last harvest

Hard freeze last night, so I picked the last of the tomatoes and basil. Today arranged the tomatoes by ripeness and ended up with a weird half-assed ombré.

weekend update

Moar tomatoes!

weekend update

“Tomato Chive and Dill, Attorneys at Law, how may I direct your call?”

first Robesons!

weekend update

A month later and everything is bonkers! Agastache in the east bed!



Arugula!



Tomatoes!



... mmmmmmmm ... tomatoes.

weekend update

Hollyhock  m a d n e s s (husband for scale).



East bed grooving along. The salvia and Dark Towers penstemon are kind of smothering the shorter stuff in front. I may have to cut them back. The Philadelphus should eventually fill out and get taller, right now it's kind of lost.



Daylilies and happy thyme.



Tomatoes getting tall! Also that marigold I stepped on has recovered, tho he's a little shorty.



Winecups and agastache blooming. Note the dog in her self-dug pit.



Bees are enjoying the hollyhocks.

weekend update

Pictures look better when it's overcast. Big year for hollyhocks. The area between our and Bill's driveway is a hollyhock stockade, tall flowers around the edge, gravel in the middle.





Backyard panorama, now with party lights!


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So many hollyhocks!



Unearthed the one surviving winecups I planted last year! Plus 2 new agastache. Also note the bamboo cage to keep the dog out. It was originally 3 sticks, had to up it to 6, after she cut thru a few times. 😑 note the encroaching arugula (fine) and bindweed (ugh).



Daylilies



Dill and basil are doing fine, garlic still chugging along. I'm taking a gamble and not covering the tomatoes this year.

weekend update

Picked the first of this year's arugula to bring into the office.



Also, the east bed under our bedroom window is doing nicely!

urgh

Because of course it's snowing now. Not supposed to hard freeze tonight, but I still fashioned some janky-fabulous-handmaid's-tale-looking-bonnets out of foam sheets for the basil and dill, and wrapped the tomatoes in bubble wrap. In the process, stepped on the rightmost marigold and totally flattened it. Rassafrazza. #nmwx

weekend update

Saturday  Planted the tomatoes, herbs and marigolds in the raised bed. The tender annuals had been sitting out all week, and were starting to look a little ragged. The Persian basil died, of course.

Nestled the dill and basil among the garlic. Hopefully they won't be disturbed too much when it's time to pull the garlic in June. Sungold on the left, Robeson on the right. One of the sage plants made a comeback! Everything planted, new mushroom compost, soaker hoses in place.







All mulched and cages up.


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Sunday  Planted the coleus, impatiens, and sweet potato vine in the front door pot. One of the impatiens and one of the coleus are looking iffy. Note all the chamisa seedlings in the before shot. Also the pinecones left over from Christmas decorations.





Also also Bram "strimmed" (so British!) the backyard and hit the patio + side yard weeds with killer. I assembled the new! firepit and grill we got Saturday at Big Orange. Bram made this to taunt our friends on Twitter:

weekend update

Waterwise plants had been sitting outside for a few days this week to harden off. Planted everything on Saturday. I always assumed the catmint just flops open like that, but someone suggested that neighbor cat(s) may be laying in them, flattening them while having a party. I see it now. Stay away from my new plants, you tecato cats! From left to right: winecup, coneflower, Mojave sage.



Left to right: winecup, coneflower.



Left to right: winecup, salvia Gregii, Mojave sage. Note the existing big Mojave sage far left — I hope the new ones like it here as well.



Also note the yucca — gonna bloom this year!

2019 Garden Fair | weekend update

Garden Fair! Construction is finally done at the fairgrounds, so all the exhibition spaces were back. However it seemed like fewer people and vendors. I guess the past 2 years have taken a toll. Met up with Janet who, based on my stories of previous years' crowds, also thought it seemed sparse.)

But the Farministas were back! I got the usual Robeson and Sungold plants! Plus 2 dill starts! $18 (tomatoes $6 each (price hike!), herbs $3 each, no discount for multiples).

On my way out, I gave Janet directions to NM Plant Co (she was looking to get many many geraniums). Then I headed to Big Orange, got some new gardening gloves and 2 bags of mushroom compost. Swung by Plants of the Southwest, but didn't get anything. Need to get a new straw bale for tomato mulch.

Last stop was Waterwise, ended up with:

• 2 Salvia pachyphylla "Mulberry Flambe"
  
• 3 Callirhoe digitata Winecups
  
• 2 Echinacea purpurea "Pow Wow Wild Berry"
  
• 1 Salvia greggii "FlowerKisser™ Dark Shadows" (purple)

This year's cultivars all sound like nail polish colors, or maybe fruity cocktails. I plan to put them all in the front sidewalk bed.

Weeded the side yard, and some of the back yard by the shed. Then had to get ready to meet friends up at MoIFA for the big Girard exhibition preview. Drinks and buffet dinner afterwards at SFI.

2019 nursery trip

Took my 4 hours of seasonal admin leave this morning and went to NM Plant Co. Was a bit picked over, especially compared to my extra-early visit last year. It rained last night, and was rainy then sunny on and off.

Greeter dog Tag is still a tank, and very good at his job.
Oh hello! Welcome, person still inside your car!

I am Tag, a noble beast.

This way to the greenhouses!

Mostly geraniums and petunias, but still a good selection.

  
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I ended up getting:

• 3 marigolds (to put next to the tomatoes)
  
• 2 coleus (front pot)
  
• 2 white impatiens (front pot)
  
• 1 sweet potato vine (front pot)
  
• 3 Italian basil
  
• 2 Persian basil (when will I learn?)

Total: $25 even.

It hailed on my way home.