Monday, September 15, 2008

What a Difference a Day Makes

Twenty-four little hours.












My "best" bed went from this to















THIS!























A new herb bed filled with Mexican mint marigold, common sage, rosemary, Italian oregano, Mexican oregano, lemon balm,
















rue,
















French thyme, lemon thyme, hot 'n' spicy thyme, dill, spearmint, peppermint, and berggarten sage. I've also planted some chive seeds and left room for some annuals I'd fogotten: parsley and cilantro.


Some, like the common sage, I transplanted from my vegetable garden.























Others I purchased or grew from cuttings and transferred from their wading pool to their new home.
















The only nonherb I have in the bed is this plant, which I thought was called a common bottlebrush until I tried googling it. The bees were totally loving it at Barton Springs Nursery and practically followed me home. I bought it just for its beauty. Now if only BSN would add tags or labels to their plants for those of us who can't remember them!























As for the "worst" bed, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
















A half-yard of soil made barely a dent in what the area needs, but the dog still objects. At least this glorious weather has arrived and picking up more soil won't be a burden.

I'll knock wood and just allude to the idea of fall. Shh. If you don't mention it, it might stay!

8 comments:

  1. Once in awhile you have to do something big - looks like your timing was good for transplanting, Vertie!

    Mexican Oregano and Mexican Mint Marigold are two of my favorites, but the 'bottlebrush' looks more like a Caryopteris to me. Is it shrubby/woody at the base?

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  2. How exciting! It looks GREAT! Seeing all your hard work, plus today's weather is inspiring me to get to the nursery today.

    I need to get some chicken wire anyway because the dog is currently SLEEPING on my broccoli seedlings-- today's particularly refreshing weather for a Texas Husky.

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  3. That's a lot of work, and it turned out great.

    I agree with Annie, the new plant looks like some kind of Caryopteris, sometimes called "bluebeard".

    Carol, May Dreams Gardens

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  4. vert,
    Hi..wow, you have been busy! Isn't it fun! Hard work but it feels so darned good. I have been waiting until the weather cooled to start moving plants around...I miss getting dirty and playing in the garden.

    Gail
    clay and limestone

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  5. Looks great. Amazing how it transformed. I have some seeds for my white flowering garlic chives if you want some.

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  6. Vertie, I agree that your 'bottlebrush' is the Caryopteris. I bought a couple of those, probably from the same grower, at one of our local nurseries last week. I'm hoping to get them into the ground before too much longer. It depends on how the clean-up efforts go!

    The new bed already looks great! Have your arms and back recovered from the tilling effort?

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  7. Wow! You sure got a lot done in such a short time! I have some Bluebeard/Caryopteris in my neglected bed, and it's performed this summer through drought and shade with flying colors. I definitely need to get my hands on more.

    How has cooking sage performed for you? I got a whole flat of bicolored sage this spring, and suddenly they all died on me this week. I have no idea what went wrong, and I was really enjoying the foliage! I do want to have some sage around for cooking, though, and if the bicolor is too finicky, I should probably try again with the common variety.

    And speaking of the weather, I should open some windows around here. :D

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  8. How exciting for you -- the new bed looks great. What a lot of hard work. Sweet dog there, helping you out!

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