Author: Brandon Moeller

New to bloom: Caldwell Pink and Indian Princess

The Caldwell Pink rose and the Indian Princess hibiscus bloomed this week, for the first time after, uh, I guess I can call it Winter.

You can also see the first time the Indian Princess ever bloomed, back in 2010. It was a selection I took home after attending a Space City Hibiscus club show earlier that year.

It’s the fifth week in the garden, and I’ve added photos to the Gardening 2012 album. This week, I transplanted from seedling trays on the porch the following varieties into the garden: Redcrest cosmos, other cosmos from last year, lilac zinnias, lavender zinnias, craig’s grande jalapeno peppers, pepperoncini peppers and chocolate peppers.

Here are some of my favorite shots.

The Caldwell Pink rose
Indian Princess hibiscus
The datura also bloomed. It has reseeded itself everywhere around the garden. Well, I did cut off its seed pods last year and fling it everywhere. I've kept some of it where it has started, but others I have removed or transplanted into seedling trays. I have more of it than I want!
A shot of the gerbera daisy on the porch. Three flowers on it. Likely headed for a vase, I'm told.

Responsive RE/MAX of Texas newsletter debuts

The March 2012, Issue 2 eNewsletter
The March 2012, Issue 2 eNewsletter

Today, I sent the RE/MAX of Texas eNewsletter to the statewide real estate network using a new responsive template that I customized.

The eNewsletter now looks great on any device it is viewed on, in any email client, thanks to an open source template created by Sean Powell, The Engage Group that I found and customized for RE/MAX of Texas.

The template I developed is based on the HTML Email Boilerplate v. 0.5 which is based on many open source templates, particularly those created by MailChimp on GitHub.

The template was designed to incorporate many of the design elements that were used in the previous RE/MAX of Texas email newsletter template.

This new approach to email design for RE/MAX of Texas came two weeks after RE/MAX, LLC unveiled the new RE/MAX Mobile App suite for iPhone and Android at the RE/MAX R4 Convention in Las Vegas, as discussed in the previous newsletter issue.

Here are links to other individual eNewsletter issues that I am proud of:

  • December 2012, Issue 2
  • October 2012, Issue 2
  • September 2012, Issue 1
  • April 2012, Issue 1

Fourth

I started my seeds on Feb. 22. So, this is the fourth week in the garden. It’s also the fourth (spring) season I’ve been doing this.

Last year, I didn’t blog the garden much. In 2011, I only wrote 10 posts that were categorized as “Gardening.”

In 2010, I wrote at least one post a week, usually highlighting the photos I took of the garden on a weekly basis, usually on Sunday.

Last year, I also took photos just about every week, shared them all on Picasa (which feeds to my photos page on this site) and uploaded the same shot of every flower bed section to Facebook in a timelapse-style album.

In 2009, I didn’t blog regularly or take regular photos. I started one little bed that year, and every year but this year I expanded that bed until it stretched across the entire back yard. If it weren’t for Marshall coming in May, I would have found a new spot for a new bed this year. Next year, definitely. I need more room!

So, as you can see — I’ve done something different every year with my garden documentation efforts. See the Gardening 2009, Gardening 2010, Gardening 2011 and Gardening 2012 albums.

This year, I’m going to blog whenever I feel like it. Consistency is overrated, when you’re still finding your way. Today, I felt like getting out there and shooting everything. Five of my favorite photos are below, the rest were uploaded to Picasa and can be seen in the Gardening 2012 album (link above).

The Marie Daly rose is in fine form.
The Marie Daly rose is in fine form.
The lilac petunia was one that volunteered in the tree bed, likely an offspring of one of the purple petunias planted there last year. Above it, is a variety we got at Enchanted Gardens this year, called Yellow Madness.

See the petunias from last year.

Clarkia planted from seed in the fall, is in bloom on the porch.
Clarkia planted from seed in the fall, is in bloom on the porch.
This salvia was also planted in the fall next to the birdbath, and it has started flowering in the last few days.
This salvia was also planted in the fall next to the birdbath, and it has started flowering in the last few days.
The flower bed near the garage in the front yard. Some kind of flowering succulent that Kim put there last year is really happy, it's joined by two red petunias purchased this year.
The flower bed near the garage in the front yard. Some kind of flowering succulent that Kim put there last year is really happy, it's joined by two red petunias purchased this year.

Sprouting right along

Today it rained all day. But that didn’t stop me. I repotted a few zinnia seedlings that were growing two to three to a little pot. And I looked at all the seedling trays and added new seeds where nothing shot up (or is about to break through the soil).

Over the last few days, the following seeds have sprouted – basically in this order:

Basil (from an “organic” Burpee seed packed I bought at Lowe’s last year), phlox, pepperoncini peppers, Renee’s Garden catmint ordered last year and lavender (from Botanical Interests seed packet purchased at Enchanted Forest last year).

At this point, only three varieties of seed I bought new for this season haven’t fully germinated yet. I did pick around in the soil today, and everything in this list below is on its way up — except the lobelia. Sigh — it was the one I was most looking forward to.

Stay tuned.