Sally's Allotment
24 posts in 2018
A few more flowers have appeared towards the end of May but I’m mainly tidying and pulling up plants to collect seeds for next year. Those bluebonnet seeds that cost $30 a bag don’t seem so expensive after you’ve spent 2 hours collecting seeds and barely have enough to cover the bottom of my containers! Larkspur and poppie seeds on the other hand are abundant. And so much easier to collect.
It was a hotty today but a good few hours were spent seed collecting for 2019. We’d already made a dent into extracting lots of poppy seeds, so today I focused on the blue bonnets and larkspur. Still got the most tedious step to go—actually separating out the seeds, but it will be fine if I find a good telly program to watch. Also pulled some pods from my mystery shrub that has flowers that are a purple version of bluebonnet blooms
I know I need to give some attention to the side garden but I’ve been postponing what seems a bit overwhelming. Today I ventured over there to see if I could at least identify a place t stay and instead was distracted by a couple of new bloomers! A self-starting poppy that is different than my other varieties, the burning red coral bean, the first of the orange cosmos, and the reliable orange trumpet vine
What seems like a couple of years ago but was probably about a decade or more, Chris’ Uncle Larry gifted us two sapling trees. He had over purchased and hadn’t enough room for them. We plonked them in the ground at the side of the house. This morning, chatting to our neighbor Trish as she hacked down a branch of her own tree that had been in a bit of a tussle with a speeding garbage truck, I glanced over and saw how majestic one of the little saplings looks now. I hadn’t noticed it from my side of the road.
The daylilies from Knott, Texas are prolific this year. This week I also saw the first bloom on my Rose of Sharon and I got the first look at my hydrangea—it’s supposed to be blue but I still like it. I even used the special soil formulated to bring out the blue...oh well!
We had friends staying with us for the week and spent a lot of time enjoying the patio and looking at the flowers. I roped them into deadheading poppies and collecting the seeds while we relaxed! The larkspur have taken over from the poppies and I’m sure we will have to collect those seeds soon—right after the bluebonnet seeds. It’s nice to be at the point where I can share seeds with friends. I also got my first look at a couple of new bulbs that I must have planted last year and forgotten all about!
This little plant won’t make it through the summer heat, but she’s a cheery site for as long as she’s with us
Although I’m not as freaked out by receiving bare root roses in the mail as I was at first, it still amazes me how quickly my David Austin roses take to my Texas garden. This year’s addition, Roald Dahl is happily blooming. Coincidentally, the April photo on my DA calendar is the same rose except mine is more pale yellow than apricot.
A pleasant Sunday morning spent pottering—tying back or cutting back shrubs, staking up my tomato plants and taking a few photos of blooms I hadn’t spotted before. I could swear the bushes behind the pool have never had white blooms on them for the past seven years, or maybe I’ve never noticed. The red columbine that didn’t appear last year is back, and my drift roses are happy. Plus some different iris that I must purchased last season, coneflower from my neighbor, a replaces purple Datura and a lovely combo of larkspur and poppy
I mentioned in an earlier post that I’ve been enjoying a book about Sissinghurst gardens. I decided to try their trailing method on my Wollerton Old Hall David Austin roses. Today, Chris helped me stake a few stems to the wall so I could remove the trellis that she had already outgrown.
The iris are starting to bloom at the front of the house. Last October, I found an orange pot that I thought would be a great contrast to the iris and daylillies that bloom in front of it so I've been dying to see this year's crop of bulbs show up. Doesn't look like I will have to wait much longer.
Managed to keep my purchases at the plant sale and garden center this weekend under $100...lovely weather for a spot of garden shopping. My tactic at the crowded plant sale was to find some native white plant and shrubs. Helped to have a focus so I didn't spend too much! Also added to my milkweed collection and I'm trying to keep a kangaroo paw alive for once...
The faithful pomegranate blooms on cue every year and wows me each time. I've now got three trees scattered around the back garden. I'm also glad to see my root rhubarb is doing well--this was the first thing I grew in our garden at Wood Road and I'm hoping for some rhubarb crumble later in the season. The tobacco seeds I got during our trip to Virginia have been a success. Some of the bulbs I planted last year are hitting their stride and the pots on the front porch are a nice welcome home every day...
This is the first year my hedgehog cactus bloomed. My enjoyment for cactus and succulents continues to grow despite not having much time for them a few years ago. Yesterday, I hit up the Austin Cactus and Succulent show at Zilker Botanical Gardens and managed to find one owl-eye cactus plant that I love. Mine got killed off this past winter.
Despite having an overflowing garden, I don't keep that many flowers inside the house (a few African violets and orchids). Yet, I always enjoy having flowers around. Here are a couple of arrangements currently taking pride of place at Cloverleaf: roses in the bathroom and reusing my favorite gin bottles.
I never tire of poppies blooming. Each year, I plant from seeds I collected from the previous year, but it is also fun to see where they self-seed.
Chris and I finally got out to cut back some of the dead plants and shrubs. I had left it as long as possible so as to provide food and shelter for critters during the freezes. As soon as we had cut stuff back, greenery started to peak through and by the end of the month the structure of the garden seems to be taking shape again. I did replace a few of the pot plants that didn’t make it through the winter.
My book club decided to take a trip together to San MIguel. We had a lovely time shopping, sightseeing, eating, drinking, and chatting. Between all of our adventures, I managed to capture some of the lovely plants and flowers around our house and around the town.
One of the nice things about keeping this blog is that I get to look back on some photos of my pets in the garden. Sadly, Jack, Mickey and Vera are no longer here to soak up the sun while I’m pottering. Delilah loves being outside and our new cat, Dots is just starting to explore.
Although not England weather, there has been a chill in air that has meant I haven’t been able to spend much time in the garden. Despite my neglect, there is still some color popping up. I added a couple of plants to my collection including a new David Austin rose—Roald Dahl. Can’t wait to see how it does in a pot.
Although the sun is shining, there are no glimpses of green yet in the garden. The first few years I gardened, I would get quite annoyed with the fact that many plants died back to the ground. I fixed this by purchasing more evergreen-type shrubs and plants to fill in the landscape but I’ve started to enjoy seeing the bones of the garden. Now that I’m confident that most of these plants will be coming back each year, I like the anticipating what will be springing up over the next few weeks.
After embracing a hobby of gardening for a few years now, I’m still thrilled to receive anything flower or garden related as a gift. This year, Uncle Larry sent us some lovely paperwhites and Amaryllis for Christmas. He also sent us an orchid later in the spring.
We kick off each year in the garden with a Polar Bear Plunge. The flower beds are a little run down and not much more than dirt and brown leaves, but we spruce things up as much as possible. Here Chris puts together a bit of an arrangement to bring in the new year - not from our garden obviously, but still pretty!
We took a lovely trip in December to Hawaii. In the midst of all of our travels, I managed to sneak in a lovely tour of some flower farms. The colors were so bright and the orchids so bold. Here are a few photo highlights: