So glad it rained and I hope those who needed it got as much as my garden did. Here are some of the waterlogged blooms this moring. I think things will be looking good when it dries and I can clean up the mess. The tomatoes have no fruit but are loaded with flowers.
Cheryl
What type of salvia is this? I bought it as a Kroger store and didn't save the ID tag.
looks like Indigo Spires http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/54677/
I think you are right. Pretty and bees love them but they aren't as drought tolerent as some of my other plants.
Cheryl
Yes, I have them in a mailbox planter. They do suffer July/August, but look great March-end of June and then Sept->first freeze.
That is a long season of bloom. I like the color of them and there aren't any other truely blue flowers in my yard.
C
Black-Eyed Susan
Brugmansia Sun Ray
Datura double yellow.
NOID orange hibiscus.
That orange hibiscus is very striking!
A very soggy Blanket Flower
I just bought a half price Brug. from Calloways and after 2 weeks out in the sun and a little fertilizer it formed buds! I know next to nothing about growing one of these but I am very geeked to see it bloom. Hope it is as pretty as yours peony.
BTW do peonies do well in TX?
Cheryl
Cuphea of unknown parentage or variety. Still a pretty purple, though.
Love the purple stems, where can I buy bat faced cuphea?
C
Rock Rose
I have no idea. I got mine at the RU in Arlington. We thought it was going to be a red one, grown from seed, but it turned out this pretty purple.
Sometimes the best plants are suprises. I bought what I thought was frog fruit and it turned out to be what looks like a spring blooming phox. It is lovely and not at all what I expected!
C
The neighbor's crepe myrtle tree is weighed down by the rain. It's blooms were hanging down very low over the side driveway this morning.
The crepe myrtles seem to be blooming non stop this year.
I don't think peonies grow well down here in zone 9.
Well I still love them even if I cannot grow them in TX. My crapes have loved the moisture and have looked good all season too. I am looking for some of the dwarf ground cover types to try. I am pretty new to gardening here (3 years in my present location) and so I try new things often to see what does best. I am moving more towards native plants as they have been less likely to die on me. Still my yard gets better each year and I learn new information that helps me along. This website has given me new ideas and lots of good growing tips.
C
Yes, I had to quit seeing any plant dying as a tragedy and look at new plants as experiments. It's pretty fun. I miss fall, though, both the sights and the smells.
Me too but honestly I miss spring, wet, cool with lots of bulbs. Still working outside in December rocks!
C
Yes, on both counts. I did grow daffodils, and they gave it a good try but there is something about the sumptousness of tulips, daffs, hyacinths, etc. Still, as you say, year round working outside rocks.
You can't beat the people down here either.
I agree on all counts.
Mexican bush sage and Jackmanii.
I am from the North would give up lilacs any day for gardening here.
My mexican bush sage didn't bloom. I have cut it back several times for various reasons and I think it does not get enough sun. Yours looks good, thinking I will move mine to a sunnier local next spring. I love the long growing season but the heat is still annoying.
C
I like gardening down here well enough, but I miss some seasons and practically nothing that I grew up north grows down here, or grows well down here.
I'm adjusting, but I still miss some things and always will.
I am lucky enough to spend a month every year visiting my daughter in Sweden. The climate is much the same as Idaho. The mountains are beautiful and many of the native plants are the same. I can get my "mountain" fix and come home to Texas, which I'm beginning to really love too.
NewtonsThird -- You can find Bat-faced Cuphea at your local "native" nurseries (like Redentas, Green Mamas, etc). It's an annual here, though, so look for it in the spring. It grows really fast once in the ground. Hummingbirds love it.
Carla
Carla, here is a DG link to the batface cuphea. It should return for you in the spring here in zone 8a.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2033/
The link says it will start from cuttings or seed.
Charlene
Thanks Charlene. I've grown BF Cuphea the past 3 summers and it doesn't return for me. But that's okay, I think of it as a good excuse to go to Rohde's in Garland and buy another one for $1.99. :-)
Carla
lol and maybe a few other things for the same price. I love browsing garden centers.
Hmm I don't know either of those nurseries. Wonder if they are near Arlington?
C
Well, Carla if yours didn't overwinter, I think I will pot mine up and put it in the greenhouse. I had one last winter and it didn't make it back either. I thought it was just an odd case that failed. At least I am forewarned this year.
Of course the excuse to go to the garden center is a good one, not that I need an excuse. I have to pass Lowe's to get to Wal-mart and Kroger's, and I usually feel the urge to pull into the parking lot there on the way. LOL
Charlene
Newtons~Redenta's is in Arlington! http://www.redentas.com/
Green Mama's is in North Richland Hills. There's also Weston Gardens, which has a display garden across the street from its nursery in south Fort Worth off Anglin Rd.
Weston Gardens I know and frequent, the other 2 I will have to check out. Thanks!
Cheryl
My bat face culpea is looking pretty straggly and has lost a lot of leaves. I am wondering if it would do ok if I cut it back. It bloomed and looked great all through this dry hot summer.
This Bulbine is doing very well. Anyone know how to propagate it?
I need to start writing some of these plants down! So many new ones to look for next spring. Note to self I must have a bat faced cuphea.
Cheryl
Cheryl~Make your list and then post it for the RUs! I only spent $0.99 on plants this year. Everything else I got at the spring RU in Arlington. Of course, you have to be patient, but it's worth it. You can often get sturdier plants that are better adapted to our area.
Toad Lily from Pattie
