"Queeny Purple Hollyhock"
My husband had a "Marissa Moment" and came home from Lowes with these beautiful flowers for me. They are not supposed to grow tall like a traditional hollyhock.
I wont even begin to pretend I know what I am talking about when it comes to my garden but I am obsessed with flowers that are available in the Southeast. We have a new home which is wonderful yes, yes and yes! However the landscaping that comes with a new home is god awful drab! With builder grade indigenous shrubs that were thrown in the ground half under soil half exposed to the hot fresh sunny air of the South and not to mention completely crooked. I do feel bad for these ugly ducklings of my new landscaping so I do my best to care for them. I sprinkle some water on them every now and then and when I have left over mushroom or black cow compost I will try to cover up the hardy fighting root system. The soil we have built our home on is a little bit sandy and whole lot of clay. I am learning clay pretty much sucks so I am not sure what I am more obsessed with the dirt or the flowers. I have graduated from generic planting soil to a combination of mushroom compost and Black Cow manure. My hands were not pretty before given my painting but now I walk around with cow shit and oil paint under my nails and toenails (I really hate to wear tennis shoes when I am planting). Wow...really that is what my husband has to look forward to at the end of the day...nice! :) Not to mention I keep forgetting that I promise to not swing by any nurseries or Lowes as I have spent a small fortune on my new hobby. However Brownswood Nursery rocks my world. They take the kids on a golf cart tour of their 40 acres where we feed the goats and I get all sorts of free knowledge on plants.
My back breaking efforts of turning my clay based garden into a fertile nutrient rich bed of soil is currently the home of some beautiful flowers.
"Orange Canna Lilly and Plumbago"
The Cannas are so hardy love the water that my clay holds and should get nice and tall. The purple plumbago are pretty hardy as well. They should grow like a weed and need little care and water which is great considering we are in a drought.
"Foxglove"
I think I screwed up by cutting the main stock of this flower way to low in the early stages of blooming but they should come back next year and be quite showy.
"Dahlia and Shasta Daisy"
I am unsure of which species my shasta daisy are but I might need to accidentally inherit a few more of these. They are so pretty and make the purple Dahlias pop in front of the white background.
"Hibiscus"
Love my hibiscus even though it is a huge pain in my side! Little white spider mites love it. The birds have made a nest, laid some eggs and raised some babies in it. Which was very cool and sweet and my kiddies loved to check on the babies until they flew the coop. Now my bonus son Taj who is 4 keeps asking us when it is time for him to fly the coop. He is very worried about this adventure of having to leave his parents nest and assures us that when he grows up he will stay home. O Goodie! :) I have just about killed this plant twice by using the wrong bug killer on it but so far so good.
"Veriegated Ginger Lilly"
Beautiful plant that should produce white orchid like flowers late this summer or fall.
Unkown hardy purple plant bush thingy. Very hardy and pretty.
Princess Flower (Tibouchina semidecandra)
A beautiful bush/tree that could get really tall however I have just learned that I should put this in a pot so I can bring it in during the winter big bummer! I really wanted this to be part of my landscape. I do have two so I may pot one and leave one in the ground and throw caution to the wind.
If you have had any experience with this plant I would love to hear your advice!
Ooops I forgot this is titled the Rules of My Garden. Here they are...
1. Purple, blue, orange and white flowers only are allowed! Which I have brought home a red mandevilla that I have not planted because I can not find a place to put it that I can hide it from my color scheme. Crazy woman, you are probably thinking by now.
2. Always add mushroom compost and Black Cow.
3. Cross my fingers and pray that everything will flourish.
4. Plant any new orphans in the ground before husband arrives home.
Here are a few blogs and sites that are inspirational in my planting efforts...
Flowers are essential for the eye/soul and to discover color transitions. Gardening is experimental...a learn by doing. Some things love to grow for me, others disappear. Wish I could have hibiscus in my garden...I love it in teas.
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