Found this video on YouTube and I want to keep it because I have so many of these plants in my shade garden. My goal is to eventually tag all of my plants with their correct names.
Have you ever tagged your plants? What do you use to do that? I’ve tried a few things but the writing always fades too quickly. I’d love your suggestions.
So far for making tea I have:
Black Raspberry
(1) black raspberry leaves – from my black raspberry bushes
Chamomile
(2) chamomile – steep some in hot water and I GUARANTEE it’s the best sleep you’ll ever get.
Mint
(3) mint – refreshing and invigorating! Great addition to any iced tea.
Lemon Thyme
(4) lemon thyme – a healthful stimulant, its phenols have both anti-bacterial & caffeine-like actions
What other plants do you use for making tea that I may not have thought of?
I left my lush, two acre southern gardens and came north to visit my son and daughter-in-law whose garden is a condo patio. Completely different way to think about gardening.
When looking online for small space gardening tips, we came across an idea that inspired us to try.
Can you tell what it is from the photo? We nailed an over-the-door shoe organizer to the top of their deck fencing and are in the process of filling it with herbs!
What do you think? It holds tons of soil and excess water easily drips out. Our only concern is that the black may absorb too much heat and damage the roots.
Have you ever tried this? What other small area tips do you have?
I want to try growing day-neutral everbearing. Have you ever tried raising them?
Dwarf Yellow Cedar
I’m so excited about this “free” shrub. Thank you again, Ellen! I took another class from her Saturday and she had dug up this cedar to plant something else in its place. She asked the class if anyone could use this in their landscape. I quite enthusiastically said, “Me, me!” and brought it home.
I’m planning to redo a border at the front of our lawn in the Fall. This cedar will be a perfect addition to that area.
From my online studies of the yellow cedar, apparently it is not a cedar at all but actually a cypress. If the word “cedar” is used, a hyphen must be used, as in “yellow-cedar”, because this species is a “false cedar” and not a “true cedar”. True cedars are in the Pine family (Pinaceae) and are represented by old world species with needles in the genus Cedrus.
The drooping branchlets give the tree a graceful weeping appearance. To be more yellow, it must be planted in full sun.
The term dwarf is relative. It doesn’t always mean small or tiny, but indicates the plant will be smaller in stature than the original species.
The word “yellow” is in the name because of the reference to the distinctive yellow color of the wood.
Vodka Begonia
I’m a shrub girl who got into vegetable gardening a few seasons back. Well this year, thanks to the insistence of a few friends (you know who you are), I’m breaking into flower gardening. I’m actually pretty excited about it.
Yesterday, at our local Farmer’s Market, I literally stopped in my tracks when I saw this flat of begonias. According to Wikipedia, Begonia is a genus of perennial flowering plants. The genus contains about 1,400 different plant species. I have no idea which genus my begonias are (they’re called Vodka Begonias), but I don’t care – it’s all about their color.
The Begonias are native to moist subtropical and tropical climates. I live in North Carolina, absolutely not subtropical or tropical so, we’ll see…
I’m planting some in my shade garden, some where they’ll get more sun. Which do you predict will be more successful? I’m curious which best retains this amazing color.
For your added enjoyment (!), I’m posting these photos that I found while researching begonias. Seriously amazing. This 300 square meter carpet contains more than 3000 begonias. Hats off to you, Brussels.
Thanks Ellen, for the beautiful phlox!
Blue woodland phlox forms clumps 12 inches tall covered with delicate 1.5 inch rosy-lavender to soft pink flowers. It is a spreading, native flower here in the Carolinas and blooms in early spring and requires little or no maintenance. It’s spectacular as a mass in an open woodland, perfect for the border of a shade garden, or naturalized at the base of large trees. Phlox prefers moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil and high open shade and accepts sunny conditions with moisture but will go dormant in drought conditions.
Chip Callaway told us he deadheads the old blooms and gets at least one more flush of color before the season ends. Mine have been gorgeous for two weeks and last about five days as cut flowers.
Oh, how I love my blue woodland phlox!
My Yellow Dogwood has roots!
March 13th, I took a cutting from Ellen of her yellow dogwood bush. It was one long stem that I cut into six 6-8″ pieces. I put the pieces in root starter, then into water.
Almost immediately, the little sticks bloomed with leaves and buds. Spectacular! But, still no root.
Today, 24 days later, the first pieces finally have roots.
I’m anxious to plant these amazing bushes and see if they will grow in my yard!
Update:
I planted the start with roots on April 18. The others are still waiting for roots.
Yellow Twig Dogwood
I just received the gift of a new plant. Thank you John!
I’m going to buy a planter and put it outside.
Is it better to try it inside? Have you raised a bougainvillea? Can I propagate it?
Suggestions?
My BFF Arminda just brought over a Bee House for my birthday!
I’m so thrilled!
Learning about Mason Bees:
Mason bees don’t produce honey, but do pollinate, especially fruit trees. According to Gardener’s Supply, each bee visits as many as 1000 blooms per day — 20 times as many as a honeybee, but less likely to sting.
In North America, they are blue-green and are smaller than honeybees — they kinda look like house flies.
The mason bee lay their eggs in small hollow spaces, like reeds, cracks in wood and even snail shells. Mason bees are gentle and hard working. The mason bee places a mud plug near the edge of the hole and then goes back and forth between flower and house to collect nectar and pollen for food for her young to eat. Once she’s done, the hole is completely plugged with more mud.
I’m so excited to watch what happens with my bee house and I accidentally hung it correctly – facing East!
