Hurry Up and Garden

New Border

I guess I'll be calling this my new border for a while since I still have lots of ideas for it. I said in my last blog that I would be designing it this winter. But heck, seasoned gardeners will recognize themselves in me. I started thinking about all the things that would look so much better next year if only they had a good winter's season of growing roots. So I ordered a few plants (mums and pansies are all I can get here now), and transplanted a few plants. In fact, since my bulb order came in it's been a non-stop gardening fest. And just because I have a new bed to plant in, it doesn't mean I don't have to move things around. So the arrival of a peony and some lilies from Old House Gardens meant that I had to hassle with transplanting a very thorny rose and some daylilies.

'Whirling Butterflies' gaura

There are a few plants that are still holding out this warmish fall season. The gaura 'Whirling Butterflies' is on its second big splash. It has a great one in spring and early summer, kind of peters out in midsummer, and then rejuvenates in fall. I have to cut it back for best flower show.

Purple basil and self-seeded Coral Nymph salvia

Most of my basil is pretty shot by now. A few nights of pretty cool weather a few weeks ago brought the Genovese basil to its knees. But the purple basil is still going strong, although it's quite floppy.

'White Cloud' muhly grass

I bought the 'White Cloud' muhly grass last fall at a plant show. It didn't do much that year but is now flowering quite well. It's much more upright than the pink muhly and it has incredibly soft plumes.

Daffodil leaves on the right, newly transplanted daylily on the left

How weird is this? In a number of places I've got some daffodils starting to come up. No sign of buds just yet, thankfully.

Leaves of the spring starflower Ipheion

And starflower is starting to grow as well. Weird.

Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis)

Here's a big risk - the Lenten rose. I've been enchanted by all the photos I see on blogs during the dead of winter of Lenten roses, hybrid hellebores, Christmas roses, etc. You don't see them down here very often, which is why it may be a risk to try to grow them. But all of gardening's a risk, right? Anyway, the ones I received were lovely and healthy (from Gardens Oy Vey), so I'm hoping for the best.

As you can tell, I've been in quite a hurry to get plants and bulbs in the garden. I just hope La Nina is kind to us this year and gives us at least a little rain (predictions of a warm and dry winter for the South, ugh!).

This post was written by Jean McWeeney for my blog Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog. Copyright 2010. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.