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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Fertilize/Flaunt Friday

I have been busy, busy, busy in the gardens this week.  Trying to do what I can - when I can - when the hip and knee are in the mood.  Moving plants, planting plants, planting bulbs, sowing seeds and pulling weeds.   I also went to visit Ms. Doris Three Doors Down.  I will be featuring some of her flowers and garden art on Tuesday.
After the nice, almost an inch of rain on Wednesday the sun was beaming today.  It's 81 degrees at 8:00 p.m. (that's 27.2 c)
Climbing rose.  It has barely any leaves, why?  I know zero about roses.
We have slowly but surely been replacing the brick edging with these blue bottles.  (I guess I shouldn't ask my husband to drink his beer faster)  This area of Larkspur is all self seeded. I have white Caladiums, Calla Lilies, Astilbe, Coleus and Heuchera in the container in this corner. Oh, I see a Begonia too.  This bed goes up the left and right to form a large triangle.  On the other side of the bed is the street.  The small trunk in the middle is a three year old pink Dogwood that has never bloomed, sigh.  
I don't know why the two photos above will not let me type between them.  Anyway, I remember posting about this Clematis last year when it started doing this color change.  Do you see the bloom in the bottom left?  That is the original color of the Clematis when it was planted 4 or so years ago. The first flush of flowers is always the original color then it starts pushing out this beautiful solid deep pink?  Any ideas?
Gerbera Daisies....above Margarita...below Red.....
This is the tiniest Nasturtium plant I have ever seen.  It reseeded from last year.  I have never had that happen before.  Maybe because in the past I have yanked pulled out expired plants.  Last year I left most plants to die back on their own.  That combined with the mild winter I have several returning plants and very early blooms like the rest of you.
The old BBQ Grill.  Petunias, Asparagus Fern, Dianthus a forgotten name grass in the middle.  On both ends, old work boots with Sedums and Verbena.
This area faces the the other street by our mailbox.  I have been expanding it this week.  I have about twenty something dwarf Celosia, and twenty something short yellow Marigolds and 27 Ranunculus bulbs in the ground.  I have various containers and the Sedum filled wheelbarrow to the right. Fingers crossed about the 120 Ranunculus bulbs I have planted around.  I tend to believe they are more of a fall planting bulb here...we shall see.  I'll share more of this area as it fills in.  It looks quite sad right now.  I pinched the tops out of all the Celosia so the plants will get bushier.  I'll do that a couple of more times.  There is a self seeded yellow Viola under the metal crate.
Firecracker Plant Russelia equisetiformis 
Firecracker (bulbs) Flowers Dichelostemma Pink Diamond
I wonder which plant will win this area or if they will continue to place nice together.  Dichondra Silver Falls was originally in the large container.  It spilled out, rooted on the ground and died out of the container.  I planted the Creeping Phlox to help with rain water washing this area out. The Sedum, well, we all know how Angelina likes to spread around.  I have a piece of Mezoo in the container with the Crown of Thorns.  I love Mezoo and if I want it to stay alive I better move it and soon.
My goodness I had a lot to say this evening.  I guess that long soak in the hot bath with muscle relaxing mineral salts helped me be able to sit a little longer.  Linking up with Ms. Tootsie for her weekly Friday party!

24 comments:

Lola said...

You sure have a lot of flowers. Wish mine would do as good. Someone took my crown of thorns off my front porch. Sure miss it.

deb said...

Simply wonderful!! all your plants look so happy abd bright. Love the blue bottles!
*hugs*deb

Mikki said...

Hey there~
Hope you don't mind.. I'm just stopping by via Gardening in Central Florida.. I saw you might live in Deland too?
I love all your pictures.. looks like you have quite a green thumb..
I have two main blogs.. but would love to have you stop by Our Florida Bungalow blog to check our place out..
Happy Blogging & Gardening..
Mikki
http://ourfloridabungalow.blogspot.com/

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Darla, Your flowers are awesome.... Our silly Clematis is growing and looks great except for one thing: NO FLOWERS yet....

I love your Blue Bottles..And I've always loved what you did to the old BBQ grill...

I don't know a thing about Climbing Roses --but I do know that George continually cuts back the 'suckers' on our roses. Those are the stems which don't have a bud on them... Can't imagine having to do that on a Climbing Rose though.... Oh Well!!!

Have a great weekend.
Hugs,
Betsy

tina said...

The blue bottle edging is so pretty!!

Beth said...

Love the blue bottle edging. Don't give up on your dogwood. It took several years before ours bloomed; now it has more blooms every year. I like that clematis. I have heard that often the first set of blooms are the standard ones - what you would expect, and that the second flush is different. For example, my Josephine is a double but her second flush are single and smaller. Have a good wknd, Darla!

Athena at Minerva's Garden said...

This is my first time to your blog, and I loved the pictures. I like the purple larksput and blue bottles together. The clematis: my guess is that it is a hybrid. (Do you know the name of the variety?) Notice on the light pink one it seems to have some stripes in the center of the flower petals that are the same color as the dark flower. My guess is that some of the stems of the hybrid clematis reverted back to one of the parent plants, in this case, the deep pink one. But that's just a guess. (I grow clematis, too, and just love them!) And what a cool reuse for an old barbecue--I just love that!

Patsy said...

You have been busy and it is looking good.

Lona said...

Hi Darla. I love your bed with the blue bottles. It i so pretty. You need some Bluebonnets in it. LOL! Have a wonderful weekend.

Tina´s PicStory said...

very beautiful garden :)

HolleyGarden said...

Very pretty. I love the blue bottle edging. Your clematis is beautiful - and having two different blooms is a bonus in my opinion! There are many reasons why your rose might not have leaves. Blackspot? Too little water? Is it getting enough nitrogen? These are some of the first things I look at. Good luck with it!

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

The bottle edging is cool.
You have such good luck with clematis. I think this will be the year for mine. 3rd year in the ground here.
You have a lot of nice arrangments of found items and plants. The grill is my favorite.

Asha Ram said...

I like your ideas. Look at the blue bottles; cute! With so many flowers, I'm sure the garden is a heaven.

GRACE PETERSON said...

Everything looks wonderful, Darla. Sorry it took me so long to get here.

NanaK said...

Love the new blue-bottle edging. Your rose is blooming so it must not be too unhappy. You always have so many blooms!

Jennifer said...

Hi Darla, Like everyone else who has commented, I love the blue bottle edging. What a great idea! How interesting about the chameleon clematis. Perhaps it has to do with cross-breeding of flowers. Maybe the parents where two different pinks? I have never had a nasturtium grow for seed. I guess it pays to leave annuals to the bitter end. Enjoy the weekend!

cherry said...

I'm digging your beer bottle garden.. I have been working on a wine bottle garden but I'm the only one drinking the wine so it's taking a little while...lol You have been very busy and it shows with all your pretties.. hugs, Cherry

Val said...

I am so happy that you got to get out in the gardens some. It is chilly here today and suppose to be down in the 30's tonight!!! Brrr!

RURAL said...

You have potatoes already? We are just barely getting the daffs, and crocus over with..sigh.

But I always love seeing the colors of your garden. Interesting that the clematis changes so strongly.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Becky said...

Great idea with those blue bottles!
And you know I love those daisies!!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Darla girl my goodness ! you have so much to garden in how on earth you keep it up is beyond me! .. it is looking great : ) all these different plants are beautiful and the glass bottles ? holy cow ! we don't see anything like that here .. that is amazing .. I have seen bottle trees on other bloggers sites but the edging is different .. so pretty !
Now get some rest before you do yourself another injury girl !! LOL
Joy

Tootsie said...

I am jealous of all your flowers!!! I can't wait till my yard is not so ugly. I thank you so much for linking in this week. It is an honor to host Friday's Flaunt and meet new friends and visit the regulars (who are like old friends) who share. I always feel so privelaged to know that inspiration is just a click away when need a bit of a boost for my spirits! It is a pleasure to tour and see all the gorgeous blooms...landscapind and ideas that all the participants share, and I appreciate each and every link and comment! I have shared your post today with my facebook page for Tootsie Time. I hope you will link in again soon!
(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.

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