May 20, 2010
6′ wonder, freeze comebacks, Bonnie’s Greenhouse
I took the measuring tape to this one. 6 feet!
It’s Angelica pachycarpa, once a tiny little thing. In recent years, it’s bloomed, attracting all kinds of insects.
It fills a space under the Chinese pistache from late fall until June or so, when it sneaks back underground, leaving a naked gap underneath. But it’s such a showstopper all winter that I don’t mind. By this year, the upcoming plumbagos may be ready to fling their branches over its temporary graveyard. It suffered just a tad when we hit 10º, but obviously not much. I cut off the damaged leaves and it just kept on growing.
Soon, we’ll also say goodbye to our larkspurs. I plan to collect seeds of this double that seeded itself in the grass from last year’s crop.
My lazy way to do this is to pull them out and upturn them in a 5-gallon bucket (every gardener needs a big ole’ bucket!). When the bottom is covered in seeds, I toss the ick into the compost pile and scoop out the seeds. When I’ve got a few special ones, I just cut off the heads and dump them into plastic containers. Oh yea, label your baggie/bottle/jar with the date, too. Countless times, I haven’t done it because “I’ll remember what that seed is.” Sure, Linda, sure.
To my great surprise, the Asiatic lily, Lilium ‘Linda’ returned in the crape bed. Every single one!
This was one of my experiments from Brent & Becky’s Bulbs last year. How could I resist this color and a plant with my name? They made it through drought and a shift from 100º to 10º. Guess it really is a “Linda.”
Of course, so did the Salvia guaranitica and my daylilies of no name.
Another freeze survivor was the Salvia microphylla ‘La Trinidad Pink’.
I got it from Schumacher’s Hill Country Gardens last November, so it hadn’t even grown past its root ball. It remained evergreen all winter. Mine’s in morning sun, afternoon shade.
My Tawny daylily picks up the orange theme in the den bed. Remember, this weekend is the Austin Daylily Show & Sale and home garden tour.
This week on CTG, get more ideas for color, herb, and succulent combinations in containers or beds. Tom meets with Sandra Killough from Bonnie’s Greenhouse in Waco. Started in 1981 by Bonnie Murphy, she made a reputation for stalwart old roses and daylilies, many of them hard to find at the time. A few years ago, long-time employee Sandra bought Bonnie’s to continue its reputation for hardy “old-fashioned” plants that are the new fashion: durable plants. Get her CTG list.
She brought along Cuban oregano (Plectranthus amboinicus), one that I really like in a pot. You can grow it in the ground, but it’s not cold hardy. Last year, it grew like a fiend on my front porch. This year, I moved it another pot for the patio. I like to include it in pasta dishes, but I also like its refreshing color and scent. It’s done well for me with shade and a few hours of sun.
This week, Daphne answers a viewer question: do sprinkler heads water trees well enough? Her featured plant is chocolate flower (Berlandiera lyrata), a native perennial.
Mosquito season is upon us! Get John Dromgoole’s tips to fend off the little suckers.
On tour, we repeat our visit to Laura Joseph’s outstanding garden, where she’s framed her historic house with ferns, staghorn ferns, native plants, and incredible botanical discoveries. She’s also famed for her purple martin houses, where the neighborhood helps care for one of the largest local populations around.
This week’s viewer pictures come from Hella. She documents her Agave americana when it decided to speed to the sky!
A few weeks later:
Until next week, Linda