Grape hyacynth 'MT Hood' is in bloom. It is white at the top but strange to have such a small plant named after a mountain.

Hi everyone,
I made it here...so glad to join this forum too !!! I live in Fort Worth, North Texas and loooove gardening...
Because of my poor soil, I have to build raised beds in order for me to have some purty flowers...
I love almost every flower ever exist, especially ones that can survive Texas heat and sometimes harsh winter...
I have Roses, that my first love that was introduce to me by my late Mom, she loved growing her Roses in Pots...
I have lilies, lots of them...because they are pretty, smells really good and comes back every year...
Also have Penstemon, Daisies, Achilleas, Verbenas, Obedient flowers, Clematis, Daffodils, paperwhites, Amaryllis etc
We have a extremely short Spring, usually goes straight to Summer and nothing will look pretty anymore then come Fall, where some will be back until the freeze comes...
Right now my Roses and lots of stuff blooms, daffodils and little bit Iris that I got are finished, it's been raining a lot so some of my flowers have not bloom yet...
Well friends, as always glad to be here and get to know you all...
Have a wonderful evening...

Nanette

Hi Nanette We are mainly iris people, but have spring bulbs & shrub. Have a bit of a shade garden with trillium & lilies of the valley.

Thank you Lucy....
I love a little bit Iris too and spring bulbs, do not really have much shrubs, took them out to replace with flowers ... Unfortunately don't have much shade garden and keep on trying with Lilies of the valley, not luck so far but I have one hellebores, and my Astilbes come back...
Do you think I still can join your fun or not ?

I try to grow Lupines from seeds this year, there are some small ones that made it, will see how it grow this year...I usually get Delphinium from the store, in 4" pots, they grow but never comes back...

We have a heavily wooded property except for one pasture area. Since no more horses, the irises have moved there to get away from the shade. Shade has killed other plants so have to regroup.

I've had an oddly hard time getting phlox established in the main perennial bed, where I really want them with the echinaceas etc. But I see several nice clumps coming up this spring. I think once it makes it for a couple of years, it'll be sturdy.

My 3 baby shrub roses (David Austin varieties) are doing so well! I might have found a way to have fragrant roses in my garden after all... such an essential "cottage garden" plant, but I am death to hybrid tea roses.

Agastache only does well with extremely good drainage, so I'm still trying to figure out the best way to include it (clay soil here). A bottomless nursery pot (or one with a big hole or two for roots to go down through) works pretty well, especially if filled with good potting mix plus pinch of moisture crystals. I've tried planting on a "mound," but that doesn't quite do it. However, my front yard is on a hill with lots of gravel from an over-enthusiastic dump truck (necessary under the driveway but not across the whole yard!)... I have 3 Agastache 'Purple Haze' there that are in their 3rd year this spring and doing really well!

Right now, it's peony and iris season... so pretty! Azaleas and rhodi's are still blooming here and there also. I definitely can't pick 10 favorites, unless I go with my 10 favorites in bloom on a given day LOL

I've had one phlox David for 4 or 5 years. Only saw it in bloom ONCE! The rabbits constantly gnaw it down to the ground. It must taste as good as it smells.

I really would love to grow phlox.

Karen

What about putting some Phlox as the centerpiece in a big container, moving it out of bunny territory? Big containers are easier out in the main garden than smaller ones, as a good soaking with the hose lasts a while, especially if you add a shot of polymer moisture crystals to the mix.

That might be an option but I'm not fond of container gardening. I still haven't planted any containers this year!

Karen

Welcome javaMom.


So far this year it's really helping that I have a big puppy; he's keeping the critter munching to the bare minimum.

Something did eat my broccoli down, but it's in the process now of renewing itself.

Few days ago Bunny ate my Phlox and Tigridia's leaves...clean cut...Thanks GOD it left the newly planted daylilies...

I feel the pain of munching bunnies. Last year I had a rabbit invasion..this year I got my secret weapon early (ordered from Amazon) but haven't had the problem like last summer. I did walk around where they lived sprinkling my secret weapon as I walked. Mr.W shot a large one and scared one away with the shot so I don't think any expectant mothers moved in this spring.

I think that coyotes get a lot of rabbits here. Deer are another matter.

Some Lupins (I think in the US you write 'lupines'?)

mix of My Castle and Beefeater (the darker ones)



Desert Sun



Noid orange/yellow (just starting to flower)

Beautiful! I love lupines but they don't do well here. I grew them once but they just didn't do well. I don't have the right climate or soil for them.

Karen

Thanks, Karen.

kqcrna said:Beautiful! I love lupines but they don't do well here. I grew them once but they just didn't do well. I don't have the right climate or soil for them.

Karen

I love them too, but have had the same experience, Karen... I've tried them several times, might need to give it another shot! Mika, is there anything special you do to grow them so successfully?

They grow like weeds here! Slugs do love them, so it's important to take steps against those - we use mineralised straw mulch here, although I think it's not available in the US (or at least no one has told me it is). But any other method of slug control would work - so just do whatever you do for hostas or other vulnerable plants. Our soil is clay-based, but they grow in all soils except chalky. According to the RHS they like either neutral or slightly acid soil - our is alkaline and as you can see they don't seem to mind!
So the short answer is that I don't really do anything - I do cut down the stalks after the first flowering so they rebloom. If anyone is willing to register as a small quantity seed importer (I think it's done online and not too difficult or expensive) I would be more than happy to send you some seeds. Plants grown from seed will not be identical to the parent plant (as with irises) but all the parents are from Westcountry Lupins, probably the best lupin hybridiser in the UK (they decorated the royal barge for the William/Kate wedding). I have other lupins not yet in flower; I'll post photos when they are.

I don't know what "chalky soil" is...

I believe they like acid soil (mine is alkaline clay) and cooler climates than mine. Our summers are very hot and humid and the lupines fried in my yard.

Karen