Viewing comments posted by tabbycat

My 3' plant I started from seeds I got here in a Nov. 2017 seed swap were labeled 'Cannova Pink,' but have bloomed and are a coralish red, which is another shade in that series -- 'Cannova Reds'. I really wanted a pink variety, but these are an attractive red against the medium green foliage and a different red from 'The President' I have.

They are in bloom as I write this, mid June. If they weren't so easy to pull and discard, they would be an invasive pest here in south Louisiana. I don't remember planting them, but for 10 years they have been returning each spring. They don't seem to have diseases or bugs that bother them, so maybe that's why they are so prolific. I don't even know what eats the seed pods as a food source. I still think they are a delightful little surprise plant I'm likely to find anywhere in my yard.

This basil is more like a shrub because of the woody stems it makes as the plant matures. I've had one that became 3 feet tall and wide with woody branching by fall. I start plants from seeds every spring because its leaves are the most spicy of all I grow. Also because it's so decorative in a pot or the garden with its shiny smooth leaves and colorful flower heads.

I have 2 hills of these beauties in a slightly damp area of my yard, where they thrive. Here in Louisiana we refer to them as Swamp lilies or Peruvian daffs because we call our Red, White or Yellow Lycoris Spider Lilies. We have no confusion about that like other parts of USA that call these Spider Lilies. Their snow-white blooms are very fragrant. Some of the 10-year-old bulbs I started with are now the size of a baseball. I'll have to divide them soon.

I posted a picture of mine in full bloom in May. Since then it has finished flowering and now has long spires of the fragrant and medicinal seeds. Soon I'll cut these seed heads off where I can reach them to encourage a second flush of flowers in September. It's getting harder to do now that my plant is about 10 feet tall and wide. When working in my front yard, I grab and crush a few leaves to release that wonderful menthol fragranced oil that I rub on my forearms like perfume.

I got seeds for these tomatoes in a Nov. 2017 seed swap here. I figured they should do well in south Louisiana's heat and humidity. I also liked that they are determinate. It's mid June and so far, so good. The nice plants out in the garden are already 24" tall and bushing out. A few flowers just opened on Father's day. They are healthy despite 2 weeks of off and on daily rain we are experiencing.

One of my favorite basils. I love those frilly leaves. To make a good thing even better, I just learned it contains the same healthy pigments as blueberries, blackberries and such. To think I've grown it as eye candy for my salads. I also learned it not only flavors, but also colors oils and vinegars, so I plan to try that this year. I should have plenty since I put some plants in pots to be decorative on my patio and some for color out in the garden. Only problem is pesky snails. They seem to love it as much as I do.

I love everything about this variety. I grew it last year, but didn't harvest seeds, so got more in a seed swap here Nov. 2017. It's strongly spicy and sweet and gets a little color to the leaves close to the colorful flower. Young flowers are a nice addition to salads for color. It's mid June and my plants are about 6" tall. I put some in a pot on my patio and some out in the garden to be sure I have lots of it. I hope to save seeds this year so I'll have more for years to come.

I'm growing this variety for the 1st time this year. I got seeds in a seed swap here Nov. 2017. I've grown a stronger lemon variety a couple of years ago, 'Sweet Dani,' so I find this has a weak lemon fragrance and taste. I planted some in a pot on my patio and some in the garden to see the difference in its growth in the two environments. It's mid June and the plants are already 12" tall. I harvested some tips yesterday for a salad, so the plants will get bushier now. I must admit I prefer 'Sweet Dani' for its strong and aromatic lemoniness. (Is that a word?)

This is my 1st time growing this variety. I got seeds in a seed swap here in Nov. 2017. I grow purple varieties mostly for colorful basil flavor in salads. It has smooth leaves, unlike the Purple Ruffles I'm also growing this year. I also like the look of growing them next to green varieties in pots and the garden. It's mid June and the plants are 7" tall x 3" across. I'll be nipping a few sprigs soon for a salad and to taste its flavor.

This is the first year I'm growing this large, slightly curling leaf basil from seeds I got in a seed swap here in Nov. 2017. I'm impressed by its very fragrant, sweet smell when cut. I'm growing some plants in a pot and some out in the garden. They are about 7" plants, mid June, which is 1/2 of the 15 inches they should grow to as a compact variety. I'm very pleased with this 1st season of growing it.

I have a 12 year old 'Kadota' that is 15'x15' and is presently loaded with green figs. It is a heavy producer that ripens a little later than other Louisiana-grown varieties. About the 4th of July, some start ripening for a month of harvesting. When ripe they are larger than a golf ball and green with a bronze blush or freckled with the "honey drop" at the eye. We cook them as sweet preserves to eat as jam and to use in cooking sweet desserts like Fig Cake and Italian Fig Cookies.

It's time to cut the dried cones after they flowered all of April and May. Cutting these 1st seed heads encourages the plants to make a 2nd flush of flowers in late summer/fall. I also will be planting some of these seeds for late summer/fall sprouts of new plants for some friends and family to have flowers next spring.

My Henryi is starting all new growth, as it does after a dieback following a gorgeous display each spring. It's in a large hanging basket on the edge of my porch, where it gets morning sun and then bright light the rest of the day. It travels up the hanger and then mixes with a 5-leaf Akebia vine I have trained from post to post. This spring it traveled about 5' into the akebia and it looked like that vine had the large white flowers. I water it every other day with rain water I collect. To fertilize it and help fight the diseases it tends to get here in south Louisiana's humidity, I sprinkle granular Bayer Rose & Flower 3 in 1 once a month. It will bloom again in July and then again about October. Except for looking dead between flushes of growth and flowering, its huge white flowers are worth its care.

I planted seeds for this white flowering annual by my 6' wood back fence. I train it to climb a string I put from one metal support post to the other, 6' apart. It usually covers an 8-foot area and blooms most of summer. By late September it has dried seeds I collect for next year's plants.

My 10-year-old plant stays evergreen on the south side of my house, where I've trained it on a string to trail from post to post on my porch. I've woven the new growth in a lacelike fashion, back and forth through the years. Everyone wants to know what it is. It makes insignificant small maroon flowers. I've been told they should smell like vanilla, but I find them pretty much odorless. Each year I plant a different vining flowered annual to give it color. This year it's 'Ruby Moon' Hyacinth Bean.

It's mid June 2018 and my 'Lyon's Zoe' is in full bloom again after a 2 month rest. Its large triple burgundy flowers outlined in white are a sight to see. I posted a picture I took another time when it was in full bloom to show its spectacular 2" wide blooms.

I have this in my succulent collection, growing on a baker's rack on my porch, where it gets bright light but is not rained on. I water it only by drops a week, like several others I have that prefer drier conditions in our south Louisiana humidity. It's now 3 years old and although small has multiplied by 2 root pups. It's a novelty plant like a Fairy's Castle that the grandkids enjoy checking on.

I got a 2" plant in a trade 2 years ago. I was excited to add this unusual succulent to my collection that thrives on a baker's rack on my porch protected from rain. I water them all with rain water I collect. It's grown well but very slow on my porch, where it gets bright light all day. It has grown an inch taller and broader in the 2 years. It lost a side growth last year from overwatering that caused it to rot. This past year I have hardly watered it at all. A few drops a week is all it needs. We are humid here in south Louisiana, so that must give it moisture.

These white 3 to 4 foot lovelies are by my mailbox in full sun and only get rain water. They return every spring from seeds that drop and from their perennial roots. In mid-summer when the 1st flowers go to seed, I cut them back to 12" for another flush until winter. They make my heart happy to see them whirling in the slightest breeze, which is why they are called Whirling Butterflies. No bugs or disease bother them here in south Louisiana, where they are honey bee magnets.