Feverfew - the Medicinal Herb

Feverfew has turned out to be a very pretty plant. This is the second year I've grown it, and it has turned out to be a very showy plant. Tea made from the flowers alleviates migraine headaches. Tea made from the leaves may also be used for migraines as well as menstrual pain. The leaves should be harvested before the flowers begin to form in the spring. The flowers should be harvested before they are fully open. Dry them upside down and store them in glass jars. Feverfew is a short-lived perennial, and it reseeds freely.

The Feverfew in these pictures is located in the Star Garden. I planted some seeds in the Medicine Garden this spring. Feverfew seeds are tiny specs like dust, so buy enough to have a showing.

A Day at the Farm 05/04/2011

This is a Sweet Pea. Sweet Peas are old-garden favorites. They smell wonderful. I plant the seeds in November so they can get established. They bloom in the spring.

Took the day off to check on the farm. Didn't get to go last weekend. It's so dry. We need rain desperately.

• One of the new sprinkler stations is not working. I will call the landscaper tomorrow to come out and take a look.
  


• Planted some Celebration in Pink Cosmos.
  


• Planted 3 Santa Barbara Mexican Bush Sage and 2 Stampede Salvia in the large bed where the Ruby Crystal Grasses were. The grasses did not come back.



• Planted 2 clumps of Pine Cone Ginger along the Boardwalk next to the others that I planted a few weeks ago. I dug it up at the house in Houston.



• Planted one Swamp Sunflower "Helianthus angustifolius" in the Long Border that my sister gave me.



• Planted 5 Salvia Blepharyophilla in the bed near the house.
  


• Planted one Cassia corymbosa next to pool. We'll see it it survives the winter. I had another type of Cassia last year and it died from the cold. Cassias are the larval food source of Sulphur butterflies. I really want one for that reason, but they seem a little cold tender.



• Watered the plants around the Greenhouse and several of the trees - the Red Buckeyes, the Eve's Necklace, the Desert Willow.
  


• Fertilized some of the roses in the Rose Garden, the Tardiva Hydrangea, one of the Frost Proof Gardenias, and this and that.
  


• Spent several hours pulling up all the poppies that have dried out. I poured seed into a jumbo baggy where I do not want poppies next year, and I dumped the seed onto the ground in places where I want poppies next year. Time consuming effort.



• Worked in the Vegetable Garden for a bit. I staked an eggplant plant, pinched back the tomatoes here and there so they don't get too unruly, pulled up some arugula that was crowding the pepper plants. Looks good in there.
  


• Adjusted sprinklers.
  


• Pulled lots of weeds, but not as many as I would be pulling if we weren't in a drought. That's one good thing about severe drought. The other things is - no mosquitos! None!

Pretty Larkspur

These Larkspur are right at the entrance of The Orchard. I just love them. So pretty. They will gone within the next two weeks. Short-lived but lovely. They will go to seed and come back next year.

What's Blooming Now - Strawberry Seduction Yarrow 04/22/2011

The common yarrow plant is considered by some to be a weed. Common yarrow is white. There are so many colors now, and I particularly like this one. I love the lacy greenery and the exotic flowers. Strangely, I can't remember if yarrow is evergreen - I can't remember! I believe it is, or, as I recall it dies back to a rosette of green during the winter. It reseeds very well, so let some of the flowers dry out and reseed. This the second season for this yarrow. It came back very well, and with all the flowers on it I expect even more next year. Yarrow will bloom during the hot months of summer.

What's Blooming Now - Daisy Delite Canna 04/22/2011

Daisy Delites grow to about 3 feet tall.

This is a woodland plant. It grows in shade. The flowers, although small, are bright yellow and red. They die back in the winter and pop right out in the early spring, way before the gingers that grow along side them. The thing I find most attractive about this canna, though, is the seed pod. It is so pretty. It starts out bumpy and green, very sensual looking. Then it dries and turns hard and brown and four black seeds drop to the ground. New cannas will sprout from the seeds.

What's Blooming Now - Larkspur 04/22/2011

I have Larkspur growing in the Star Garden, the Long Border, and the Orchard. Larkspur grow easily from seed in colors of pink, white, purple, and blue. The seeds are the size of coarsely ground pepper. I throw mine on the ground. I don't even prepare the beds sometimes. I sow the seeds in November, and they grow all winter and bloom in the spring. Beautiful flowers.

A Day at the Farm 4/22/2011

Spent the day and night at the farm and then drove to the lake to spend the rest of the weekend with the family. Tripped over the dog and banged the side of my face into the corner of an open drawer. Lots of blood and swelling and a big black eye. I guess I'll have an inch-long scar above my eye. Nice.

• There has been no rain for many months. The drought all across Texas is very severe. There is very little green undergrowth in the woods around the house and the sand blows hard all the time.


• Planted 3 Red Turk's Cap along the Boardwalk that I bought at Buchanan's Nursery.


• Planted 1 Morningstar Sweespire in the Shade Garden and 2 along the Boardwalk.


• Buried some citrus peel in the Vegetable Garden for the nematodes. It's looking good in there! Very healthy. The pattipan squash plants are beautiful. The cucumbers have begun sprouting tendrils in preparation for their climb up the arbor. The corn is about 3 feet high. Lots of green tomatoes. The sunflowers are about a foot tall. There are darling little eggplants growing. I picked asparagus and had them for dinner.


• Watered.


• Fertilized here and there: about half the Rose Garden, the Variegated Potato Vine, the Tardiva Hydrangea, the Frostproof Gardenias, the Easy Ned Daylilies, the George Taber azaleas.


• Deadheaded roses for several hours.


• Swept and mopped the kitchen, dining room and living room.


• Hurt myself that evening and did nothing after that - I felt a bit traumatized! Left early in the morning for Conroe.