The Great Quaking Ornamental Grass I planted from seeds have produced seedheads
Monthly Archives: June 2006
Coleus Pot #13 (The Oranges)
(Top, right center, bottom left) Coleus ‘Sedona’, Coleus ‘Rustic Orange’ and Coleus ‘Copper Splash’. Creeping Jenny growing underneath the Coleus.
Something is nibbling on the leaves!!! >:(
Peppers + Succulents
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Before I left for work, I did something really stupid… I picked up the mini-greenhouse with the Columbine seeds by the plastic cover… and the bottom part fell off. Vermiculite and Columbine seeds was scattered all over. I tried to scoop all that I can, but they are now all mixed up. Luckily, this wasn’t the mini-greenhouse with the seeds that lblanchard gave me. Those are all fine.
After work, I gave the Tri-Color Variegata Pepper that I dug up last year and overwintered some TLC. It has started to grow more leaves and a few flowers. I left all the peppers on the plant when I dug it up and they dried up. Some apparently dispersed some seeds, because there was baby Pepper plants at the Mom’s base. I dug these up and potted them up.
I also trimmed the dead branches and collected the dried peppers. If any of you want some, drop me a line and I can send you some.
I repotted two of the ornamental grasses (Carex sp. + Blue Fescue ) ( photo ) that I grew from seeds into one-gallon containers.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
My Mom has been telling me that the 99¢ grafted Cactus that I bought on Saturday has, been in full bloom. Whenever I take a look all the flowers are closed. Today, I woke up late and I finally got to see the open flowers during daylight.
My Euphorbia obesa ( photo ) and Pink Echevaria ( photo ) now have flower buds and should be flowering soon.
After work, I passed by Home Depot and found two succulent leaves ( photo ) on the floor, so I had to save them. I’m not quite sure want plants they are, but I’m going to see if they will grow.
Enough with the Mealy Bugs!!!
I planted a small terra cotta pot with four Coleus ‘Pat Martin’ plants.
I was planning on planting another Coleus pot with the ‘Velvet Lime’, but the it, along with the ‘Dragon Black’ was just infested with Mealy Bugs, so I made a decision to decapitate them and try to start new cuttings. I got all (or at least most) of the Mealy Bugs off the cutting and planted them in drinking cups covered with plastic bags. I hope these grow fast.
Weekend Gardening… Stinky-Stinky!…
Saturday, June 10, 2006
I didn’t do any gardening, but took a few photos in the garden.
The Avocado that we found sprouting in the compost bin last year has survived the winter outside very well. I didn’t realize how much it has grown in 11 months. I’ll have to repot this into a 5 gallon pot soon.
My Mom harvested the Shallots she planted a while back, but the bulbs didn’t get too big. They were growing in a mostly shaded area and the soil needed to be amended badly. We are going to replant the smaller bulbs in the newly amended veggie bed under much more sun. Hopefully that’ll make a big difference.
She was telling me that she loves these either chopped up with tomatoes and added to fried fish, or pickled with Garlic, Carrots, Green Papaya and Labanos (Diakons/Radish).
Later in the afternoon, we went shopping at Target, the Filipino Grocery Store, Food for Less and the 99¢ store. At the 99¢ store I got a grafted Cactus that was starting to flower and my Mom got a bunch of six Lucky Bamboo both for 99¢.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
I did a bunch of this and that on Sunday.
I sprayed the Roses, Snapdragons and Dahlias with half and half solution of skim milk and water. Hopefully, this will deter black spots and mildew or rust (I forgot which one).
I also sprayed almost everything’s leaves with fish fertilizer. Stinky-stinky!!!! Note: remember to close your windows if you spray your plants with fish fertilizer!
We had more Taro and Ginger sprouting in the kitchen, so I planted those in six-packs.
I emptied the one-galloon pots that had Caladiums from last year, which all died… but I found tons of earthworms which I relocated to veggie bed #1.
The Cucumbers were getting too big for the 12-pack Mini Greenhouse, so I transfered them to 4 inch pots, because I haven’t finished the other veggie beds.
I continued to work on veggie bed #2, but I still have to finish one of the side, which has Breaded Iris and Chocolate Mint growing against it. I think we also have some Hyacinth bulbs there which I have to dig out carefully.
I planted another Coleus pot with ‘Saturn’s Rings’, ‘(Mislabled) Show & Tell’, ‘Burnt Sienna’ and Heuchera ‘Amber Waves’.
The Start of Veggie Bed #2
When I got home from I went to check if the fly I took a photo of yesterday was still there. Instead I found this ladybug. This Coleus must be a popular bug hangout!
I was surprised that a Bataw (Filipino name for edible Hyacinth Bean) plant that we planted last year survived the winter and is growing again! My Mom placed a bottomless soda bottle over it to act as a cloche. These are supposed to be annuals.
Finally, This evening I started work on building up the walls to my second vegetable bed. The walls are made of two levels of scallop bricks which I have to stack scallop to scallop. For stronger support, I have to make sure the ends of each brick are staggered. The tricky part is constructing the corners. I only got one end semi-done because it was getting dark.
Here’s a photoset of what I did last year with the first vegetable bed.
Fly on Coleus
This fly didn’t want to get off my new Coleus, so I shot a picture of it.
It was a Busy Gardening Day…
I took a half day off and left work a bit early. I just needed to take care of a lot of things, because I know I won’t have much time this weekend because of another Filipino Fiesta in San Francisco.
Before going home I stopped by Mid-City Nursery and got three plants.
– Coleus ‘Show & Tell?’ (I don’t think the sticker on the container was correct)
– Coleus ‘Burnt Sienna?’ (I’m not sure if the tag on this plant was correct)
– Heuchera ‘Amber Waves’
