Some of My New Plants
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Fern
Location: Washington, Western Cascade Foothills
Posted: Jul-07-2007 at 8:11am
Of course I've been working a lot so I haven't been posting much, but the spring rush is finaaly begining to slow down, so I'm back. And I've been buying plants like crazy, mostly at sale prices I couldn't refuse. Please forgive any spelling errors, but here are some interesting ones I've gotten.
Annuals
Cuphea 'Magine' I've got hummingbirds coming to my porch regularly now.
4 kinds of petunias, most fragrant
1 PW phlox, a dud so far
Double-flowered bacopa, too soon to judge it
4 kinds of Nemesia, very nice colors
Back Magic Ivy Geranium
dark orange Mimulus [Didn't Gardenspider grow this? It inspired me to try it, a nice bright color}
Perennials [I hope}
Hardy lavender Diascia, I really like this one, I hope it is really hardy.
Ratibida columniflera, Mexican hat. I've always wanted one, the flowers are so funny looking, I still have it on the porch away from
slugs because I doubt it's slug resistant. I don't know what I'm going to do with it.
Penstemon pinifolius, I'm going to have to make a mound for it to have enough drainage I think.
3 kinds of Delosperma, to go at the bases of.......
2 kinds of cold hardy prickly pear cactus
Evening primrose 'Sunset Boulevard'
From last year, but coming into it's own, is Calcolaria arachoidea [doesn't it have a creepy name? It's foliage is grey and has spiderweb-like hairy fuzziness.} It was cold hardy and is now covered with strange colored purplish-black pouched flowers over cobwebbed, grey-white leaves. A good Halloween plant.
Shrubs and a tree
5 really cheap mini roses, any problems with them and they're out of here.
Cornus conversa 'Variegata', don't know where I'll put it but it is small and will look good in a container for a long time I think.
Fern
Garden Spider
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: Jul-07-2007 at 4:11pm
Fern, that's a great collection of plants! I love Cuphea and Nemesia, and Petunias--Petunias are such a great old-fashioned plant; they bloom and bloom and bloom and bloom and bloom.
I was growing the Scarlet Monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis). It currently is not doing at all well--it was taking over the container it was in, and over-running all its pot-mates, so I divided and moved it to its own bog, and now it's sulking. Two divisions just outright died, and the 3rd is looking poorly. No flowers, no growth. However, it's still green, so I'll let it be. Barb
silver_ creek
Location: Washington, Western Cascade Foothills
Posted: Jul-08-2007 at 7:11am
It is so difficult working in a nursery, isn't it?! Plant lust is an occupational hazard. Especially when plants go on sale and you can get first crack at them. Looks like you have a great collection to play with.
Terry M.
Lisa A
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Jul-08-2007 at 10:38am
It is so dangerous to work in a nursery - so easy to succumb to plants' siren calls. I'm embarrassed to admit (but admitting the problem is the first step to recover, right?) that I still have a few plants in containers purchased when I worked at a nursery 10 years ago! In my defense, I keep potting them up as they grow and I swear that this year will be the year they make it to the garden.
I used to joke that the green I brought home from the nursery wasn't the kind to go in the bank.
Nice list of plants, Fern.
Fern
Location: Washington, Western Cascade Foothills
Posted: Jul-11-2007 at 8:21am
It is hard alright. Here are some strategies I've come up with over the years to keep the plant buying under control. Only buy one if you know where you're going to put it. This is a tough one to do when your yard's already as full as mine, but there's always containers. Have I been taking excellent care of the plants I already have at home and do I have time to take care of more? The answer to that is "no" of course. This one isn't strong because whenever I catch up on things I feel I deserve a new plant, and I do get caught up every once in a while. Do I have the money? No, I'm low income because that's what nursery work pays, but it's a trade off I'm willing to make.
Is it cold hardy and will it be happy in this climate and my soil, with my pests? This is a strong one because I don't want them to suffer and I've already killed enough plants in my lifetime. But I can aways get around any of this reasons if I really want a plant, because I figure I work hard and I deserve it! These reasons are also some of the reasons why many of my new plants are annuals, they aren't a long term commitment, cheap on sale, and they give me lots of joy with their abundance of flowers. I used to never buy annuals, but I'm learning to appreciate them more and more. I think I'm going to plant snapdragons in my beds every year now because they fit so well, I plant them early so they are pretty drought tolerant and big by summer and it's only like a $5 expensive for 3 six packs, that's 18 plants!
I used to think petunias were such dorky flowers, but the newer types like Waves and Provenwinners types, with smaller flowers that don't have to be dead headed, I've really gotten to like, particularly the fragrant blues and purples. Too bad about the monkey flower, Gardenspider. Maybe it bloomed so much last year it wore itself out. I think at best they are short lived perennials. Mine is definitely a annual type. I'm really drawn to flowers with velvety textured flowers like theirs. One plant that just started flowering is the Raspberry Nemsia, what a icky color to me! It's a muddy mauve pink, I'm going to give it away. The Cranberry one is a very nice color, a deep purplish red.
Fern
Garden Spider
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: Jul-12-2007 at 7:36pm
Fern, I'm not giving up on the Monkeyflower. It is a gorgeous true red flower, and the hummingbirds loved it. Even if I have to buy a new plant every few years, it's worth it, I think, just because the flowers are pretty, and bring the hummers.
I used to sneer at annuals, too, but now I'm finding they have their used--I still have a lot of bare spots in the new beds, where perennials haven't filled in yet, and annuals are a good way to cover all that nekkid dirt. Plus, so many of them are pretty tolerant of poor conditions, and have long blooming times.
Barb
Lisa A
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Jul-13-2007 at 5:48pm
Fern, I forgot to mention that one of the main reasons I took the part-time job at the nursery was because we had a newish garden and no money for plants. Working for plants seemed a good deal. Plus, as an employee, I could sort through the throw-away pile. I found some choice plants such as bowmen's root, (Gallenia trifoliata).
I swear that all my plants will make it to the garden this year. I'm almost done with bed re-dos (I can see the light at the end of the tunnel - yippee!).
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton