Pinks in the Cottage Garden

A flower that fits perfectly in a cottage style garden is Dianthus, commonly called Pinks. They can be perennials in many places.

And they're filly flowers are so cheerful and attractive to butterflies, Hummingbirds, and Hummingbird moths.

Sadly, they don't seem to survive here in West Texas for longer than 2-3 years. I suspect the hard water has something to do with that.

I got several pots on clearance for $1 in late fall at Lowe's and not only did they survive but they're blooming like crazy.

They also have a nice spicy clove scent. Every cottage garden should have scented flowers. More so when one has a strolling garden that's meant to be traveled regularly.

 Have you planted any pinks in your garden?

May 15th Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

It's been a while since I updated the strolling garden blog but now that things are green and starting to bloom I hope to update more regularly. The rain situation is still dire out here in West Texas. Rain is hit and miss here and the Lubbock area has not had even 3 inches since January. Cotton farmers have delayed their plantings in the hopes that May rains would occur but so far we've only mostly had a few sprinkles with little measurable rain. And the temperatures are suppose to hit the high 90s before the end of the week. Not good news. We just need a good, long soaking rain to penetrate the ground.

All is not bad news though. The garden is green, vibrant and blooming this month. It's easy to forget we're in year three of severe drought when wandering around in my back garden. The fence repairman made my day when he described my garden as "zen" as he walked around checking out the plants. And I didn't even prompt him. Blooming abvoe is snapdragons, dianthus, pincushion flower, and and purple salvia. The irises, hollyhocks, shasta daisy, and rose blooms are still to come. The wonderful thing about this whole grouping is that it is all perennial to my garden. Didn't have to plant one thing here this year as it all came back from last year.

Close up of the angel statue and rose bush planted in honor of Basil, my sweet tabby cat who passed away. If you want a very robust, striking plant that will keep multiplying I recommend this white saliva plant. I had three originally and have dug up seedlings to put all over the garden. Great as a background filler plant. It does spread out though, so give it some room.

This pretty, small (not even 2 ft. tall) iris bloomed unexpectedly this past weekend. It's the first time in 5 years it has bloomed since I planted it and I adore the color. Softer colors such as pastels and particularly blue-purples stand up to the intense sunlight and heat of West Texas better it seems. I have probably 100 irises scattered around my small suburban property but only about 20 percent ever bloom each year. I must be planting them too deep, or rather the dirt shifts over the bulbs due to dust storms and watering.

Neepeta Walker's Low is a must for the small garden. Blooms for months, the blue colored flowers are like a soft blue cloud in a flower bed, and the bees love it. I'm afraid of bees, and especially wasps, and yet I want to encourage the bees to come into the garden to pollinate the plants and the fruit trees I've planted this spring.

Been dividing the pincushion plants and spreading them around the garden. Awesome plant and I like how their blue heads bob and sway in the wind, which is something we never seem to lack out on the open plains here. The larkspur has reseeded everywhere in the grass and I've been slowly removing it by hand. Will have to get the lawnmower to finish off the rest otherwise the walking path is hard to navigate. Penny the Pill, my garden cat, loves to romping around in the larkspur stalks but she's very naughty and uses it for camoflauge as she tries to sneak closer to the birds feeding in the center of the garden. She gets rather dismayed when I reveal her location to the birds.

The Zebra Mallow got its first flowers this weekend too. They're only about 2 ft. tall and so much better behaved than their taller cousins the hollyhock, which are reseeding everywhere. Have chopped down the same hollyhock plant underneath the dining room kitchen twice now and will probably have to do it again. It would grow to 8 feet tall and block the window otherwise.

One of three clematis blossoms so far. The vines were doing so well and had climbed up to 4 feet on the Climbing America rosebush when three rounds of late spring freezes, the last one being last week which broke a weather record here, killed most of the buds and leaves. Doubt I'll get much of a clematis display this year.

There's lots more blooming in the strolling garden. I'll post more later. Meanwhile, please check out what's blooming in other gardens for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

A Lull in the Gale

The early hours of this morning were marked by loud, howling winds. I'm a light sleeper so it probably bothered me more than others in the neighborhood. However, it was a nice surprise to find that by 11 am the wind had slowed down enough that I could go work in the beds without flying dirt and gravel hitting me. It was a bit chilly but as the day went on it got rather pleasant. I guess the wind changed direction or something because it didn't seem to be more than 15 miles a hour. So, for the first time in over a week I got to play in the dirt. Wahoo!

This trumpet vine is so lovely and a survivor. It's on the east fence and battles winds, which repeatedly rip it off the fence, and the neighbor's dogs which jump up on the fence from the other side. The winds cause it to get all tangled up and not drape over the fence where it can stretch out and grow... or perhaps my neighbors don't like it and are pushing it back over the fence? Who knows. I originally planted it on this part of the fence to help anchor it as the dogs and wind were causing the fence to lean back a little. Whatever the reason, it's such a lovely plant. Love the apricot-y color with the yellow center.

Actually took this photo the evening before, when there was a lull in the gale. Isn't this a gorgeous blue?

This cheerful pink dianthus came back and is nestled underneath some other plants. The color is actually a lot brighter than in the photo.

Okay, this is the front bed clematis that needs to be transplanted in the fall. It really followed the say that it leaps in the third year. It's covered with buds and the three mini-trellises are not enough to support it. The bed is a very small strip between the garage and walkway and is only about a 1 foot deep, so I can't get a big trellis in the bed. I THINK this might be the H. F. Young Clematis but don't quote me on that. That's the only clematis tag I've found so far going through the containers filled with old plant tags.

I THINK this is the Bridal Wreath Spirea plant I planted last year. It's so lovely with all its small white clusters of flowers and it's a shame it only blooms for a short time... which unfortunately for this year is during high winds when I can't really get to enjoy it like I wish I could.

There's a lot more blooming in the strolling garden and I hope to get more pictures up this coming week.

Bloom Day for March, 2011

There's not much color yet in the garden to film for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day right now. Mostly everything's just green, which is much welcome after a winter that seems to have gone on forever. We're having summer-like weather this week in West Texas and the plants seem to be responding by doubling each day. The blue Scabiosas did so well in the small bed last year that I've already dug several up and planted them in the other beds. The only pink one I had died within the first two months.

A few of the Dianthus survived and this little one is the first to bloom.

About two-thirds of the Snapdragons croaked it seems.  This one plant is full of buds though so it will interesting to see if there's more colors than yellow on the plant.

 Candytuft is a plant I've never been successful in keeping alive to long. This one was planted two weeks ago. Hopefully it will still be alive a month from now. White is the main color I want to increase in the garden this year.

Finally got a decent shot of the yellow mini-rose I planted yesterday. Such a cheerful little thing.

The Daffodils are going to town in the garden. It was a bit hard to shoot them due to the breeze again.

There are lot of plants coming up everywhere that are announcing spring is here. The lilies are breaking through the ground and reaching for the sun. The Asiatics particularly are growing like weeds. I left a small portion of their stalks last year so that I wouldn't make the mistake of accidently digging up the bulbs again this year. In the background, the Irises and Daylilies are perking up too.

The Veronicas are leafing up and mounded up into small bushes now. Everyone should have these!

And the Morden Pinks (at least I think that's what it is, I have to find the tag for it) is coming up too.

And I know this isn't a plant but artwork adds color and fun to the garden. This piece caught my eye at Hobby Lobby and I plan to go back and pick up a few more of these metal flowers.

For more Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, go to http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/