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Sunday, May 8, 2016

Not the usual vegetable garden fare

I'm really lucky to live in the neighborhood of a world class botanical garden Red Butte Garden.  Even luckier, they have a plant sale annually.  I'm not much of a non-vegetable gardener, but I'm always trying to make my garden beds more varied and beautiful, both for the eyes and for the local pollinators.

This blog post is mostly for me, so that when a few months from now I realize what an awesome plant I have growing, or conversely, what a bust that one was, I actually know what that plant is.  I can't convince myself to keep those little plastic plant tags around.   If you live in the Rocky Mountains, some of these notes may also be applicable to you.

 Miscanthus sinensis 'Yaku Jima' - Dwark Maiden Grass.  Native to Japan.  Going to plant in front yard, North facing, against house

 Thymus vulgaris English Garden Thyme.  Plant in container in backyard.

 Mentha requienii Corsican mint.  Going to plant between stepping stones near kid's sandbox.

 Hyssop officinalis Hyssop.

 Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia Gooseberry-leaf Globemallow.  Utah Native!

 Delosperma Alan's Apricot Ice Plant.  A groundcover.
 Achillea lewisii 'King Edward' Dwarf Yarrow.
Catharanthus roseus 'Titan Punch' Vinca.  I don't know much about this pretty annual except for the color of those flowers.  I couldn't pass it up.

 Ajuga 'Chocolate chip' Bulgeweed.  A groundcover.

 MYSTERY PLANT!!  I've bought this before.  It came home without a label, grrrr.  I will use the power of this internet to try and identify this.

Monarda fistulosa Wild Bergamot or Bee Balm.  Plant in front of house North facing.

African Daisy.  I'm not sure which taxonomy applies to this one.  I know, not local, but according to the local experts, drought tolerant.

 Thymophylla tenuilobia Dahlberg Daisy.  Native to Mexico, Drought tolerant
Penstemon strictus Rocky Mountain Penstemon.  Native, Bee friendly.

Now if it would clear up for a few days, I will finalize a plan for what goes where and plant these beauties.

My vegetable garden is off to strong start. More on that soon.

JG

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Winter, finally (and seriously)

I planned to start this blog last spring as my garden flew into action, but then got into the actual work of gardening and abandoned the task. However, today its winter, really winter. I'm wearing long underwear and sitting under a blanket and I'm still cold.
Today is the shortest day of the year so from here on in it gets better. I look forward to longer days, that's for sure. But I'll also tuck in and enjoy winter's freeze and snow, it does mean skiing after all. Maybe more importantly is the snow pack - without snow there isn't water for the West.
The end of the year and the solstice are a good time to think back on the last 365. I have no reason to complain and feel really lucky about the last year and really hopeful about the year to come.