I have all these little tags laying around that came in plants I have bought, so I'm going to make a list of them so I can throw them away. I found one in my tea drawer this morning!

Lavender Cotton - Santolina pinnata - subsp. neapolitana - planted in herb garden June 2008, 2 plants
Chives - 4 small plants, herb garden June 2008
Yarrow - Achillea Millefolium "Cerise Queen", 1 plant in herb garden June 2008
Golden Oregano - 1 plant, herb garden June 2008
Summer Savory - Satureja hortensis, 1 plant in herb garden June 2008 - I thought it was an annual, but it came back this year.
Lamb's Ear - Stachys byzantina - 3 plants in herb garden 2008
Greek Oregano - 1 plants in herb garden June 2008
Silver-edged Thyme - Thymus 'Argenteus' - 1 plant in herb garden June 2008
Prairie Splendor Coneflower - Echinacea purpurea 'Prairie Splendor' - 1 plant in herb garden June 2008
Ruby Star Coneflower - Echinacea purpurea 'Rubinstern' - 1 plant in herb garden June 2008 (I thought I had two of the same type of coneflower. I just now found out otherwise. I'm really on top of things in my garden, huh.)
Wall Germander - Teucrium chamaedrys" - 17 plants in herb garden June 2008 - bought from Mountain Valley Growers
Rose - Flower Carpet 'Scarlet'
One Lemon Balm plant
One Oriental Poppy plant
Two Anise Hyssop plants, can't find the tag; it will probably turn up in some strange place when I'm not looking for it.

All of these were planted in a mad dash last year right before I had surgery. Also in the herb garden are two viburnum bushes, otherwise known as snowball bushes; a David Austin rose 'Mary Rose', and a miniature rose whose name I can't remember.

Tiny Ghost Asiatic Lily - Lilium asiaticum 'Tiny Ghost' PP16161 - 8 plants in two bed beside wisteria tree, planted summer 2008.

Sage plants I have killed: Golden Sage, Tricolor Sage (2), Common Sage.

This year I planted a Mandevilla 'Alice duPont' in the spot where the sage plants are supposed to be in the herb garden. Apparently, this location is cursed as the Mandevilla never has more than one bloom to its name and looks like it is barely hanging on to life.

Stonecrop - Sedum spectabile 'Neon' - planted this year in the back between the rose and crepe myrtles.

Salvia - 'Red Hot Sally' - 8 plants this summer; when we came back from Vancouver they had disappears entirely. I think the rabbit ate them.

Begonia 'Bronze Leaf Rose' - 4 plants in a pot out front this summer.
Evolvulus - 3 plants in a pot in from this summer. I love these pots; we got them a few years ago at the Dallas Farmers Market.
One pot on the front porch - 2 Trailing verbena (it isn't trailing, but instead growing straight up; makes the pot look a little silly), 4 vincas, and 2 coleus plants.

Bloom or die

This is my new best friend in the garden. With any luck, he will eat the Japanese beetles that have decimated my roses and will soon have plenty of crepe myrtles to feast on.

While on the way to pick some squash last evening, I was first distracted by the roses that needed pruning. There are only two of them and one is a miniature, so it didn't take much pruning. I was further distracted by the overgrown wisteria tree. It was beginning to look like an alien invader in the process of devouring the backyard.

We bought it about four years ago in late spring from a local nursery, and we were told it was already five years old and therefore could potentially bloom the next spring. So we brought it home and I dug a hole in the ground big enough for a body so the roots would have plenty of room. I watered it thoroughly, then left it alone per my instructions and waited impatiently for what the next spring might bring.

I'm still waiting. Not one bloom. Nothing. Ever. I don't know what to do to make it bloom. I was told that once it was established it would not need any attention other than a semi-annual pruning, so I left it alone. That didn't work, so I tried a Google search and found a woman who insisted her Wisteria never bloomed until she started beating it with a chain. Being fresh out of chains, I have continued with the hands-off approach. If anyone has any less violent suggestions, please share them. Otherwise, I am quite tempted to take an axe to it rather than a chain. It takes up an entire garden plot, but never earns its keep as it should by blooming each spring.

I pruned the beast down to nothing but a handful of leaves and the twisted main trunks. It looks less dangerous now.


Yesterday's harvest. Despite all the pruning, I did finally make my way to the cucurbits. I picked as many more today. We are now having squash and cucumbers with every meal.


The Purple Jalapenos are almost ready to pick. If I let them stay on the bush long enough, they will eventually turn green, but I think they are more attractive in recipes when they are still purple. They are not very hot, which is fine with me, but H (husband) would like something with more heat.