My own personal nursery
Bwah ha ha! Here’s my latest raid stash from my old garden at the Unsold House. It’s like having my own personal nursery over there.
I know—it doesn’t look like much now, but in each battered pot I see the potential for foliage and flower in my new-baby garden. The leisurely goodbye to the old garden is giving me lots of time to snag divisions of plants from dear friends, deer-resistant plants for my someday-to-be front garden, and slow growers that I’d planned to leave but, on second thought, really must come with me.
Here’s yesterday’s loot:
Shoshana’s iris, a passalong
Mexican snapdragon vine
Flame acanthus (more red than orange)
‘Grapes’ gomphrena
Texas sotol. I only wish mine were this full. This sotol is from the Wildflower Center. Mine is still small, but not as small as it was two years ago, when I bought it. I don’t want to wait another two years for a decent-sized sotol, so it’s coming with me.
‘Wonderful’ pomegranate
White iris from Annie in Austin. It hasn’t bloomed yet for me, but I have hope. Click on the link to Annie’s blog for pics.
Pink cuphea from Annie in Austin. Here it is paired with shrubby white boneset.
Engelmann’s daisy from MSS
More oxblood lily bulbs from MSS
Inland sea oats
Spiderwort
Rock penstemon
Shrubby white boneset (white mistflower)
‘Apple Tart’ daylily
See? Now you see what I see when I look into those muddy nursery pots full of sticks and tattered leaves.
I’m going back for more soon: Lyre leaf sage, Turk’s cap, ‘Hot Lips’ salvia, heartleaf skullcap, batface cuphea (if it survives the winter), chile pequin, pale pavonia, Mexican mint marigold. Taking pieces here and there is leaving plenty for the next owners and actually giving the garden a cleaner look.
Having pieces of my old garden to use in new combinations and different circumstances in my new garden is fun, interesting, and, best of all, free.
Today I’m in the new-baby garden—planting!
All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Yum. Plus, I see cuttings, divisions, and seeds there…;-)
Yes, indeed, Susan. Plants give us a wealth of material—when they aren’t croaking on us. 😉 —Pam
Looks like a wonderful nursery to me!
Your hummingbird photo on the penstemon is outstanding! I’ve never heard mistflower called boneset (great term for the white). I’d love to grow gomphrena (annual here). Do you know if it is deer resistant?
Cameron
I don’t know whether the gomphrena is deer-resistant, Cameron. There’s only one sure way to find out, right? Maybe by the time I get a garden going out front I’ll have seedlings from this one to try in deer-land. —Pam
The “boneset” name, I’ve read, comes from using white mistflower as an herbal remedy for dengue fever, also known as break-bone fever from the pain it caused. —Pam
I don’t know what’s better, that they are old friends or that they are free. Have fun!
Both matter in starting a new garden, don’t they, Kim? I do not plan to recreate my old garden, but a sense of familiarity in the new landscape is important in feeling at home. —Pam
Pam, I often look at my garden and think what would I take with me when/if I move? When I moved into my present garden (it does have a house as well!) I was able to go back and get some plants but I didn’t have a fraction of the plants in my last garden I have now. At least being able to go back makes up for all the downsides of owning two houses. Enjoy yourself but when you find yourself taking plants from the new to the old, it might be time to stop!
Lovely pictures, I need to look up some of these plants. Best wishes Sylvia (England)
Ha! If I get to that point, I will definitely stop, Sylvia. But I had a LOT of plants crammed into my old garden, with plenty to spare. Now that I’ve gone over to the Dark Side, I’m planning to take whatever I want with no regrets. I’m not leaving big holes though, and I’ve promised my realtor that the garden will still look great come springtime. —Pam
Go Pam Go! I have never in my life heard of or seen a Mexican Snapdragon vine. That’s one of the wonderful things about blogging, you see so many fabulous new plants!
The botanical name is Maurandya antirrhiniflora, Randy, and it’s a delicate but tough little beauty. It thrived in full sun (its feet shaded by a rosebush) and with little water in my old garden. It dies to the ground each year, and it would not be winter hardy in Alabama, perhaps, but it’s easy to grow from seed as an annual vine. —Pam
It would be hard to leave all those plants behind. I can see why you snagged them!
It gets harder to leave them behind the longer I hang onto the old garden. During the move itself, and for a month or so afterward, I was too busy to think about saving more than a handful of plants. But now I’ve had time to think over what I’m leaving, and each time I go over I see something else I need to “save.” —Pam
Dear Pam, I would be over there all the time shopping! You brought home some of my favorite from your garden. The new baby garden will be growing up fast! I can’t wait to see what else leaves the ‘nursery’ with you! gail
There will be a few more, Gail. Unless the house sells first! —Pam
I’m going to drive by there and see if the Dovecote is still there!
It isn’t, Jenny. It’s been nipped too, but only because it was seriously falling apart. —Pam
Gosh you lucky lady. I remember seeing so much of this on your blog. I can’t wait to see it once again situated in your new garden.
I might have missed it but does your new garden have a name yet?
Not yet, Lisa. I think I’ll have to have more of a garden and more of a sense of it before I discover what its name might be. —Pam
While I appreciate the joy of the harvest, I truly hope you sell the old house soon… Ed
Thanks for the positive wishes, Ed. —Pam
Oh my gosh, those are all quite beautiful. You’ve got a lot of planting to do! I was especially intrigued with the Mexican snapdragon vine. I’m not familiar with that one. What kind of requirements does it have?
In my old garden, it took full sun in a southwestern exposure, and the soil stayed pretty dry under a nearby miscanthus grass. Tough stuff. —Pam
The fact that you haven’t sold the other house yet is working out in ways you wouldn’t have thought of before. Now that it’s giving you a little more time and second thoughts on what to raid for your new garden. I like your vision… it is a gardener’s way… to see beyond what we start with… here’s to selling your house as soon as you are quite finished with your own personal nursery. Meems @Hoe and Shovel
I’ll raise my glass to that too, Meems! —Pam
There is an advantage to having not sold the house yet! Love the ‘new’ plants or should I say, the old plants for the new garden.
There’s always a silver lining, Layanee. It took me a couple of months to see it, but there it is: more plants! —Pam
I love the sotol. Does it have the spines at the edge like the agave? I keep trying to find a place in my yard where the kids will not fall on it and get stabbed. When you plant the succulents in the stock tank like the one at Thunderbird Coffee what kind of soil mixture do you use?
Isn’t the sotol a beautiful plant? Its “leaves” do have teeth, but they flex and so can’t stab you like agaves do. If you plant one with a western exposure, the little teeth almost seem to shimmer with light in the setting sun.
For all my cacti, agaves, and succulents, I use a mix of sharp-draining compost and decomposed granite. Here in Austin, I buy bags of Hill Country Garden Soil (which is compost mixed with granite) from the Natural Gardener, and then I mix even more granite in before planting. Then I mulch with decomposed granite. The plants don’t mind watering, but they must drain well and can’t stand wet feet. Happy digging! —Pam
How do you control inland sea oats? I had a nice clump and I loved its form, but it seeded itself all over the garden and became nastily invasive.
They sure can be invasive, Chris. I planted mine in a pocket of soil under a yaupon tree which was surrounded by a stone edge and gravel paths. In the spring, when seedlings appeared, I immediately pulled them up or used an herbicide on them. The key is keeping them isolated from beds where you don’t want them to spread. And be sure not to carry the seedheads across the garden when you cut them down in the winter or they’ll self-sow. Keeping the plants on the dry side also helps to keep them from becoming too vigorous. —Pam
Wow–and you managed to take along the hummer and butterfly, too! 😉 Did I miss the description of what the pot o’ sticks is? I love woodies!
I sure hope the hummers and butterflies will follow me to my new garden. The sticks are the dormant plants I brought over: cuphea, pomegranate, white mistflower, etc. —Pam
Pam, you’re sure using lemons to make lemonade, but it can’t be easy to wait.
I’d intended to suggest you come over to my garden and ‘shop’… that offer is still open, but there appears to be a better selection at the Green Hall nursery than at Circus~Cercis! Did you take some of your ‘Amethyst Flame’ iris to the new house?
Remember when the pomegranate was evicted from the front garden after being promised stardom? Maybe it will forgive you and its flamboyant performance will fit better in the new landscape.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Hi, Annie. Yes, I brought three pots of ‘Amethyst Flame’ and left several other clumps behind, some of which are sending up bloom stalks already. Seems early. You have a good memory for the pomegranate. I’d evicted it to the back garden, where it looked wonderful in bloom next to bamboo muhly, zexmenia, and flame acanthus. I just replanted it next to a new ‘Blue Ice’ Arizona cypress, and I’m already excited thinking about those hot-orange flowers next to the cool blue of the cypress. —Pam
Heck yeah, I see all of the green foliage and beautiful blooms in those muddy pots!! Go get them all!!!!!
Have never heard of a snapdragon vine, very impressive.
The snapdragon vine is a cutie. I’ll show more pics in the spring if the transplants have a permanent home in the garden by then. Or even if they don’t. —Pam
Don’t we all wish we had such a personal nursery?
It has its downside, Dorothy: continued maintenance. But I’m looking on the bright side now. 🙂 —Pam
I remember trolling through my old garden trying to figure out what to take, while knowing I’d have to hide any holes I would have created. I took as much as I could and lament the ones that did get replanted and didn’t make it.
If you’re like me, you had a lot of plants in a small space, with plenty of plants for divisions and respacing. I’m glad you were able to bring a lot with you. —Pam
Do you have enough sunlight for larkspur? I still have a jar-full of seeds for you.
Thanks, MSS. I’m short on sunny beds right now. How long will the larkspur seeds keep? I may not have space for them for a year or so. —Pam
You’re lucky to be able to do that. I made a box with divisions and some of the plants from my garden in North Carolina to bring to Alabama with me, and then left it in the back yard. Talk about smacking myself in the head. 😉
Doh! The new owners must have wondered about that, eh? 🙂 —Pam
Pam – What a motherlode you got there today! I’m sure being able to keep those passalongs will mean a great deal to you in years to come. And there’s something nice about having sown your love and creativity there, and now, here as well. But seriously, now you have enough to plant and it’s time for that house to move along!
You’re telling me, Diana. Fingers crossed! —Pam
Oh, Pam, this makes me wish I was closer to my old garden in Portland – at least until I think of the snow, ice and cold they’ve had this winter. And I often say prayers for the new owner, hoping he is surviving the bad economy and the slump in the housing market. May your new owners show up soon – I have a good feeling about March.
Me too. It’s a great time to buy! 😉 —Pam
Incredible, incredible photography as always, Pam. I know some of your plants, but that Mexican snapdragon vine stopped me in my tracks. Want. WANT! I know it would only work as an indoor plant or possibly an annual, but how beautiful it is. I’m glad you were able to score some plants from your ‘nursery.”
Thanks, Jodi. That Mexican snapdragon vine likes heat and sun. I’m not sure if you have enough of either, but why not give it a try. The next time I get seeds, I’ll send you some. Don’t let me forget. —Pam
You’re going to have quite a new garden, and, apparently for little cost. Lucky you. However, I’m sure you’d rather just sell the house…
Aiyana
Indeed. When the house is sold, I can do a little hardscaping. 😉 —Pam
Hi Pam, Oh…your post is like a huge ‘happy pill’. Wonderful stuff/ Tyra
Thanks, Tyra. I’m glad you enjoyed the pics. It won’t be long until spring returns. —Pam
I’d be over there digging everything but the trees! And I might grab those too if I could dig them up and fit them in the Pathfinder! I agree about the pass a longs. They are the best, because I think of the friend who shared it with me every time I see it in my garden.
Brenda
So do I, Brenda. The plants are wonderful, but the memories are even better. —Pam
Wow! These are all gorgeous – especially the gomphrena and the Inland Sea oats. And it’s wonderful that you’re bringing them ‘home’ to take care of – so often the new owners don’t appreciate or have time to care for the garden as we do.
When I went back to visit my prior garden I was horrified to see that my pulsatilla (lovingly raised from seed) was replaced with WAX BEGONIAS – almost a weed here in Southern California.
Chloe M.
Egad, Chloe. I’m sorry to hear about your pulsatilla loss. These stories convince me that it’s better to take more than less when leaving a garden. That, or never look back. —Pam
Pam, the hummingbird shot is amazing…way to go with the loot baby!
Thanks, Cheryl. —Pam
Pam before I left Maui I was digging things up and selling them and did not begin to make a dent in what was there. Granted I also intended to leave an intact and viable landscape. Still when you start “unpacking” a more mature garden, it is often astounding what is really packed in there. I have no doubt the garden you finally leave behind will still be spectacular.
Thanks, Christopher. You are exactly right—things were packed in, and there’s plenty to spare for the new garden and still leave a garden behind. But “spectacular”? Not anymore, if it ever was. My favorite, architectural plants now reside at my new house, either in the ground or in pots, and the old garden, while nice, is a shadow of what it was. —Pam
Way to go, Pam. I love the ‘Grapes’ gomphrena and the sotol. I still have to work out the logistics of moving all my plants in pots in a few months!
Nicole, I wish you luck in moving the majority of your garden to your new home. It’s worth the effort to have at least a few large specimens for impact in the new garden. Plus, it’s nice to have some treasured reminders of the old garden. —Pam
If your pots are like mine, there will be ‘surprises’ in them as well. A recently potted gerbera daisy from my garden is now sporting lily companions, probably tiny bulbs from off a lily stem nearby.
Good point, Nell Jean. I’ve already found a stowaway heartleaf skullcap, and I may find others in the spring. —Pam