Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Plant Growth


I got a couple of pix of my gardening efforts this morning... first is my window garden:



On the left is a Tea Rose I bought in May... almost lost it the first month! I forget that potted plants sometimes need more water than those we plant in the ground! Once I started watering it almost daily, it came back and has bloomed a couple of times since!

In the middle is a container with Rock Rose seeds... I'm experimenting to see if I can get them to germinate. If not, a friend with tons of them has offered to let me try transplanting one to my yard. On the right is a vagrant plant that sprouted at the base of a Rhododendron I bought and put in the yard, again in May... don't know what it is other than a vine, and probably a squash vine. Another one is still out in the yard sprouting flowers, but no squash.

Below is a shot of two Nasturtiums I planted in the yard this summer... at first, I had the pot facing East, but it was too hot and the plants weren't doing well. So I decided to move them to the West side of the house, giving them morning shade. Then along came the Monsoons and kept them watered nicely... much better!
I really love the brilliant colors of the flowers, and I also like the shape of the leaves. I have had Nasturtiums before, but they always seemed to get leggy and weren't too attractive. I think I have solved the problem here by planting in a pot, and now that I know I can grow them here I will keep them in mind for color spots in the future. I will admit that this is the best year yet colorwise in my yard! I have been focused so much on planting trees that I haven't done much with flowers before. This year, I have Marigolds, Pansies, Geraniums, the Nasturtiums, Snap Dragons, Shasta Daisies, and of course our wild Brown-eyed Susans, Coreopsis ( I know that isn't spelled correctly, but can't find it in the dictionary!), Mexican Hat and Mallow... now if only I could get more Bearded Iris to grow for Spring! Maybe I'll splurge this fall and buy bunches!

No comments: