Gardening

[newboots]

Well this is doing better this year! It's supposed to start out white and then change to bright pink, but last year I remember complaining that the pink would start, but never really develop.

That is one astonishingly beautiful hydrangea!

 

[Jenny]

That is one astonishingly beautiful hydrangea!

It IS nice, isn't it? It's the dwarf version, there's a gigantic one, too. And it appears to be happy where it is, so that's a plus.

Here's my current favorite in the garden. When I get the bed expanded next year I'm going to ask them where I could put a couple more of them. I love the true red, and it's hard sometimes to find something that they call red that doesn't turn out much more pink than red.

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

Ditto on the jungle and the tomatoes! I've had a banner year for the asparagus beans-shared them with everyone I know. The lettuce also broke records, though has gotten bitter now. I confess the flowers take a back seat to my veggies, some success, some not so great. I'm in the midwest now and picked up a perrenial hibiscus; They are not available where I live, I guess so you'll have to buy new every year, but I've been digging them up and bringing them into the livingroom for the winters!

 

[bounceswoosh]

I'm in the midwest now and picked up a perrenial hibiscus; They are not available where I live, I guess so you'll have to buy new every year, but I've been digging them up and bringing them into the livingroom for the winters!

I think you can order just about any plant online for delivery.

But plants that are perennial in some climates just can't survive in others, anyway. It's no grand conspiracy, just soil temperature!

 

[Jenny]

Ditto on the jungle and the tomatoes! I've had a banner year for the asparagus beans-shared them with everyone I know. The lettuce also broke records, though has gotten bitter now. I confess the flowers take a back seat to my veggies, some success, some not so great. I'm in the midwest now and picked up a perrenial hibiscus; They are not available where I live, I guess so you'll have to buy new every year, but I've been digging them up and bringing them into the livingroom for the winters!

That's what I just posted above and it made it through our winter just fine. This is the second year I've had it, so it's actually survived through two Michigan winters. So check the zone on what you're buying - you might not have to dig them up.

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

Yes, the garden shop was concerned about that, but when I said that "Yes, South Carolina DOES get snow." she decided that it'd be just fine!

 

[bounceswoosh]

Some photos from my garden, which is probably going to double in size after our recent rains ... long-lasting, but not so torrential as to do damage.

The jungle (tomatoes, tomatillos, and one cucumber plant you can't see from this side):


Close-up so you can see that the tomato plants are very happy:


My cantaloupe doing way better than I would have ever anticipated (of course, we'll see the truth of the matter once/if they actually produce:


I bought something labeled "mojito mint" a few months ago. Then I bought another plant just a couple of days ago. My husband rightly pointed out - there is *no way* these are both the same strain of mint:


We have a few of these purple plants, and the bees sure love them! Which I assume is good for pollinating the veggies. Come for the purple, stay for the veggies ... There were at least three bees getting busy here in the flowers, but it's very very hard to capture them. (I need @altagirl 's deft touch with the camera!)

 

[Kimmyt]

The purple looks like Beebalm?

 

[bounceswoosh]

I feel like we've had this conversation before ... I don't remember! Bee balm looks a little more like cohesive flowers, maybe? But the name sure would make sense.

 

[vickie]

Gorgeous hydrangea, @Jenny!

 

[Jenny]

Gorgeous hydrangea, @Jenny!

Thanks. I'd love to take credit, but I know it's in spite of me, not because of me! (Unless it's all the extra love I gave it earlier this year when I misread the directions for the HollyTone and gave it way more than it really should have had.)

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

@Jenny: The experts tell me that Hydrangea color is directly related to nutrients added. I had blue and wanted pink. I added what they gave me (don't ask me what) and first they turned purple, the more added makes for pink and more still, white!
Regardless yours look great!

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

@bounceswoosh : Thanks for sharing the photos; It very much adds to your story! I have a mint that spreads everywhere that's somewhere between your two, but makes great mint julips! The tomatoes look good! Let us know how it goes with the cantaloupe.

 

[Jenny]

@Jenny: The experts tell me that Hydrangea color is directly related to nutrients added. I had blue and wanted pink. I added what they gave me (don't ask me what) and first they turned purple, the more added makes for pink and more still, white!
Regardless yours look great!

i think this may be a different hybrid though, because it starts out white, then turns pink. Maybe I could mess with it and get the other colors, but I don't want them anyway. And don't those have a rounded flower head? This is more con-shaped.

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

You're probably quite right....

 

[bounceswoosh]

I wanted hydrangeas in the front flower bed, but apparently it gets too sunny/hot there =/ Yours are beautiful!

 

[Mary Tee]

Ditto on the jungle and the tomatoes! I've had a banner year for the asparagus beans-shared them with everyone I know. The lettuce also broke records, though has gotten bitter now. I confess the flowers take a back seat to my veggies, some success, some not so great. I'm in the midwest now and picked up a perrenial hibiscus; They are not available where I live, I guess so you'll have to buy new every year, but I've been digging them up and bringing them into the livingroom for the winters!

what are asparagus beans? I've never heard of them but asparagus and beans are two of my favorite veggies. sooooo this sounds like something I need to know about!

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

I was originally told that asparagus beans were a cross between asparagus and beans but you didn't have to wait three years to harvest like asparagus. I have the same two likes as you, However I find they're more like a green been but much better tasting!
They grow on a vine and each one can get to be 16 to more than 30 inches long! One can be a serving! This is my best year ever; I guess they like all the rain we've had. I do sometimes find it challenging to find the seed packets. But they're soooooooooooooo rewarding!

 

[Jenny]

I wanted hydrangeas in the front flower bed, but apparently it gets too sunny/hot there =/ Yours are beautiful!

Thanks. This one is in full sun, but our sun here is probably not as intense as yours. I always thought they were a shadier plant, too.

 

[Mary Tee]

I was originally told that asparagus beans were a cross between asparagus and beans but you didn't have to wait three years to harvest like asparagus. I have the same two likes as you, However I find they're more like a green been but much better tasting!
They grow on a vine and each one can get to be 16 to more than 30 inches long! One can be a serving! This is my best year ever; I guess they like all the rain we've had. I do sometimes find it challenging to find the seed packets. But they're soooooooooooooo rewarding!

I will definitely have to look for those for next summer if they can be planted in pots. Due to deer, if I can't put it in a pot on the deck, I don't bother.