We had RAIN this week! So I was able to do some real work and get some stuff planted.
I cleared out a bed where three Dahlias that I failed to dig out last year came back this spring and are about to bloom. Three others that I did manage to dig and winter over were showing some new growth so I planted them with the shoots pointing up near last year's returning plants. I'll know this fall not to bother even trying to dig them! Don't ask me what varieties these 6 are, the tags are long gone.
To those 6, I added 3 Dahlias that I order from Brent & Becky's Bulbs this spring. They are: 'Melody Dora', 'Gallery Art Deco', and 'Gallery Leonardo'. I was hoping to grow the much-raved-about 'Cafe au Lait' Dahlia, but that was sold out, so these 3 were as close in looks as I could get and all of them seem very good choices for mixed floral arrangements.
The next day when I went back to water, the tags from the 3 new dahlias were strewn on the ground. I suspect crows or other birds. VERY annoying as I'm not sure now which plant is which, I guessed and replaced them as best I could. I then sowed a row of Marigold 'Super Hero Spry' along the front of the dahlia bed. I hope they germinate well.
A stray Celosia seedling came up among some weeds, so I planted that next to the Dahlias. I'm sure I'll see a few more pop up soon and can group them together to make a nice cluster. I'm assuming they are the red ones I have had self-sow for me over several years now in the plot and not the 'Flamme Orange' we grew last year. We'll see the actual color once it blooms. You can see pics of our previous years' Celosia blooms on the cover and inside of the latest issue of Washington Gardener.
I pulled out the Spinach, which had bolted, and planted one large Basil seedling and seeded in 'Italian Genovese' Basil in the rest of the wow.
The mound 'Incredible Escalator' Zucchini (a climbing variety) is doing well with 3 healthy seedlings. The other mound with 'Dark Star' Zucchini seeds has not shown any signs of life, so this week will replant it with something else.
The Pepper seedlings are growing and the 'OHenry' Sweet Potato is settling in well. I need to clear out the last of the Lettuce and Peas now and plant Beans in their spots.
The Blackberries are slowing down, but I'm still getting a cup or so every other day.
All 4 rows of flowers we planted last week have seedlings up (pictured at top) -- except for the first row, which I think is the Scabiosa 'Black Knight'. The other rows are, Cornflower 'Velvet Dawn', Zinnia 'Mazurkia', and Cosmos 'Apricotta'. We need to add the cut-flower garden mesh over the bed for the seedlings to grow up through soon.
The PopUp Garden is doing okay. In the top is a 'Mrs. Burn's Lemon' Basil and three Holy Basil seedlings. The Zinnia 'Thumbelina' in the side holster planters have all germinated and I'll need to thin those out soon too.
Well, at last some real rain in Greenbelt! Looks like it'll move out around sunset, so I can get out to the plot in the morning to see what's what. Hope the elderflowers didn't all get knocked off, and the tomatoes are still standing!
ReplyDeleteGood to hear you all got a soaking too! More storms moving in as I type this.
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