May 2, 2015

Beautiful stretch of weather we are having, highs in the 80s,  lows in the 60s and sunny! Expecting rain this week, we broke a record for monthly rainfall in April and May is our wettest month here in North Texas.

Indigo Rose tomato plant not as big as the Black Krims but already has fruit where the Krims do not :

The Black Cherry tomato seedlings are doing nicely, may try and dig a couple out for a friend rather than just toss them when thinning :

Several Jalapeños growing,  no fruit yet on the Gypsy peppers or the Purple Bell :

Jalapeños are on the left, Gypsy pepper in the back and front right is the Purple Bell.

Have been checking the eggplants for bugs, found a couple of green aphids, sprinkled with Sevin dust again. This plant seems less robust than the other one:

Love the purple veins in the green leaves! If I don't have any success this year I probably won't grow them again.

This is my combo herb pot with chives, sage, lavender and rosemary :

It's hard to get the whole thing in a picture!

Cardinal Climbers should be ready to start climbing soon!

That's about all for now, hope your gardens are all doing well and you are enjoying some beautiful Spring weather!

April 27, 2015

Enjoying a cup of coffee on the patio this afternoon  after a restless and stormy night! the really severe weather was just to the south of my location in DFW but it was still a lot of thunder and lightning in our area didn't get much sleep! Picked up about a quarter of an inch of rain and a little more
expected this evening along with cooler temps, highs only in the 60s tomorrow! Okay, back to my garden....

Was highly dissapointed to see THIS this morning :

That's an eggplant blossom that dropped off the plant after blooming, same problem I had last year! I am trying not to get too excited about it dropping off since I was long in getting it potted, thinking maybe that contributed to it dropping. I did notice a few aphids on the undersides of the leaves on this one  but not the other one so I sprinkled a little more Sevin dust on and around it. I do have Neem oil on standby if needed. Will be happy to entertain any solutions from the audience!

Black Cherry tomato seeds are coming up as well as the Lemongrass seeds :

Indigo Rose tomatoes coming along nicely!

The Black Krims have blossoms but no signs of fruit yet

My pink butterfly something or other is blooming,  I can't remember the exact name of it

Lots of lovely blooms on the Calamondin orange tree, they smell so good !

The Glads are really shooting up, looks like 11 of the 12 bulbs have come up

Finished....almost!

I finally have everything potted! I still need to plant my Zinnia seeds but need a wee bit more potting soil. I planted some of the Lemongrass seeds, no point in using the whole package when I don't need that many plants. Yes, I know I could use seed starting kits or peat pots but I guess I am too cheap and lazy, lol. I also planted a different kind of chives, the ones with the purple flowers and are tube-shaped, mine are flat and have lovely white flowers in late summer which the bees just love! I have only ever seen garlic chives at the store and mine don't taste garlicky. Here's my big herb pot:

 I found a package of Black Cherry tomato seeds I bought at some point and figured what the heck, I will put some in this hanging pot and see what happens. I will keep you posted

Peppers are all nestled in the grow box and mulched

A bloom on one of the Ichiban eggplants, I did use a little Sevin dust to discourage pests and mulched very heavily

Two tiny Black Krim tomatoes, note the black streak on them already!

Cardinal Climbers doing well, will probably thin them out again once they get bigger

It is DELIGHTFULLY cool right now,  we've had over 2 inches of rain over the last two days,  the heat won't be far behind I'm afraid but I will enjoy it for now!  Feel free to share your garden photos or thoughts with me!

April 15, 2015, a-l-m-o-s-t done

Got nearly everything potted but ran out of potting soil, still have one homeless Ichiban eggplant and one Gypsy pepper. I still need to pot my Meyer lemon and Calamondin orange trees too. Didn't get any seeds planted yet either but my taxes are done!

Cardinals are mad I am outside interrupting their breakfast

Peppers in the grow box:

Mucho Nacho
Mammoth Jalepeno
Gypsy Sweet
Purple Bell

Black Krim tomatoes, one to a pot, I know the cages are upside down but they stand taller in the pot that way

One Ichiban eggplant per pot also 

Here's my cheap gladiolus bulbs, will see what color they turn out to be 

April showers bring May flowers

UGH! Between work and family obligations I still have not potted the plants I bought last week!!! Have made no progress in finishing up the planting although they seem happy enough at the moment. Hope to get everything finished this week and patio cleaned up.

Got at least a half inch of rain today, a cool 64 degrees at the moment.

Glads are pushing up

Have a small Indigo Rose tomato 

Black Krim tomato has what almost appears to be a double bloom

Common Sage is blooming,  will see if I can harvest any seeds

Lime Basil sprouting nicely

Cardinal Climbers are progressing well 

Dahlia I planted from seed last year 

Hopefully it will bloom more this year,  it survived the heat and two weeks of unintentional neglect by significant other who did the best he could while I was out of town, lol 

I might need to stake this Citronella,  it's already pretty tall!

I have never tried to root Rosemary but we will see if this method works

Will post more later if I get everything potted and planted, fingers crossed! 

April 7, 2015

Got  about a half an inch of rain day before yesterday

Cardinal Climber  vine planted in hanging pots some seeds have already begun to sprout

Have about 3 gladiolus that have begun to sprout

Still need to plant Ichiban eggplant transplants as well as sweet Gypsy pepper jalapeno peppers and Black Krim tomatoes. waiting on a day off so I can get this done.

Planted the Lime Basil seeds,  no sign of sprouts yet.

still need to plant lemongrass and zinnia seeds to, need more potting soil, so much to do,  so little time!

Glads sprouting

Sage blooms

Cardinal Climber seeds sprouting

Oxalis folded up at night 

Lemon Balm, always winters over like a champ 

Japanese fern, repotted this spring 

Stargazer lilies,  will not bloom for at least another month,  have had these about 3 years now, same pot, winters over well 

Plans and objectives

Planted Cardinal Climber seeds today in hanging pots on Topsy Turvy pole, the goal is to have them use the pole as a trellis and attract hummingbirds. I have not grown these before.

Planted Lime Basil seeds today too. Am direct seeding into pots as no more freezes are expected and weather is into the 70s and 80s.

Bought marigolds to plant around the tomatoes and eggplants but am rethinking that as some say in full sun they attract spider mites which I don't need. The Black Beauty eggplant I planted last year grew and bloomed beautifully but hot humid weather and the flea beetles were too much I think and for all my effort I only got ONE eggplant. The plant was big and beautiful,  had no idea they got so big! Am trying the Ichiban eggplant this year, will see how it goes

Still have to plant my Zinnia seeds, Lemongrass seeds , get those Black Krim tomatoes and those peppers in containers soon.

Pruned the established lavender back as it seemed very woody, will see if that's what it needs to refresh it.

Spring 2015

New to the garden this year :

Meyer Lemon tree

Calamondin Orange tree

Ichiban eggplant

Black Krim tomato

Indigo Rose tomato

Lemongrass seeds

Cardinal Climber seeds

Gladiolus bulbs from Dollar Store,  should be peach-colored

Gypsy Sweet Pepper

Mucho Nacho Jalepeno

Mammoth Jalepeno

Citronella plant

Perennials returning:

Lemon Balm

Japanese Holly Fern

Stargazer Lilies

 Charmed Wine Oxalis

German Thyme

Lemon Thyme

Tarragon

Common Sage

Rosemary

Chives

Lavender

Dahlia