Next year...

In “From the editor” of the December 2009/January 2010 issue of Horticulture magazine, the question is asked “What are you planning to do in your garden in 2010?” The layout box titled “new year’s resolutions” offers these ideas, linked to articles in the magazine: conquer dry shade, start a terrarium, plant something native, something honored and something new and/or choose the right mulch.




What am I planning to do in my garden next year? That started me thinking and here is what I came up with. I am planning to do better. I’d like to stay on top of the weeds, get stuff planted on time, keep things watered and fertilized when they need to be, get the nemesia out of the ground and into containers and into the greenhouse BEFORE the first frost so they don’t have to live in my kitchen for a week. I guess that amounts to spending more time in my garden; making it more of a priority in my life and not a guilty pleasure.




And conquering dry shade, planting something new, and choosing the right mulch are all good, too.




Have a beautiful day!

Nemesia...

When I lived in Southern California, I planted a rose named Sweet Vivian that my dear friend, Carol, gave me in a half oak whiskey barrel that one of my sisters gave me. Underneath the rose, I grew Nemesia. The original ones were deep blue. It may have been the cultivar 'Blue Bird', although I am not positive about that. However, they reseeded themselves and the seedlings grew up to have pale flowers that were incredibly fragrant. So, when I passed the whiskey barrel on the way to the front door, I would be greeted with this wonderful scent. And in California, the Nemesia wouldn't die in the winter. I would cut it back when it got too leggy and it would just continue to grow and reseed.




This year, I grew the cultivar 'Blue Bird' along my "stone" wall and 'Blueberry Sachet' in a pot at the foot of the deck steps. Yes, they look like miniature snapdragons because they are indeed related to snapdragons!




The Nemesia I have grown here in North Carolina hasn't reseeded itself or overwintered. This winter, though, I am planning to put it into my greenhouse and see if it will survive. I think it is such a charming little plant. I like it in pots, I like it in the ground, I like it on my "stone" wall. And I like it that the honey bees like it, too.



Have a beautiful day!