Snapdragons, Dels and Foxgloves are so pretty and some of my very favorites as well ... the jewel-toned varieties that they are available in is remarkable. The deep velvety red black snaps are wow....
It's suprising that no one has mentioned lavenders, sage or the fantastic world of herb gardening so far... there are so, so many culinary and medicinal herbs that are easy to grow and the rewards of this are like ... a holy blessing!
The fragrances, the textures, the beauty of herbal plants and the myriad of uses they gift us with ..it's like nothing else to experience growing these delights in the garden and being able to cook with them as well as make medicine and potpourri's and soaps and the list goes on ...
More nurseries are stocking the young baby plants now so they don't have to be grown from seed, and herbs thrive naturally if they like the location ... also are easy to grow in containers on a patio or porch or deck if enough sun falls on them, as that brings their oils up into the leaves.
Yes, I'm in love...with herbs. ?
Oh My, @polarberry, YES! The hottest part of the day, Every Time. It reminds me when my dad would come in from a stint outside with his mower, his fair Scottish skin red as a beet. That, or he would be out in a thunderstorm sweeping rainwater off his porch, with lightning cracking all around. “It Has to be Done!”
@unk-p, I would have loved you for your hay-er, either way, AND your Texas meadow. Last time I was in Texas, I brought home three small Mexican Honeysuckles. They are finally big enough to bloom this year. I got them to complement the Firebushes I overwinter every year for the hummers. Those Firebushes are 20 years old now, and one of my favorites.
@deetoo, Do It! Replace that weedy grass with something else. Native grasses anyone? Those fabulous seed heads are stunning, even in the winter months. You will love it, and the lack of maintenance will have you wondering what took so long. My Northern Sea Oats grows in shade or sun, between roots of a maple tree or clay soil. What started as about 8 plants has turned into a 15’x40’ border next to the street. It is glorious. I have had people knock on my front door to ask about it. The seed heads begin in summer and stay through to the middle of winter. They rustle and blow in the wind. I’m their biggest fan.
I wanted to qualify I do have my share of weeds, which I cannot get hung about. After all, a weed is only a misplaced flower. I found a dried pod of elegant White Datura seeds one fall in a vacant gas station parking lot and scattered them on my street corner, which prompted some weed seed envy among my neighbors. Now I save them in the fall for any one who wants some. Some of my favorites are the wild ones because they are native. Wild and Free!
Yes, @polarberry, I am with you right there in the herb garden. i always grow two Lemon Verbenas, and use them for making flavored water during the season, or a leaf in a cup of tea. Dill, basil, tarragon, thyme, parsley and oregano. No garden is complete without the herbs. I keep trying to grow a Meyer Lemon tree, always getting one lemon every year. I am doing something wrong...that lemon is always precious.
i used to plant snapdragons, larkspur and foxglove (with other things) in a cottage garden style near my front door. I don’t have the right soil or climate for lavender, and replaced all the others with zinnias, firebushes and milkweed. From Cottage to Prairie style, I guess, as I live where the wind blows. Go native!
Claire, I didn't post anything about herbs, but I was planning to later, as I am in the process of doing this year's plantings. Did you sense that I was thinking about herbs and posting about them? Weird.
I love zinnias; they're a favorite also. Dahlias, too, but they always freeze on me.
@claire that sounds amazing! You should take some pics.
I found a very easy way to convert lawn (and weed) areas to planting beds:
You don't have to pull anything up- just cover over the lawn with about 4 sheets of newspaper (try to only use black and white pages, because of the dyes in the colors), and then cover the newspaper with a couple of inches of compost. Wait a few weeks, and then it is ready to plant. With this method, the grasses and weeds die and get recycled back into the soil. Also the soil structure won't be disturbed, and the newspaper will decompose. Easy breezy
@unk-p, we used to do that when we lived on a farm we rented, early in my newly married life. There was a film going around the public library, called Ruth Stout’s garden. Do you know it? That was the year my husband was able to buy tomato plants at the nursery at the same price they were when the nursery first opened. Decades Before. He brought home 400 tiny little tomato plants which we planted in the old feedlot. I was overwhelmed. That was the year we bought a whole lot of hose, and a wheelbarrow. Not the best foray into beginning gardening I would say!
I will take pictures when the bloom happens. Figuring out how to post them will be another matter. Do you have tips?
@polarberry, I confused you with @stargazer who I now see was responding to you. (I am seeing this happen to me a lot, and apologize for myself.). I find myself doing anything to keep the conversation going!
@stargazer, i used to love to grow Lambs-ear, and had it as a border for my flowerbeds, one of which held Stargazer lilies. I liked it because it was silvery grey and showed up at night so I wouldn’t go tramping in the beds. It seemed like I tried everything when we first moved here. I found as I went along I needed to plan for less and less maintenance, so the scale for herbs and flowers grew smaller, while the trees and shrubs grew into that space instead.
@claire that's a lot of tomatoes!
As for pics, the only way i know how is to send them from the phone to the email, then save them to a file, and then i can post them. But i am sure there must be an easier, more direct way. Maybe someone else on here can tell us?
Yes, beautiful sagey silvery lambs ear, Claire... it's nice to touch isn't it, it has a sweet soothing quality too.
You know, I've had some success just throwing alot of herbs out there and they naturalize among rocks and with poor sandy soil (makes the oils push up into the leaves) in the full sunshine. No real maintenance required except for needing to be cut back about a third down when mature, and that's when we get the good stuff (like the edible flowers for salads)?
I love the Stargazer lilies... the scent is luscious too, and wish I could grow some! Too much shade where I am at present...drats.
Wildflowers are rewarding, if you plant for the local zone you are in, they take care of themselves and reseed too.... ?
(I am loving this new thread (thank you unk!) and it's healing earth focus ... it's a kind way to detox from all the political and viral and emotional stresses isn't it ? We must focus on the sweetness of life at times to stay sane.... )))
Gorgeous! My favorite color of petunias! Cheerful and full of the heart energy of love and loving life.
Perfect for you as you are now filled with those wonderful energies instead of the old ones of fear and worry. Now you are all lit up with the best of loving, giving, and sharing goodness!
Love this part of you and all the amazing and transforming energies that you are now so filled up with. Awesome for you and for your precious son and family ?