This is my little miracle alyssum, my morning surprise that I found while watering my asparagus fern and mint this morning...You may remember back in May when I planted it, expecting beautiful wonders all summer. Within two weeks all of my flowering plants were dead, fried in the hot summer sun. Everything was dead and withered, so I quit watering that pot. Instead I watered the plants that were still alive... which I think Darwin would have approved.
All summer. Hot hot hot summer. No water. No care. No fertilizer. No love. No whispered sweet nothings during the early morning waterings... and this morning, out of the blue, I noticed one of my dead plants has been resurrected and is now blooming those pretty blue blooms I had hoped to see all summer.
This is exciting stuff.
Tonight I have picked a lot of my mint plant to make into a sugar scrub. It's currently sitting in grapeseed oil, and will be for at least a month. Then, voila, I'll turn it into a scrub. I found the recipe and it should be wonderful. The Hater and I are looking forward to using it, but I'm more looking forward to it than he.
Meanwhile, now is the time to think about planing fall/winter flowers, which I've not done in the past. Because asparagus ferns and mint (and miracle alyssum) seem to be the only things that actually live on my porch, I thought I'd consult the floral powers that be who actually read this blog (i.e., Vol Abroad and Vol Mom) to see what I should plant. I have time this weekend to play in the dirt while The Hater is gone, and this is my official request to see if I should plant something other than pansies. And if I do, should I take up the mint and asparagus ferns to do so. It's a westward-facing porch that gets sun and wind most of the day.Please dazzle me with advice as I enjoy these pretty purple blooms, at least for the rest of this week.
4 comments:
I have had some good luck overwintering Dianthus. You could also try cyclamen. It's gets pretty cold in OKC doesn't it?
You could always try some evergreen shrubs - box, helleri holly, some of the false cyprus come in wild colors.
I'll think about it.
Dianthus is good, but for OKC I think violas may be better. However, you could combine the two for a nice effect. If you plant violas (small pansies, but much hardier) please invest in some pansy fertilizer. You can get it at Home Depot or Lowes. It is worth the investment. With violas or pansies, make sure the crown of the plant is exactly at soil level. They don't like to be above or below soil level, otherwise they're tough as whitleather. I always use yew branches in my window boxes and pots rather than small evergreens. Your family could bring you some when they come to OKC this month. It really adds a lot and will last as long as the weather is cold. It will start turning brown when the weather warms, but its easy to pull up and discard.
Small yuccas and agaves can overwinter too if you get the right variety. The agaves net to not get too wet when it is cold. Yuccas develop long tap roots to deal with drought, so you can't keep them in a pot for more than a year or two.
Go girl, get gardening! VM
Advice: None. Delight at your pictures, particularly the first: Bucketsful.
Pansies have been planted and The Hater is pleased with our porch once again.
(that first picture is now my desktop!)
Post a Comment