This verbena will crawl and sprawl over everything in its vicinity which is okay with me. I love the color, and it doesn't get bad-looking from whatever insect likes to suck the life out of verbena by summer's end. It withstands freezes very successfully and doesn't go dormant. It will root along all the joints, so I plop a rock on top of a stem. It will take root, and then I can pass some of this gem along to friends and family.
The Spirea looked really pretty last weekend when I took these pictures. These shrub were some of the first ones that I planted when we built the house. It's funny because I would never plant this shrub now, my thinking about plants has changed so much over the years. But they are still doing great.
Friday. Turned compost into 2 beds in the Vegetable Garden. I sowed crookneck squash in a 4 x 4 bed and some Abashi bitter melon seeds in a bed along the fence. Bitter melon is a Japanese, weird fruit on a vine. I'm just growing it for fun. I like to have a vine of some sort in the Vegetable Garden every year. My beans have mostly popped up. And most of the fennel has emerged.
After work I amended another bed and planted a couple of bell pepper plants.
Saturday. It turned cold and grey during the night. I side dressed plants in the Star Garden and my evergreen oak. Cleared out beds.
I spent time in the front bed clearing out weeds and laying down compost. I wanted to get to that before our Airbnb guests start arriving - 2 groups over the next several weeks.
Anne Thames and I went to Plants and Things and New Leaf nurseries to talk about the NICE program for NPSOT. That burned a good part of the day.
I planted 2 of 3 Mangaves I bought, and I cleaned out all the winter debris from the others. There were a lot of mushy leaves after our freeze, then I moved them outside last weekend and the leaves dried up. I pulled them all off and cut them away. I don't know if what's below the surface is still alive. That part I am very confused about - should I replant or will pups come up from the root ball?
Sunday. Cold and mostly cloudy.
I turned the compost and layered in more greens.
Composted several more beds in the Vegetable Garden and sowed zucchini, beans and squash.
I planted 2 Valerian plants in the Star Garden, a Stevia and 3 thyme in the Vegetable Garden.
I cleared out areas in the Star Garden bed and laid down compost. I planted an arrowleaf sage that I bought from New Leaf.
These tiny bulbs make a big show each spring. They bloom in shade and in sun. They multiply rapidly and seem to show up in all kinds of unusual places, and I don't know how they get there.
Friday I had 5 yards of mushroom compost delivered. I spread it over the small asparagus bed and the bed next to it. I spread compost around my Anacachoe Orchid tree and the Two Winged Silverbell nearby.
Saturday. Up early. I worked in the Rose Garden for a couple of hours. I side dressed all the roses in pots and a handful of them in the ground. Cleared out wildflower seedlings that were going to crowd out my perennials. More to do there. Side dressed some of the daylilies and lantana, the tiny Copper Canyon daisy and Flame Anacanthus. I planted 2 New Gold lantana (my favorite lantana, it blooms so much better than all these new cultivars that have come out recently) and side dressed them. I planted a True Sincerity rose in one of my buckets, added lots of compost. True Sincerity is a red, yellow blend. I have one in the garden that I planted last year, and I thought it was a good bloomer. But the real reason I bought it was because it was $12.99. Roses (and everything else) have gotten so expensive.
I worked some compost into the middle bed and planted 3 tomatoes.
I turned over the soil in the bed that I spread compost over yesterday. Sowed 4 eight foot rows of green beans. Planted a New Zealand Lemonade lemon tree in a pot in the Vegetable Garden. It is a hybrid of a lemon, a lime and a Mandarin. Semi-dwarf. Mulched around my thyme growing in a bucket. I spread compost over the big asparagus bed. We are already getting lots of asparagus. Weeded and raked while I was in there working.
Next, I went down to the Orchard. I am really trying to love my Orchard so that I will take better care of it. Last summer I let it get really out of hand. It was still in bad shape for Max's wedding, but luckily no one went down there because all his friends spent the entire time drinking or standing in line at the bar! The Mexican plum is in full bloom and smells wonderful. The apple blossoms are on the wane. I watered the new Pawnee pecan tree that I planted for Charlie, the Mexican sycamore that I planted for Henry, the Methley plum, the Celeste fig, the wolfberries and the pomegranate. I worked in the blackberry bramble at the front of the Orchard where I let all the crabgrass grow last summer. I pulled out all the debris and pulled up as much Cleaver weed as I could reach. Pulled out dead canes.
Watered the Vegetable Garden. Did some watering in the Rose Garden.
I headed back to the Vegetable Garden. I added compost to 2 beds and sowed lettuce seed.
Sunday. I pruned my 2 blue Vitex and finished pruning the remaining branched on the pink Vitex. I side dressed the Salvia Madrensis with compost. It has still not emerged yet. I side dressed a few other things in the Star Garden. I cut down all the red shrimp plant debris, not really cut, I just snap the dead branches as low as I can go.
Drove to the Thames for a NPSOT meeting. I drove over to Michael's house and he gave me a tour of his property. Wow. It is amazing, so many natives.
Headed home to Houston after that.
