Recently, I’ve been transplanting a lot of the seedlings to various places in my original bed and elsewhere in the back and front yards.
I put in a few rows of cosmos in the backyard, including this one around the container garden.
There’s another five of these babies between Kim’s new (this year) Peace Rose and the fence, and Kim’s knockout roses and the container garden section of the extended bed.
This color-coded image of the right side of my original bed shows what's planted here. The same general pattern is planted on the other side, too. Orange is the zinnia, yellow is the mixed wildflowers, purple is the bachelor buttons, turquoise is the blanket flower and the single green spot is the jalapeno.
Not labeled in the photo above are the cosmos along the fence and the portulaca which wraps around the front border of the bed. But you knew that, right?
Some bachelor buttons were also transplanted to a new section of the extended bed. This shot was taken today, and they've really grown since being put into the ground here in full, uncrowded sun.
That really black stuff around the buttons? That’s leaf mold compost I got from Enchanted Forest here in Richmond which was processed in Conroe. Nature’s Way, I believe. My first investment in black gold. But that’s another post.
I attended my first flower show this weekend. It wasn’t my first gardening event, but it was the first one that had a contest where flowers were judged.
The Space City Chapter of the American Hibiscus Society had its first show in Pasadena this past weekend, so Kim and Corina and I braved the torrential storm to travel 45+ miles across the metropolis to see purty flowers and have a chance at grabbing some exotic specimens ourselves.
We didn’t stay that long. We got there three minutes late, and at that time – all the really exotic offerings from the local growers had been snagged – some people had whole shopping carts full. I was only allowed what I could carry, so I picked up an Indian Princess and a Seminole and then I got in the very, very long line to wait to purchase them ($8 a pop).
I’d have a photo of the two shaped bushes/trees I bought, but it’s dark now and I don’t feel like taking photos now, so just settle for this one, which links to a photo gallery of shots taken by my wife, while I was in line waiting to fork over more money for my obsession.
Corina looks at hibiscus flowers ready to be judged.
Photos from the fifth week in the garden are up, spanning April 11-17, and have been tagged "Week Five" in my Gardening 2010 album in my Picasa Web Albums.
Last year, in mid-Summer, Corina and I stumbled upon two hybrid gerbera daisys at Lowes for a clearance price of $1 each. We bought two - and they stayed in the pots we bought them in all year. This year, I decided to plant the white one in the ground - and this is its first bloom of the season. The white hibiscus had three blooms at once this week. But, my favorite shot of it is this one.Week five: The requisite shot of my original bed.
So, I got a new addition to the garden on Saturday. Yeah, i know it’s Thursday and this is a long time coming and all, but that’s just the way it is. Too much is happening, not enough time to process it all.
So, without further ado:
The Hansel Eggplant, planted in the back of the new bed extension.
The Hansel eggplant is supposed to produce finger-shaped eggplant that can be picked at 3 inches, if I remember correctly. You can let it grow bigger, though. I was inspired to buy this $3 young plant after eating at a well-regarded Thai restaurant called Kanomwan, on Telephone Road, with the co-workers. It was great. Can’t wait to cook my own fresh eggplant.
On Sunday, I moved all of the seedlings and put down newspaper over what will become an extension of the flower bed. Another part of the extended flowerbed had already been dug, after I transplanted some of the grass from there to other parts of the yard.
In this spot, I dumped some new garden soil and transplanted some cosmos, my top gun tomato and a new eggplant that I could not resist when I saw it at Lowe’s when I bought the new garden soil. The soil in my yard is so clay-like, amending it when I start a new bed is the best way to kickstart it. I’ll post more about the eggplant – and what made me want one – tomorrow.
I also went through all the seedlings, and separated the ones that did not sprout from those that did. I dumped the excess soil into the large pot where the Top Gun tomato was, and it filled it! Then, I transplanted eight coleus there. All said and done, I had at least 50 empty seedling containers when I was done. I packed them all up in the garage.
Here’s a shot of the extended flower bed that hasn’t been finished yet.
And to think, there used to be at least 50 more seedlings than pictured here.
Sunday through today, I have transplanted the strongest of the blanket flower, half of the portulaca, most of the Cosmos Happy Ring, some of the Cosmos Psyche mix, about eight bachelor buttons, a cut flower wildflower mix here and there as well as the previously mentioned coleus.
I transplanted at least eight cosmos between Kim's flower bed and the new bed.
Into my bed, I dropped at least 11 blanket flower, five zinnia and two wildflowers.
From left to right, some marigolds, some what I think are zinnias that I direct sowed a few weeks ago and the newly-transplanted blanket flower.
Photos from the fourth week in the garden are up, spanning April 4-10, and have been tagged "Week Four" in my Gardening 2010 album in my Picasa Web Albums.
I started transplanting cosmos this week. Pictured here are some Happy Ring cosmos.This week, I transplanted four of Kim's jalapenos to my bed. And then I told her about it. This week's Saturday shot of the bed.
