My Blog List

Monday, October 26, 2009

IT'S RAINY AND IT'S COLD

What a difference a day makes. I think I said that once before but this time the temperature shot down from the 80s yesterday to the 50s today and the rain gauge says 3.1" of rain have fallen since last night. No gardening today.

Thank goodness I got out yesterday and planted all my bulbs which arrived the previous week. They should settle in nicely over the next few days. I added to my species tulips which were so beautiful last year. HCG had a special 2 for 1 and I can never resist a sale.

I also planted the cactus pads which Zanthan gardens had kindly given me. I hope I am not too late with this project. Last year I potted one up and kept it inside for the winter. Opuntias are pretty tough so I will risk it this year.

I also found this fragrant white mist flower, Eupatorium havanense, was in bloom. It is the first time it has flowered because often the deer browse the leaves before it reaches this stage.
I got down to smell and it does have a fragrance.
On Saturday I managed to identify my mystery flower. It is the native Toothleaf Goldeneye, Viguiera dentata. I have distributed its seed around the outside garden and it is now growing in many places. It is a fall flower.

On Saturday, there was a garage sale going on close to Lindy McGinnis' garden. I bought these two little wall hangings. $1 and 50c. I know I can find a place for them on one of my walls.

These were another find this summer. I think they were probably used for some floral display and were originally some kind of plant with aerial roots which has been sliced across. I thought they would be nice for some little cactus or succulent. At $1 for all three how could I go wrong.

They are now potted up with agaves and succulents.


14 comments:

  1. The re-purposed floral display things look really sharp and dramatic with those succulents. Great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What great finds. I'd never have thought to use those rounds as planters, but they work great.

    I had a large white mistflower in my old garden, and when it bloomed the entire garden was filled with its spicy fragrance. Dun-colored butterflies were always mad for it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your succulents couldn't be more perfect in your new containers - what great finds!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi RR.

    What crazy weather we have this time of year...hot..cold..shortly to be hot again. Hey, we will take anything other than what we had as a summer this year, right? I enjoyed reading your 2009 garden tour account, as usual I missed it!

    My mistflowers have just broke into bloom this week as well. I just popped over to Pam's and saw her old patch behind her bench...it was huge! I really like this plant that for some reason I thought was Gregg's mistflower! But I guess Gregg's is blue!?

    I think your little succulent pots are great! I think you should plant one of them up with a tiny St Augustine lawn. Then you could take great delight trimming it with some tiny scissors, perhaps also installing a minute sprinkler system! They could become office-desk accessories and become a great hit!(You know how people love their lawns). You could even turn one into a tiny putting green for all the golfers cubicles out there.

    Food for thought...
    ESP.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Now you quit that bragging about the bulb planting! I have a box JUST like that from them with all my bulbs ... in the garage! NOT in the ground appreciating the rain and cool weather. Guess I'd better get on it before the next round of rain hits, huh?! Nice garden art you picked up there, too. It'll be lovely in your garden.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Iris- Thanks. Just another thing to store over the winter! The collection grows.
    Pam-Last year there was talk about the fragrant mistflower. Thee were given to me a few years ago by a friend and I put them outside at the front. The deer do browse them so I was thrilled to see the flowers this year.
    Mary Beth- It is always fun to find something to use in the garden and I'm aways on the lookout.
    ESP- Lawn, you have to be joking! All I need is another job to do around here. However, it is a cute idea and it has made me think about just sowing some seeds in the small planting space. I will have to put my thinking cap on.
    Diana-Well, this morning blue skies are with us once again and you have your job for the day! Rain again on Thursday. I must get the rest of my saved wildflower seeds in.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love the first shot of your garden, how beautiful.

    A fragrant Eupatorium?! I probably can't grow it here but I'm going to look it up anyway. The two wall hangings are lovely and I love what you did with the "containers". They look great with the succulents.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh what fun. I enjoy finding bargains to repurpose nearly as much as I do gardening. And the idea to use the rounds as succulent planters is just genius.

    Ha - since you won a bevy of new bulbs in the GGW contest I guess your work is not quite finished after all. I know you'll share some shots of the blooms eventually so will wait to vicariously enjoy your win!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What fantastic finds at the garage sale! I'm quite jealous. I tried to find some interesting pottery in San Miguel, but we didn't have much time to search or visit nearby towns for the rustic ones I was most interested in. Still, I got a couple of interesting items to decorate my walls and fence.

    ReplyDelete
  10. OOo, what great finds!! Lucky you. I dream of having your yard someday. sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sweet Bay, I am excited this plant finally came to flower. I was just out at the Wild Flower Center and they had an incredible display of the plant there. I must try to add more. I would give it a try f I were you, of you can find it.
    Texas Deb- I rally do have my work cut out. i m wondering if Hyacinths will work here. Never seen them in the gardens. Maybe in a pot.
    Meredith, We drove down to San Miguel so managed to bring quite a few pots back with us. It was a grueling drive and we will never do it again. They do have some fun things there.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love those finds! Wow, the "planters" are great for the plants, and the wall hangings will find a special spot, I know. I wonder if it's goldeneye that's going crazy on the highways? It's lovely. Can't wait for my havanense to bloom. Yours is simply lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  13. love those planters! the texture is just fantastic. any idea what they might be made of?

    ReplyDelete
  14. What great garage sale finds! I love the clay faces and the fibrous planters. Also, when I find something at a garage sale it makes me happy because I feel that it brings its history with it into my garden. I'd rather have something old than new.

    I think the opuntias will do fine. If they don't, I have plenty more to share and you can try again next year.

    ReplyDelete

I love your comments unless they are spam comments which will always be removed in comment moderation.