may night sage

Botanical: Salvia nemerosa

Common: May night meadow sage

Size: 18" x 18"

Exposure: Full sun

Bloom: Late May through summer

Notes: Heavy re-bloomer with deadheading and extra water

Little Star Creeper

Botanical: Laurencia fluviatilis

Common: Blue star creeper

Exposure: Full sun, half sun, shade

Bloom: Late May-Fall

Notes: Evergreen

Rate of growth is pretty slow

Origin is Australia

experiments!

Happy birthday to me! A lovely obelisk, soon to be entangled by creeping sweet pea vines and sweet-smelling flowers. I wanted to make one, but couldn't find any willow! Thanks for the present Mom and Dad!
Task of the day: Seed-planting.
Can you believe that big, beautiful, vibrant flowers grow from these dead looking little husks? Our God has an amazing imagination.
So I planted some rudbeckia and sunflowers in the front, and in my amost-empty cut-flower garden in the back I emptied 4 packages of seed...larkspur, shirley poppies, ladybird poppies and zinnias. This was done with very little knowledge or confidence in the end result, but a lot of hope and excitement! The best way to learn is by doing, right? The rudbeckia and zinnias were inspired by my oma, who always used to send us home from her house with flowers in hand. When I asked her what was easy to grow by seed, she recommended both.
I'd already planted cucumbers and some rudbeckia in the house, of which almost all the cukes, but only one rudbeckia actually sprouted and are now out in the garden. The coleus and oregano I tried inside all died. Next time I guess I will have to check my blog more often to get those helpful comments!!! Damp-off it is. Actually the coleus looked quite good to me, about an inch tall, healthy looking though small, it had been growing about 7-8 weeks inside when I put it out. But none of it survived at all. Too small I guess.
My parsley, dill, and sweet pea seeds are all sprouting in the garden too.
What's left to plant? Strawberries, lettuce and beans. Mmmmmmm.
I think this must be one of my favorite times of the garden season...when everything is just beginning and full of promise. I'm sure some disappointments lie ahead, but that's the way it is with experiments!!

waterfall garden in may

This is the lovely view I get to enjoy from my living room window...thanks to my dear landscaping hubby. This is a somewhat difficult area for plants, as they don't get much sun for most of the year. The lingonberry is doing well, getting quite out-of-control-looking actually. There are 3 alpine columbine plants around a clump of tufted grass that I have almost given up hope on. After about 2 months, still no flowers at all. I tried to plant an amethyst astilbe in the empty spot to the right, but it didn't grow. I've moved it to a place with more sun, to give it a chance there.
In a month or two I hope this space will be full of color and life...it's a collection of some of my favorite flowers...there's 2 lupine plants, one coming into bloom now, surrounded by sages and veronica, two astilbes, three pink foxgloves, and a few other things. The little star creeper actually has flowers this year, although not as many as I'd hoped. And I sure wish I'd planted all of it inside the bricks, not staggered like that. Oh well. It's a beginning!