and just start cutting back, pruning and deadheading. There is so-o much to growth in my gardens! There are large leaves, long stems and runners full of energy from all the rain over the last two months. The sudden daily warmth of the sun at 90+ degree temps has been somewhat of an adjustment for some, as evidenced by their withered foliage (which perks back up in the evening).

There are several of you who must deal with chronic pain or illness. I hope you are encouraged to have at least some container gardens. This is what I did when I was not able to garden much at all. I always had some herbs and hardy summer plants like Petunia, Periwinkles and Lantana. And tomatoes will also grown in large pots with a fairly decent yield.

Another thing I use quite a bit is a small garden cart on wheels ... Let me see if I can find a photo ...

Here is one:

This has been the key to accomplishing my garden goals during the last four years. The top lifts to serve as handle or folds down seatin' and scootin'. Inside there are three storage compartments and removable tray. And it has molded clips on the base for toting (and keepin' up with!) long handle tools. It is about two-feet by 12- 14-inches and about 10-inches deep. Very handy!

Well, time to move the hoses I have on my gardens and do some more prunin'!

Gardening Grace to you, dear reader!

P.M. Update: Even moving slow and easy, I was able to stuff two trash cans full of gardening waste for my burn pile! Yay!

Posting. Finally.

Whew! Taking a break from my garden tasks and (almost) happy about sweating and working on a hot, steamy July day! Everything is still so-o wet from all the rain but I have been pruning and sizing up what will be the next project, what needs some TLC and what needs to surrendered to my compost pile.

Some quick notes ... (Then back outside!)

Honestly, I have this beautiful type of herb (Hyssop Agastache Mexicana) but I don't dare post a photo of its current pitiful state. :-] It was one of my finds at a local herb festival and I planted it in full sun as it aspired to grow in all its glory.

However, that same area becomes a bog when it rains since the Bermuda grass has been slow growing. Thus, when it rains, a steady stream of rain water flows into the area my Hyssop is (attempting) to grow.

And, since it has rained almost every day since the month of May in my country garden, my little Hyssop is not much larger than it was when planted (and pruned back) over a month ago.

Speaking of Bermuda grass, as a card-carrying Oklahoma gardener it is almost with disgrace that I finally claim my adoration for this tenacious (usually a pain in the b---, um, garden) grass. I gladly accepted three bags of freshing pulled Bermuda from my neighbor so as it could be plugged into the NEW! lawn area of my backyard in April.

My faithful son and lawn man is currently using a post hole digger to dig holes to "plug" with cut portions of Bermuda grass from other parts of the lawn. This has worked well but with the rain and all, it has turned out to be an almost month-long project! ;-)

Well, my break time is over ... More later!

Independence Day 2007!

4 o'clocks at 7:00 p.m.

Well, there was hope in my gardens this Independence Day! Most years, this is the day I silently surrender to the sprinkler queen as summer temps "hit" and everything is growing and full of color.

After surveying the water-logged details of my plantings, I exhaled a sigh of relief. Perhaps since it is July in Oklahoma, the 90's and 100's must be here to stay very soon! :-) And I will actually use the new sprinkler heads I purchased in May.

Can I really be hoping for said temperatures?? Indeed.

Having gotten everything mulched before my trip, I had the pleasure of plucking up countless cotton plant seedlings! I cannot remember ever having this many!! The rain must have helped them along ... I love cottonseed hull mulch over certain gardens. It will not float and is easier worked into the ground for fabulous soil!

More clearing on our acreage; thus, more burning this afternoon. It was nice to be able to work outside. It was extremely humid, but the sunshine was such a blessing! Most of the debris from our pool-fill-in project is now cleared and burned. Yay!

I don't have a list of things to work on yet. Right now I am simply tending to the miscellaneous weeding and such.