Garden notes

A few days ago I finally planted the ornamentals that I bought as a Mothers Day gift from my sons and dear husband. I love feasting my eyes and other senses after they're planted, but that requires planting to happen! Here's a description of what I've done so far. I'd post photos, but it's been very breezy and that makes for lousy flower photos, sorry.

The big pot at the front step in bright shade now hosts two neglected poinsettias that I expect to fully leaf out again, with the following planted around it (counterclockwise from the back): two variegated caladium (one green on white, the other pink on green), a pink impatiens, a red geranium, a red impatiens. Planted in the center is the spreading chocolate mint Son2 LOVES, with tendrils wandering among the other plants. A nice mix for just outside the dining room window at the front step, with frequent opportunity to bruise a chocolate mint leaf and breathe that wonderful scent...

Out at the sunny front garden bed at the end of the entry walkway where it curves to the driveway, the perennial gaillaria have been blooming their happy yellow heads off, and the rust-and-yellow Mexican hat and Indian paintbrush have recently joined the party. The daylilies (both yellow and burgundy-with-yellow-throat) have plenty of leaves but are not yet putting up buds; they'll come along later. Same with the perennial I keep forgetting, which has leafed out and will at some point make arching twigs full of semi-daisy-like yellow flowers 'til nearly frost.

To this mix I added RED and DEEP ORANGE! In the middle I plunked down some lantana in a red-orange-yellow mix. Close to the driveway I planted a rust-to-orange-to-yellow strawflower. At the other end of the bed, near the Indian paintbrush, I'm going to set a big pot full of tomatoes, herbs, and rust-and-yellow marigolds. Beyond the Indian paintbrush I'm putting another similar big pot. At its foot there are seedlings of gaillardia and Mexican hat, so behind those I planted bright red amaranth (the straight cockscomb) and deep red coleus with skinny green edges.

I don't normally go for oranges and yellows, but if they're clear colors and red-orange and burgundy, with lots of green leaves, I do like it a lot against our gray brick house. And I LOVE Mexican hat, for some crazy reason. I'm always looking for clumps along the roadsides.

I still want to dig up and toss some of the unhappy evergreen plants along the walkway and replace them with a bench set on pavers. But right now I need to plant those pots with herbs, marigold, and tomatoes, and figure out where to situate the third pot, of bell peppers and herbs. Hmm. I love to tend the growing things, especially along the front walkway area, which is very nice in the mornings and evenings -- but I've got to get everything planted before the heat cranks up in a day or two! At that point, I think I'll have my morning coffee on my walkway, seated in a plastic chair, as I did last year. So nice...