soaphouse's Blog
soaphouse's posts about: allium
May 1, 2008 | 6:17 PM PST
Tags: Allium , moss , siberian iris , crossvine , better boy , petunia , lantana , callbrachoa
I spent so much time over the fall and winter working on projects that I forgot that most of spring involves chores and maintenance, while taking time out to enjoy all the happenings in the garden. Over the last week or so I have picked up a few sweet potato vines to plop around areas of my garden that are sparse on plants. The vines grow like crazy and smother all the weeds...making my life a lot easier during the growing season. I put one variegated in the front bed by the street, one in the small berm with the elephant ears by the sidewalk to the front door, and 2 in the new berm with the coral bark maple. I also picked up 3 of the green to put in the area where we took out the tree this winter and I am working on adding plants to. The weeds are already getting feisty in there, so I am anxious for the vine to do its thing. I also got the yard mowed again and weedeated back by the creek. Doing this does seem to be helping the moss along. It is looking especially good on one portion of the bank:
Also, the ferns that I added a few weeks back are looking good and have some nice new growth. And, there are some wonderful little wild ferns popping up here and there.
I am pleased to report that the veggie beds are looking great. Seems like new seedlings pop up every day. The most action is happening in the corn bed and the tomato bed. We even have some baby better boys already growing!
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I am a bit concerned that not much seems to be happening in the flower bed that I put all the seeds out in by the back porch. I am hoping it is due to the fact that it is not raised like the veggie beds...so the soil may just need to heat up a bit more.
Also, the globe master allium bulbs are starting to bloom. They do look rather puny and are only about 2 inches across. They are said to get 2-3 feet tall and are supposed to be 5 inches or more in diameter. Maybe they will get there, or maybe I will have to wait until the next growing season:
But, other things are looking great!
The double knockouts are knockin me out:
The front porch bed is alive with new growth:
The siberian iris are blooming:
The mystery climbing rose and yellow irises are blooming:
The crossvine? is looking great! ( I can never seem to remember if thats what this is really called)
Finall
y, today...my girl and I went to pick out a few annuals to put in the pot by the front door. I have a little miscanthus division in there, but it won't look like much until next year, so I wanted something to fill in this planter for the summer. I got 1 orange lantana, 1 Pink Vein Shock Wave Petunia and 1 Callbrachoa Cabaret Purple. Hopefully they will fill in nicely :)
Apr 10, 2008 | 9:56 AM PST
Tags: viburnum , iris , hellebore , miscanthus , tulip , hosta , ivy , fig , autumn fern , frond , birdhouse , solomons seal , bougainvilla , datura , trumpet tree , peonie , allium , oxalis , elaphant ear , coral bark
So much is happening in the garden, it is SO exciting! I took another trip to the nursery today. I was going to pick up my veggie plants to have ready to put in the ground next week, but i forgot my list...so I just picked up a purple bougainvilla. I have always wanted to try one of these up the front porch railing...but have never been willing to spend the money on something that won't come back, but I decided to go for it this year. It will go in next week. We are forecasted for another freeze on monday, so I still have to be patient! When I got home, I took a nice stroll around the garden to admire all the spring happenings and take some picks. Here is a sampling:
The Viburnum is blooming and looking so pretty:
Those Iris in front of it are starting to bud out, the mystery oxalis bulbs that came free with my order from direct gardening are coming up, the peonies are up and have buds on them, the small allium bulbs have formed their buds, the hellebores look amazing, the pineapple lily is coming up. And, the miscanthus that I have been experimenting with lately is looking good. I have some that I always wish didn't grow so tall, so I decided to keep cutting them back in spring to stunt their growth. So far, so good.
The coral bark maple is all leafed out:
The hostas are coming up very nicely. There are some that didn't seem to survive the drought though. I spent some time last night cutting back the ivy so that the hostas can breathe.
The Solomon's Seal clump that I dug up from mom's is looking great and I know I will just love having this in the garden. The cannas are also coming up, the crepe myrtles are leafing out, the euphorbia that i got for $1 b/c it was half dead looks great:
Also, the fig tree is leafing out and so is the wisteria (although I have yet to get blooms off this vine).
I think one of my favorite parts of the garden right now is all the autumn fern fronds that are emerging:
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The 60 tulips that I planted are up and the purple are blooming. Its funny how short they are, but the other ones aren't...
The honeysuckle on the side of the house that is supposed to like sun, but is in shade...looks good:
Another exciting thing is that the birdhouse we put in last year now has a nest in it. We weren't sure b/c we did not design it with housing birds in mind...it was more of an art piece. so, its cool that the birdies are liking it!
The trumpet trees are coming up and the Daturas as well. The daturas made TONS of babies:
I am wondering if some of those seedlings are poppies. I did scatter some seeds out there in the winter. Will have to wait and see, I guess.
Another exciting thing is the deciduous honey suckle start that mom gave me is coming back. I thought for sure it was dead! And last but not least, the Elephant ears are all coming up.
SUCH EXCITEMENT!
Her
e are some broad shots of the garden as of today:
Front:
Side yard:
Back yard:
Feb 19, 2008 | 9:28 AM PST
Tags: autumn joy , sedum , coreopsis , allium , iris , spring , globe
I ended up having the day off today....so my little girl and I spent a while playing in the garden this morning (once it warmed up a bit).
I noticed some more signs of spring (just when I was beginning to wonder if some of the things I had planted and moved survived).
The globe allium blubls are emerging!!!!!! That is SO exciting. I got them on sale, but even then they weren't so cheap. Also, the autumn joy sedums that I divided last spring seem to be coming back nicely. And, the iris that I divided in the fall is starting to show itself again. So fun when things work out the way you hoped!
Of course, things don't always work out...one of the coreopsis that i got during a summer sale and looked great until frost is not showing any signs of regrowth and the other ones are. I will give it a bit more time before I give up on it completely.
Jan 6, 2008 | 4:48 PM PST
Tags: tree , maple , cypress , blue evergreen , canna , iris , sculpture , compost , pine straw , allium , bulb
We had quite the weekend in the garden! Very productive! I got a lot of things checked off of my to do list :) I divided some Iris, transplanted some cannas to pots, spread pine straw in the back yard, moved a pile of compost to the veggie bed, planted 70 allium bulbs and started the sculpture for the front window seat bed. But, most noteworthy is the 30 foot tree my husband took out for me! I felt kinda bad as it is a nice tree, however...it had been planted way too close to the tree next to it and during the growing season, it was growing crooked trying to reach the sun. Not a huge problem now, but would be in the future and then would be too costly to fix, so my hubby took it out.
Before:
During:
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After:
Its funny, it looked much larger once it was on the ground LOL! Now it will be another chore getting rid of all the brush! Whats going in its place? 3 Threaded False Cypress and possibly a blue evergreen of some sort. The vines are doing fun things right now too. The winter jasmine is just starting to bloom :) I look forward to watching them in the spring as they cover the chain link fence.
This week I will finish spreading the pine straw in the back and will finish up the sculpture in the front. But I tell ya, I sure am worn out! I don't have quite to energy now that I am 6 mo pregnant. I guess I better get as much done as I can before I am 9 mo!
