And So The Planting Begins!

This is the week when most all of the garden plants will be installed. I started yesterday by planting some of the “onesies,” as opposed to the groups of plants which will come next. The sages came first. These are the big ones – Mexican Bush Sage (48”) next to the Pineaple Sage (24-36”), and the Perovskia (another 48” baby). Oh, and my big-leaf Salvia Argentea (or as my husband says, “Lambs' Ears on steroids”).


There were some Gaura for that permanent butterfly look, and the perennial Alyssum (Basket of Gold), and Verbena as two spreaders and drapers. A friend, June, gave me a Mammoth German Gold Tomato, so I stuck that in a cutting bed along with some large-leaf Basil and some rainbow Swiss Chard. Lastly, some Asclepias for the b’fliesand some Hollyhock slipped in. I’m known for growing all manner of thugs, and several of these sure qualify. I hope they do well!


Everything in the beds looks so well-behaved and demure right now! Hopefully, though, the big guys will grow faster than our rascally weeds, so there won’t be long sessions of weeding.

So what is concerning me besides weeds? Will things be too crowded? Will the rust that seemed evident on the hollyhocks persist? Are the vegetables going to successfully co-habit with the flowers? We’ll see!

They used to refer to the kinds of gardens I have as being “pleasure gardens.” They sure are for me when I visit them in the early morning hours to see if the deer have found things yet (they haven’t.). The catalogue contemplation in the winter months has now been taken over by the baby-plant cheering. Here’s hoping we can all be happy in situ.