Plan B

Yesterday was definitely a "Plan B" day. I started out here at my desk planning to do some benefit CDs for The Clevelands. But the internet service provider went down mid-way through my blog posting and never came back up all day.

So after wandering around aimlessly for a bit, I decided to do a little gardening. I'll get out there and shoot some photos this afternoon. I saw my neighbor digging around in hers and asked if she wanted to go plant shopping. She's always up for that! So we headed out to Pike's Nursery in Ballantyne.

What a gorgeous place! The plants are so well-cared for, too. I bought some Bee Balm, Japanese Anemone, Salvia, Summer Phlox, Spike Speedwell, a Dwarf Red Columbine, Lantana, and a plant called Jacob's Ladder. Those are all perennials. Then to get some color to look at now, I put in some annual Salvia and some Dianthus. The plants were about $30 all together, and then I bought a water wand for the hose. On Friday I'll go back for herbs for the herb pots. I've also decided to put in 3 or 4 tomato plants to supplement what I get from the farm and some chili pepper plants. I love dried chili peppers, and last year we really only got a handful from the farm. They are pretty plants too, so I'll put scatter them throughout the flower garden to add interest.

Every time I dig in this garden I'm so glad that I had my friend Steve prep it last fall. I don't even have to put soil conditioner in when I plant new stuff. And using a spade to dig the hole for the new plant is optional, too. It's so moist and loose I can pretty much just scoop out handfuls with my fingers.

The stuff I planted last summer is doing just okay. The Gardenias are really not coming up the way I'd like. Actually, most of them are not coming up. I think I planted something like a dozen of them, and I can only find 3. I had to excavate for those, too. The rest seem to just be gone. I'm having better luck with the Scabiosa and Coreopsis. I also had some Penstemin and Gaillardia, and I think I'm seeing some of that. The little Clematis I planted is doing really well and starting to climb the obelisk. But it needs a couple more to keep it company. I couldn't find any at the garden center yesterday. The stuff that really looks great is the Astilbe. Yesterday before planting the new stuff I "fluffed up" the entire garden and did a little gentle digging where I'd placed flags signifying new plants.