About me: (Jan 9, ’08) Gardening near Friendswood TX since mid-2000. Over the years, we have appreciated the opportunities the GardenWeb has provided for information, insight, inspiration and - from time to time - enjoyable fellowship.
2007 HIGHLIGHTS: Louisiana Iris + Poppies – their best year of blooming yet…Fragrances – our best year of wonderful scents ever – we had a virtually continual bouquet in our yard with perfect phasing – beginning with Mexican Plum, then to Wisteria, then to Confederate Jasmine + Ligustrum + Pittosporum, then to Passion Vine + Honeysuckle - and, we dare not forget, Roses at various times…Vernonia baldwinii - in 2006 a single volunteer of this wildflower sprouted in our “hell strip” to about 30 inches high; we let the plant grow, thinking it was a forgotten perennial planting; after waiting patiently for several months, hundreds of purplish, half-inch blooms that were highly attractive to bees appeared on a handsome, bushy-topped plant; we transplanted the volunteer to a new location and it grew to over 6 feet!; the one plant seeded prolifically as well, so we had plenty of new volunteers all over our property, many of which we transplanted and integrated into our “non-wild” flower beds; the volunteers gave us plenty more weeding to do too!… Bottlebrush (Callistemon) – continued to increase quickly in height with even more of the distinctive red blooms than we enjoyed in 2006… Texas Star Hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus ‘Alba’) – even more stalks and large white blooms than 2006 on the one plant; produced many seeds but thus far, we have been unable to germinate any…Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera ?jamesonii?) – we have one (exactly what kind, we do not know) in a pot; it has bloomed beautifully for at least three years; maybe it’s just one lucky specimen for us, or maybe we just picked the perfect pot for the plant; however, every Gerbera we have planted in the ground has died …Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batata) – we started with one 6-inch pot, one plant (the ‘Marguerite’ variety, with bright yellow-green foliage); we unpotted and planted it in a sunny bed; the vines and foliage filled the bed to overflowing, and produced five new tubers to start a ground cover in more spots in 2008…Melampodium – healthy volunteers from 2006’s “Phoenix crop” were abundant; we are hopeful to see, and to successfully transplant, more volunteers in 2008…Oregano – our little 2007 pot of it is our best success with this herb yet…Leafy edibles – our best fall crop of lettuces ever!…LOWLIGHTS: Nutsedge – we need to either figure out how to get rid of this weed once and for all, or, make our peace with it as best we can…”The Unknown Weed” – once we get it identified, we hope to discuss it more on the Web; we have not noticed it in anyone else’s yard; if it’s edible, we just might get rich (or at least end world hunger) by exploiting this seemingly unstoppable, relentless and not altogether unattractive “sort of” ground cover; it’s easy to uproot the foliage, but seems to regenerate like some kind of mythical monster, so it must have either tiny-but-tough roots, or a re-seeding capability that rivals aphids’ reproductive abilities…Ruellia (Katie Dwarf – Ruellia brittoniana ‘Katie’) – after one too many “too good years,” we are tired of it…Firespike (Odontonema strictum) – actually a highlight in past years, but in 2007 it got a little out of hand, crowding out other desirable plants and, for lack of a better phrase, “doing too well;” we have to find a way to contain its spreading.
My zone is: 8/9 Hou-Galv
2007 HIGHLIGHTS: Louisiana Iris + Poppies – their best year of blooming yet…Fragrances – our best year of wonderful scents ever – we had a virtually continual bouquet in our yard with perfect phasing – beginning with Mexican Plum, then to Wisteria, then to Confederate Jasmine + Ligustrum + Pittosporum, then to Passion Vine + Honeysuckle - and, we dare not forget, Roses at various times…Vernonia baldwinii - in 2006 a single volunteer of this wildflower sprouted in our “hell strip” to about 30 inches high; we let the plant grow, thinking it was a forgotten perennial planting; after waiting patiently for several months, hundreds of purplish, half-inch blooms that were highly attractive to bees appeared on a handsome, bushy-topped plant; we transplanted the volunteer to a new location and it grew to over 6 feet!; the one plant seeded prolifically as well, so we had plenty of new volunteers all over our property, many of which we transplanted and integrated into our “non-wild” flower beds; the volunteers gave us plenty more weeding to do too!… Bottlebrush (Callistemon) – continued to increase quickly in height with even more of the distinctive red blooms than we enjoyed in 2006… Texas Star Hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus ‘Alba’) – even more stalks and large white blooms than 2006 on the one plant; produced many seeds but thus far, we have been unable to germinate any…Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera ?jamesonii?) – we have one (exactly what kind, we do not know) in a pot; it has bloomed beautifully for at least three years; maybe it’s just one lucky specimen for us, or maybe we just picked the perfect pot for the plant; however, every Gerbera we have planted in the ground has died …Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batata) – we started with one 6-inch pot, one plant (the ‘Marguerite’ variety, with bright yellow-green foliage); we unpotted and planted it in a sunny bed; the vines and foliage filled the bed to overflowing, and produced five new tubers to start a ground cover in more spots in 2008…Melampodium – healthy volunteers from 2006’s “Phoenix crop” were abundant; we are hopeful to see, and to successfully transplant, more volunteers in 2008…Oregano – our little 2007 pot of it is our best success with this herb yet…Leafy edibles – our best fall crop of lettuces ever!…LOWLIGHTS: Nutsedge – we need to either figure out how to get rid of this weed once and for all, or, make our peace with it as best we can…”The Unknown Weed” – once we get it identified, we hope to discuss it more on the Web; we have not noticed it in anyone else’s yard; if it’s edible, we just might get rich (or at least end world hunger) by exploiting this seemingly unstoppable, relentless and not altogether unattractive “sort of” ground cover; it’s easy to uproot the foliage, but seems to regenerate like some kind of mythical monster, so it must have either tiny-but-tough roots, or a re-seeding capability that rivals aphids’ reproductive abilities…Ruellia (Katie Dwarf – Ruellia brittoniana ‘Katie’) – after one too many “too good years,” we are tired of it…Firespike (Odontonema strictum) – actually a highlight in past years, but in 2007 it got a little out of hand, crowding out other desirable plants and, for lack of a better phrase, “doing too well;” we have to find a way to contain its spreading.
My zone is: 8/9 Hou-Galv
GardenWeb Member: 2002-04-24