Thoughts on plants, flowers and how we live with them.
We’re expecting our first hard freeze next week! I’m ready with extra mulch and frost cloth to protect the garden beds outside. It’s nice to have a greenhouse this time of year. I’m growing dahlias and strawflowers and I have extra transplants in case anything happens to the ones growing in the beds.
Hi! My flowers are slowly making their way up and the garden is looking good so far. I have a limited amount of flowers available! If you would like an arrangement, email me to send a request. Laotraflora@gmail.com
Thanks!!!
What flowers grow well in the hottest month of Texas? My favorites are zinnias, celosia, gomphrena, basils, and amaranth. It’s been an incredibly hot summer with almost no rain, so I had to scale back my garden. I gave up on dahlias, my gladiolus shriveled up, I over watered my amaranth, and I had a hard time keeping seedlings strong in the 100 degree marathon stretch. Not all was bad, I fell in love with zinnias again and I have a new appreciation for their resilience and beauty.
Up next is planning for fall planting, fall flowers and cover crops. Hoping for a successful marigold season! Fingers crossed for rain!
A few flowers I’m most excited about growing in the garden are statice, sweet peas, and yarrow. This is my first time growing statice from seed and I’m most excited about using it for dried arrangements. I lost a significant amount of sweet peas last year during the polar vortex, so I’m happy to see them happy and blooming this spring. My favorite sweet pea cultivar I grew is called ‘turquoise lagoon’ from Swallowtail seeds. Growing yarrow is always a beautiful experience. Their feather like leaves are fragrant and their blooms are dense and delicate at the same time. Spring is invigorating and I can feel the energy of summer coming. I’m definitely savoring these last cool mornings. Up next, nigella! Zinnias! Dahlias!
