My Garden - Spring 2011

Hi Everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a long time... It has been such a busy year this year! Lots of weddings, trips, and work! Anyway, with all this excitement it is nice to take some time to relax in the garden. It has been a more challenging year because of the extreme drought but luckily all the flowers I planted are native and are able to cope with periods of drought. Here is what has bloomed so far this spring:

Bluebonnets - Lupinus texensis, these were the first flowers to bloom in the garden this spring. They grew nicer than previous years, more bushy and more flowers, and are now covered with lots of seed pods.

This is what the seed pod of the bluebonnets look like. It reminds me a lot of edimame (soybeans) which makes sense as they are both in the Fabacea family also known as legumes.

Downy Phlox - Phlox pilosa, this started blooming shortly after the bluebonnets and it is still blooming. I grew these plants from seed I got from Prairie Moon nursery.

Blanket Flower - Gaillardia pulchella, now that it is hot and sunny these plants have really put on a growth spur. The seeds I planted last winter are all now a big bush of these very pretty flowers. This is a really tough native that you can see growing along many roadsides in Houston, Galveston, and along the Gulf Coast.

Lanceleaf Coreopsis - Coreopsis lanceolata, this is another tough native. Its a little taller than Gaillardia and just as showy. Both plants have been covered with blooms the past month. They both make long lasting cut flower arrangements.

Obedient Plant - Physostegia intermedia & Southern Blueflag Iris - Iris virginica shrevei, these plants are growing in a big non-draining glazed pot which is my mini water garden.

Pickerelweed - Pontederia cordata, this plant is also planted in a glazed non-draining pot. I'll have to make a post about my water garden plants soon.

Blue Mistflower - Conoclinium coelestinum , another tough wildflower for the garden. Its spreads nicely. This wildflower can be seen commonly around Houston as well.

Scarlet Sage - Salvia coccinea, these are the latest wildflowers to bloom. They really like warm weather. This winter when we had below freezing temperatures they died back to the ground but re-sprouted this spring from their roots and seeds.

Other wildflowers that are growing in the garden and are about to bloom soon include:

Rudbeckia maxima

Rudbeckia hirta

Echinacea sanguinea

Monarda fistulosa

Tradescantia ohiensis

Helianthus annuus

Check back soon for more garden updates and hopefully more frequent updates. Im trying to find a way for me to blog while at work but without my Macbook... perhaps and iPad??? :)