Hello!

Well no, I didn't fall off the face of the planet, just more into the laziness zone.  This summer has held successes and failures both personally and in the garden.  But thankfully I can learn, and have learned, from them all.

Many of my plants did not arrive, my assumptions being they rotted under ground or are preparing to surprise me next year.  Some of these include: my bleeding hearts, freesia, lilies of the valley, hostas, and more.  I know one of my hostas didn't like the snow we received in the spring and consequently fizzled out.  But I have hope: maybe it spent the summer on its roots instead of foliage...

But many of my plants arrived, and arrived with abundance.  The self-sowers out-did themselves, and I had a chore of thinning out my sunflowers, calendula, and cosmos.  My violas are spreading like wildfire and Jacob's Ladder is popping up everywhere as well.  In one of my weeding fiestas late this summer I finally started ripping out some of the violas just to help the east bed look a little tidier.  I also spent an afternoon or two collecting seeds from my Jacob's Ladder, cosmos, calendula, and snow in the summer.  I even kept the color varieties separate for the first 3.  Thankfully, I only have two varieties of Jacob's Ladder, and three of cosmos.  The calendula, however, ended up having at least 12 different flowers,  which I have a feeling I will never identify (without help that is) owing to the amount of time I would have to spend researching.  But I am okay with that for now.  I would rather be outside in the garden or skiing, than toiling away on the internet...

But one thing I was not lazy about this summer was taking pictures, and taking them in abundance.  I have hundreds of photos to go through to find the few I will post on the web.  That is something I am looking forward to!

Yard Work and Snow

Since we left for Spokane last weekend I haven't been able to make a post since I have been too busy either in the yard or updating the information on each of my plants.  But it has been snowing since Thursday and I am finally caught up with all my updating so here's a few of the things that have been going on...

One afternoon earlier this week I had been outside weeding and moving some rocks for my drip line when I noticed 2 ski patrollers in the yard next door (they moonlight as construction guys during the off season) looking up at some trees.  My hopes were high; were they going to chop the trees down or just trim them.  These trees are one of our banes of existence in the fall.  All of the trees in our yard shed their leaves and we attempt to rake only to have the trees next door drop there leaves the day after, no fail. So I shouted to them to just cut them down and they replied back "were working on it."  Oh, happy day.

The leaves aren't the only issue with these Lombardy Poplars.  A few years ago we had some incredible winds come ripping through town.  Several branches came down all over town, but next door one of the branches impaled itself through the roof of the garage!  Of course the owner of the place didn't remove it, but just cut it off.  We can only assume the branch must have sealed the hole...  Last year another of the big branches fell from high up and got caught about half way down.  Mason and I have been thinking at least on of the trees was going to come crashing down on to our house.  So you can imagine my relief and excitement when I heard they were going to cut them down the next day.

Upon my return from Bible Study, I saw them with ropes and ladders and a few branches down.  While eating lunch, we heard a huge crack and thud and looked out the window to see a decent size branch down.  We went outside a while later to see how the guys were doing.  They were rapping up!  And the trees were still standing.  Apparently there was too much rot for them to safely climb.  Lombardy Poplars are short lived with an average lifespan of 26 years, these trees were close to 30 years old.  So it wasn't too surprising to here they were going to have to bring in a big truck to safely take down the trees.  

Meanwhile, I had been thinking that I could use some of the branches for a trellis for my Morning Glories and other climbers this year, instead of making or buying one.  So I went rifling through the pile they had gathered and pulled out several nice branches.  I let them lay in the yard a few hours before I buried them.  My excuse was I didn't want them to grow back, but really I took a nap.  At 5, I went out and dug holes for each and planted them.  If they even think about growing they are dead.

Wednesday I was able to make a blueprint for my south and southeast bed so I can know where my perennials are for the future as well as figure out where to plant my new, precious baby plants.  Thursday I returned to my summer job of painting houses only to drive home in a snow storm.  Thankfully I knew it was coming and I had gotten so much done in my yard that I felt like I had been prepared and used my time wisely.  Friday, we woke up to several inches of snow on the ground and it was still dumping.  While I was eating lunch, I heard a huge crash and saw another branch come crashing down onto the deck next door and land across one of the satellite dishes.  I laughed.

The rest of Friday and Saturday I spent gathering more information on my flowers, so now I can spend some time figuring out where I want to plant them.   And since it is still snowing, I can't really think of anything better to do.

What the South Bed looked like before

Drip line on Tuesday Morning

Drip line in action 1

Drip line in action 2, with one of my unknown tulips

My new tree branch trellis (the bathtub will hopefully become a pond someday)

My Blue Angel Hosta on Wednesday

A Lily of the Valley

One of my new Lilies (from the Hot Chocolate Mix) with a Polemonium in the back

Aerial photo of the same lily

Another of the Lilies from the Hot Chocolate Mix

One of my unidentified tulips

Part of the group of unidentified tulips

The Apple Tree on Wednesday

Lettuce Seeds & Sea Urchin Eggs?

So last year I bought a packet of Lettuce seeds that was a Mesclun Mix from the Livingston Seed Co. Even with my distaste for mixed bags of seeds I had a reason: I couldn't find packets of the individual seeds I wanted. So mixed pack it was. The only problem we had is we didn't really like a few of the greens. My solution: separate the seeds, start each and attempt to identify them. So I spent around 4 hours splitting up the seeds and getting them planted! Of course, I did take a few breaks and ate dinner, but it was a time consuming project.


But I didn't mind, it took me back to the days of science labs and I had a flash back to an assignment I had at Occidental College the summer between my junior and senior years of high school. I got to go down to LA to study oceanology for 5 weeks. Monday through Thursday we had class in the morning and a lab afternoon, where we dissected fish or went to the beach and did field research. On Friday we got to spend the day on their 85 foot research boat, The Vantuna.  The head professor specialized in invertebrates and one day he used us for some of his research. We had to count how many eggs from a sea urchin there were in one square inch. So we sat at microscopes with hand tally counters and clicked for every egg we saw.  Talk about a long time staring at the same thing.

So really separating the lettuce seeds wasn't quite so painful.  At least they looked different (for the most part).  Some were white, some were brown, some were small black balls that rolled very easily.  Others were pyramidish while others were several colors of the brown spectrum and round, but they would not roll.  Well I got them seperated into 6 groups and then looked at the package.  There were supposed to be 8 varieties.  There was only one group I figured could be separated further, so I divided them into smaller and larger seeds.  But that still left me with only 7 groups.  By this point it was 10:30 pm and I decided that was the best I could do.  I planted them in my germination tray, carefully labeled my legend and stored the seeds in their own bags.

I spent a few hours yesterday trying to identify the seeds online, but very few people actually take pictures of the seeds.  So after a while I got 2 or 3 pretty well identified and gave educated guesses to the others.  Now we will have to wait and see if I am right.  To see the pictures of the seeds click here.

For info on the lettuce varieties click here.

Sea Urchin photo source

Snow in the Morning!

So here in Bozeman we really don't get spring until May, and that is usually mid to late May. So to have a foot plus of snow fall on a mid-April day is almost expected. With all the rerouted traffic from the road construction in town, and the treacherous roads it took twice the time to get to my Bible Study in the morning. Thankfully the roads were just wet 4 hours later on my way home. The snow was very wet for us and many large tree branches had come crashing down, so I decided not to park on the street with the nice large Cottonwood trees looming precariously over the curb. Had we gotten this storm in mid January we would have easily gotten 3 feet of snow, but oh well. As I was outside taking some pictures I almost got tree avalanched on three times. I was quick enough to get out of from under the falling snow, but the cloud of snow that was kicked up coated me. Thankfully my camera battery was out of juice and I went back inside. I love Montana!

Failling an Exam and Finding Joy

April is here and for me that means the end of ski season. Bridger Bowl's last day will be tomorrow and I am ready. Oddly enough I haven't been on my skis for more than 12 runs in the past week. With the finish my PSIA Level III exam on the 2nd and 3rd my body started giving into the pain I have been skiing through and my body was ready for a rest.

On Monday morning I went outside to see a great suprise: my flowers were popping up through the dead leaves, soil and snow. What joy those tender little things brought to my heart.

It has been a hard past few weeks. Skiing hard and getting the last few pieces put together for my exam. I had an incredible week on my skis and was just amazed at what I was able to do anywhere on the mountain. I was actually excited for the exam to come and felt ready for whatever would happen, pass or fail. I was just having fun. Thursday morning, the 2nd, came and with some amazing encouragement from my coaches the exam kicked off. The weather was perfect. Snowy, low 20's, fantastic snow; it really couldn't get any better.

The group I was in was great. One other instructor, Alex, was a coworker from Bridger. Maggie, who once worked at Bridger but is currently at Big Sky, was also in our group, as well as Nick, from Big Sky, Dave from Showdown, and Don from Yellowstone Club. Both the examiners were from Big Sky and their shadow, and our great encourager, Karin was from Bridger. All in all, everyone was a strong skier and things went well.

Exams are always hard. There is not nearly as much skiing as we would like. Once we got warmed up the scoring, and waiting, began. We did wedge turns, open parallel, dynamic parallel, and 4 tasks the first day, as well as our bumps demo in seriously low visibility. But the Level III description is "anywhere, anytime, anyplace..." The second day brought our teaching segments, wedge christies and one more task. Overall, things went well. I definitely didn't ski my best, nor did I ski my worst, but I felt I skied well. My teaching segment was by far my best of the year, which was a relief considering that is what I had been most nervous about.

Well by 6 o'clock Friday night the scores were in and I did not pass. It was tough, I cried. But I had nothing to regret. I never quit, I trained hard all year, and I did my best. I was very proud of myself for keeping a great attitude through the entire exam and after (which is what my coaches had felt would be my biggest obstacle). So I truly felt that I had succeeded even though I didn't pass.

In total only 3 people, out of 13, passed the Level III this year. Jen, from Big Sky, as well as Maggie, and my best friend Kate. I am so proud and excited for all three of them.

With little sleep Friday night I attempted to ski Saturday morning. But my body was already giving into the pain and I was home by noon, on the couch, watching TV, sleeping and crying. I unfortunately got the part of the lyrics to a Rascal Flatts song stuck in my head, "What hurts the most, was being so close..." which really didn't help. I ended up staying home and in bed Sunday as well, but by the evening the tears were gone and I was able to right Thank you notes to my coaches and ski school director for everything they did this year in helping me to improve.

Monday morning I finally went outside and that is when I saw them. My flower were coming up. Tulips, narcissus, polemonium, violas, and of course the weeds. So I spent a few hours cleaning out the dead leaves from fall, pulling weeds, and being thankful that I finally have a reason to like the spring and summer. That may sound somewhat strange, but I am a lover of winter, cold weather, and snow. Here in Montana we do have that blessed threesome, but we also have fairly hot summers (and I don't care if you say that it is dry--if it is above 75 it is too hot for me). I also love the dark, and long summer days aren't really that exciting to me. To top it all off I have major depression, and my seasonal affect disorder is opposite of most people: I am happy in the winter and sad in the summer. But now I have something that makes me happy in the summer too: flowers.

The only real problem with this is my inexperience with gardening. I have never grown anything outdoors. I never had a garden in my childhood and I live a few states away from relatives who have amazing outdoor landscapes. But a few years ago I plunged in, and wow am I glad I have a husband who did have a garden growing up. We have a great yard and selected a nice spot for a small vegetable garden. We borrowed a tiller and tilled a nice little 10' x 10' plot, planted a few select veggies, and then began to weed. Had I only known about some of the weeds we had in our yard, maybe I wouldn't have jumped in so fast, but you live and you learn. And now I have a new nemesis: Bindweed, as well as a few other weeds.

Well now I have a few plots of flowers, a small garden, a few containers, and I am still learning about gardening. Hardiness zones, annuals, perennials, corms, bulbs, seeds, germination, and more. Earlier this week I decided to put together a Flower Manual on all the different flowers I had to actually keep track of them all (especially the names of them--scientific or common I had a hard time remembering them all) and I so far have a 37 page document with pictures, hyperlinks, and descriptions of most.

So far it has been great, with the exception that I can only get to it on my desktop computer and the document is slow to load with all the info. Then I realized that it would be a lovely thing to have online, accessible anywhere. So here it is: the adventures of Shannon and her garden...

Portulaca

Portulaca grandiflora

picture

I bought this a few years ago and had it in a container.  Last year I noticed it was growing in my vegetable garden.  So I am not sure if it just dropped seeds or if it is actually a perennial.  I will just have to wait and see.

Dave's Garden info

US Hardiness Zones

source

Download a map of your area

Helpful Sites

The Backyard Gardener

So I love this site, BUT it is extremely slow to load and seems to really soak up bandwidth.  Even with that said I still love it.  You can search for plants by common name or scientific name and the results have good descriptions (the majority of my flower descriptions come from The Backyard Gardener), links to Google Images, characteristics and requirements.  One thing I really like about the results is they define what each of the sun requirements mean, whether full sun, part sun, etc.

Dave's Garden

I can't really give a better description of the site than their homepage can.  If you hadn't noticed, almost all of my plant posts contain "Dave's Garden info" at the bottom due to the excellent one stop resource of information they have.  The only thing it really lacks is a brief description of the plant, but oftentimes the members post comments on the bottom of each page with descriptions and why they have it.  Another reason I like this site is the botanical dictionary.  For each scientific name there is pronunciation following it with a link to the dictionary to find out the meaning of the Latin word (which is often intriguing and insightful).

Easy to Grow Bulbs

This site has excellent descriptions of the plants visual and olfactory attributes.

The Gardener's Network

The Gardener's Network has excellent resource on how to grow certain plants, with information on how to grow in the ground or in a container.  They don't refer to Hardiness Zones, but say "in colder regions" etc.  They have easy descriptions of how to dig up and save the bulbs or corms and store inside for the next year, easy enough that it made me feel like I have the ability to do it!

Heritage Perennials

This site has 3 great searches for Perennials and the results are listed by scientific name followed by how many hits of that plant there are. Their Advanced Search allows you to input the characteristics you are looking for as well as the enviroment your desired plant will be living in.  The Keyword Search has you put in a keyword.  And there Characteristic Search allows you to choose one of 5 divisions of Characteristics.  All of the search results are able to be furthered refined.

The information they have on each plant is fantastic.  You get a picture, a description, characteristics and requirements for each.  The description has great information on the visual characteristics of the plant as well as information on how to encourage a second bloom, how to collect the seeds, how to keep from getting out of hand, etc.

Moosey's Country Garden

Here is a site I could get lost in.  The Welcome Page says it all.

National Gardening Association

I love this site and I have not explored it nearly enough.  From vegetable guides, to searching for flowers, to their food gardening guide, to their weed identification it is excellent.  It was actually their weed id that made me fall in love.  I have a bindweed infestation, which is really not pleasant, and I have done several hours of research on how to get rid of the noxious weed.  The description and info they give is right on.  The only thing they don't mention is goats.  Goats apparently like to eat bindweed, so now I want a goat.  I don't think that will go over to well with the city... 

Organinc Gardening

This is more like an online magazine, but I have found some helpful info on it in magazine article style, not straight to the point no fluff stuff.

The Plant Expert

I am so happy I found this site.  While searching for what tulip variety I had, due to the ambiguous packaging I was blessed to find this fabulous site.  For many bulbs they give an introduction, list, describe, and give pictures for the different categories of flowers.  For instance Tulips, there are 16 categories of tulips!  Each is described with pictures of several different varieties.  Another site I would like to spend more time on.

Cilantro

Coriander sativum

Variety:

Leisure Slow Bolting

Plant Height:      18-24"

Spacing:               6-12"

Sun Preference:  Dappled to Full Sun

Self-Sowing

Annual with aromatic, glossy, green leaves on long stalks. In mid-summer begins bearing 5 petaled, white or pink flowers, followed by golden-brown berries. Plant in spring. Cilantro is the leafy portion of the plant, resembling parsley. Popular herb in Mexican and Chinese dishes.  source

Dave's Garden info

Lettuce

Mesclun Mix

Arugula

Eruca Vesicaria

Arugula is an aromatic, peppery salad green. It is also known as roquette, rocket, rugula and rucola, and is very popular in Italian cuisine. It grows wild in Asia and all over the entire Mediterranean --- and has been known to be cultivated and enjoyed in places as exotic as the north of Sudan.  In Roman times arugula was grown for both its leaves and the seed. The seed was used for flavoring oils.  Arugula has uses beyond salad: it can be sauteed or cooked in many other ways. Don't forget to try arugula sprouts if you get a chance.  source

Arugula starts

Bibb Lettuce

Lactuca sativa

Bibb 

Major John Bibb (a veteran of the War of 1812) worked in the backyard of his Frankfort, KY, home to develop what we now know as Bibb lettuce. It found its way into commercial production in the 1930s.  Sometimes known as limestone lettuce due to the soil content in Kentucky, it is one of the best known butterhead lettuces along with Boston lettuce. The leaves are loose and delicate with lots of flavor.  Nutritionally, it is a good source of Folate and Vitamin A.  source

Chervil

Anthriscus cerefolium

Chervil 

Fresh chervil is an excellent flavoring for peas, potatoes, carrots, eggs, and fish, and a key ingredient of French cuisine. Chervil loses its delicate anise flavor when dried, but the flavor can be preserved in chervil butter. It is best added just before serving. Chervil of the best quality comes from plants grown in partial shade in successive sowings. Medicinal: Traditionally used as a diaphoretic to treat fevers. Herbalis, Juliette de Bairacli Levy reports that it is good for poor memory and depression. As a bitter tonic with an aromatic anise-like flavor it is helpful for liver and kidney functions and as an expectorant.  source

Dave's Garden info says it is hardy to zone 3!

Endive

Chicorium endiva

Endive

Description - Endive (Cichorium endiva) and chicory Cichorium intybus) are members of the Composite family. Endive has two forms, narrow-leaved endive called curly endive and the broad-leaved endive which is often called escarole. The outside leaves of an endive head are green and bitter. The inner leaves of the endive head are light green to creamy-white and milder flavored. Both types of endive are used in salad mixtures with blander- flavored lettuce to prepare a salad with a "little bite" to the flavor.

Chicory is an important salad vegetable in Europe but not in the U.S. It is most popular in France, Belgium and Holland, In the U.S., chicory is grown for the green leaves which are used as a salad green and for the thick roots which are used in the southern U.S. as an additive flavor to coffee and sometimes as a coffee substitute.

Witloof Chicory (also called French or Belgian Endive) denotes the blanched, tight heads produced by forcing (or growing in the darkness) the big mature chicory roots in forcing structures.

Culture - Endive is grown like lettuce. Seed is sown in early spring in the garden. Plants can be started in the greenhouse and transplanted to the garden for growing and extra early crop. Chicory for greens is grown much the same way. For chicory greens, seed is planted in early spring and the leaves are ready for harvesting in about 60 days. The greens are often blanched by the leaves together when they are about ten inches long. Roots for producing Witloof chicory are grown this way. Seed is planted after danger of frost in the spring. The roots are harvested in the fall before hard freezing occurs. The foliage is removed and the roots are stacked in the field. After they are exposed to cold the roots are planted upright in moist sand and forced to grow a new head by keeping the air temperature near 64 degrees.

Selection - Endive heads should be clean, free of browning, crisp and bright green. Chicory greens resemble Dandelion leaves and should be fresh and free of brown streaks or spots. Young, tender leaves are preferred over older, tougher leaves. Select chicory heads (called chicons) should be pure white, very tight with only the outer two leaves visible. The chicon size for highest grade is at least one inch thick and four and one-half inches long. Endive and chicory greens placed in plastic bags will store in refrigeration for about ten days. Chicory roots should be stored in the refrigerator at 38 to 42^o F. and will keep for several months until used or forced to produce chicons.  source

The Gardener's Network info

Radicchio

Cichorium intybus

Radicchio  

With its beautiful coloring and slightly bitter flavor, radicchio is wonderful when combined with other salad greens.  You can also use the leaves as a base for hors d'oeuvres, or sauté them for a side dish.  The most common variety, radicchio rosso, is round, while the treviso radicchio is elongated.   source

Red Romaine

Lactuca sativa

Red Romaine

Often used in Caesar salads, this attractive lettuce has long, crunchy, spoon-shaped leaves with red fringes and a large vein running down the centre.  The tender inner leaves have a yellowish rib and surround a sweet, crispy, creamy heart.  Also known as “cos” lettuce (said to have originated on the Greek island of Kos).  source

A colorful romaine lettuce with leaves in shades of red, bronze and green. Flavor is somewhat tart and spicy. Best color and flavor are achieved when grown in the cooler parts of the growing season. Approximately 65 to 70 days to full maturity.  source

Red Russian Kale

Brassica napus

Red Russian Kale

'Red Russian' is an unusual and beautiful variety that grows 2' tall. Leaves are bitter-free, very tender, and are intersected by purple-pink veins, lightly tinged with purple on the margins. In cold weather the leaves turn reddish-purple and are very attractive. 'Red Russian' produces an early crop of very tender leaves.  source

Salad Bowl Green

Lactuca sativa

Salad Bowl Green

Salad Bowl Lettuce does not have an exotic name, but its name is very accurate for its performance. If you only plant one lettuce packet this season to keep your salad bowls filled with pretty and delicious leaves, this is the variety to choose. Green Salad Bowl that has long wavy green leaves.  Stays tasty (and not bitter) when temperatures are warmer. Salad Bowl Lettuce is on of the most heat tolerant and bolt resistant varieties available. An old favorite as a standard for salad greens, it was an AAS winner in 1952.   source

Lettuce Seeds

Lettuce Seed Separation Project

Lettuce Seed Separation Project Finished

Arugula Seeds

Bibb? or Salad Bowl Green? Seeds

Chervil Seeds

Endive Seeds

Raddichio? Seeds

Red Romaine? Seeds

Red Russian Kale? Seeds

Snow in the Summer

Cerastium Tomentosum

picture

picture

Hardy to: 1(HP) 2a(DG)

Plant Height: 3-8"

Spacing: 6-9"

Sun Preference: Full Sun

Flower Color: White

BG: Backyard Gardener

HP: Heritage Perennials

Zone info

C. tomentosum is a ground coverthatgains its common name from profusion of small, star-shaped, white summer flowers. Leaves are fuzzy, silver and lance-shaped. A quick spreader: if unchecked, can become invasive, so keep away from delicate plants. This is a good plant for filling in large areas where other plants are not wanted. Does well in any light except full shade. source

A very useful groundcover perennial, often grown in dry, sunny areas with poor soil. Plants form a low, fast-spreading mat of silvery-grey leaves, studded with tiny white star flowers in late spring and early summer. An indestructible choice for difficult sites, but be sure to plant this where its spreading habit will not become a problem. Beautiful spilling over rock walls or on steep sunny slopes, used as a lawn substitute. Also grows well in tubs or mixed containers. Easily divided in spring or fall. Plants should be clipped hard or mowed (to 2 inches) after blooming to maintain a tidy habit. source

Dave's Garden info

Peppers

Capsicum annuum

Varieties:

Long Red Cayenne

Large Cherry

Hungarian Wax

Anaheim Chili

Jalapeno M.

sources: Dave's Garden

Summer Squash

Cucurbita pepo

Butterstick Hybrid

Dark Green Zucchini

Dave's Garden info

Butterstick Hybrid

Dark Green Zucchini

Chives

Allium - schoenoprasum 

Common

Hardy to:             3a

Plant Height:      12-18"

Spacing:               6-9"

Sun Preference:  Full Sun

Zone info

Perennial. Hardy to USDA zone 3. With beautiful edible lavender-pink flowers and delicate onion-flavored foliage, chives should be in every garden. Not many plants do as many things as this plant does AND are easy to grow, maintain, and come back every year! The edible flowers make a tasty pink-tinted chive vinegar (recipe inside packet), look & taste great in salads, and dry well when chopped for use on baked potatoes or left whole for dried floral arrangements. The foliage and flowers are an excellent garnish for most foods. Chives are easy to grow in almost any soil, containers, or a sunny indoor windowsill for use year-round. With chives on hand, your fish, chicken, vegetable, and baked potato dishes will never be lacking in flavor! 
When to plant outside: : In early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked, or as late as 2 months before first fall frost. 
When to start inside: 6 weeks before average last spring frost. 
Special Germination Instructions: Seed requires darkness to germinate. Make sure seed is planted at a depth of ¼” – ½”. 
Harvesting: Cut the outer spears of the chives when they are at least 6” long and cut back to 2” above ground. Once or twice a season, shear the plants to 2” above ground. This will keep the new, tender foliage available. The flowers can be harvested when in full bloom.  source

Dave's Garden info

Basil

Ocimum basilicum 

Varieties:

Italian Large Leaf

Siam Queen

Plant Height:      18-36"

Spacing:               6-12"

Sun Preference:  Full Sun

Italian Large Leaf:  This large-leaved heirloom Genovese type basil is particularly good for pesto and any dish that calls for fresh basil leaves. Basil has so many uses! It is wonderful in Italian foods, flavored vinegars, wih fish, poultry, rice, and vegetables. It is also easy to grow these 18”-24” tall plants outdoors in containers or in the garden. In a warm, south-facing window, you can even grow it inside during winter! (Harvest often to keep plants compact and encourage new leaf production.)  source

Siam Queen:  It has a delicious, spicy sweet flavor with a licorice basil aroma. A compact plant with green leaves and beautiful pink & purple flowers on red-purple stems, it is a very attractive container variety and can be used as an accent in the flower garden. Thai basil is known to the Vietnamese as ""Hung Que"" (and eaten raw with noodle soup in the morning) and in Thailand as ""Horapha"". A distinct improvement over older varieties of Thai Basils, Siam Queen's yields are impressive, because the leaves are twice the size. (3"-4"" long and 1.5""-2"" wide).  source

Dave's Garden info

Italian Large Leaf

Siam Queen

Spinach

Spinacia oleracea

Variety:

Bloomsdale

 This heirloom spinach is an old favorite among gardeners. It has very dark green glossy savoy-type curled leaves. Bloomsdale also has excellent flavor, is bolt resistant, and is easy to grow. Spinach is a nutritional powerhouse that is delicious fresh or steamed! In the 1930's, the spinach industry credited the cartoon character Popeye for a 33% increase in national spinach consumption. Today, we don't need a cartoon character to sell us on its benefits! A low calorie nutritional powerhouse, spinach is loaded with Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Folate, Iron, Calcium, antioxidants, fiber, and many other nutrients. We love to eat it steamed with nutmeg or raw in salads, but you can also eat it sauteed with pastas, omelettes, and in dozens of other dishes. Its uses in the kitchen are nearly limitless!   source

Dave's Garden info

Viola

Viola cornuta

Hardy to:             4a(DG) 7(BG)

Plant Height:      4-6"

Spacing:               3-6"

Sun Preference:  Part Shade to Part Sun

BG:  Backyard Gardener

DG:  Dave's Garden

Zone info

I always loved finding the 'Johnny Jump-Ups' in yards and I loved their many colored faces.  I bought a package a few years ago wanting these childhood favorite in my newly made flower beds.  The package said they were annuals but I was suprised to see them come back the next year and spreading.  They have spread through my southeast bed and into my northeast bed.  I even saw a few in my vegetable garden (on the otherside of the house).  If I remember correctly they bloomed last year, which is contrary to what I read somewhere (that they may come back but they will not bloom) so I will see if they bloom this year as well.

V.cornuta, an evergreen perennial with stems that are ascending with

egg-shaped leaves to 2 inches long. Slightly scented, violet to

lilac-blue flowers bloom from spring to summer, with white markings on

the lower petals and spurs to 1/2 inch long.  source

Dave's Garden info

Wooly Thyme

Thymus pseudolanuginosus

Hardy to:             2(HP) 4b(DG)

Plant Height:      1-2"

Spacing:               6-9"

Sun Preference:  Part Shade to Full Sun

Flower Color:     Light Pink

HP:  Heritage Perennials

DG:  Dave's Garden

Zone info

I bought this ground cover last year and totally forgot about it, I never even planted it in the ground but just had it sitting by my other containers in the garden.  I was shocked to find it this spring and see that it was actually growing.  Dave's Garden says it is hardy to -25F (zone 4b) whereas Fine Gardening says it is only hardy to zone 5.  But it survived -30F over the winter here, but maybe the snow that engulfed it helped to insulate. 

One of the best Creeping Thymes for general groundcover purposes. This

is a low, creeping species with fuzzy grey-green foliage, occasionally

producing soft-pink flowers. A strong grower, ideal as a

drought-tolerant lawn substitute or for planting between flagstones,

tolerating moderate foot traffic. Woolly Thyme is easily divided in

spring or early fall, and even small pieces will take root and grow.

Evergreen.  source

Noteworthy characteristics: Woolly thyme thrives in any dry,

well-drained spot. Patios, walks, rock gardens, stone walls, and pond

borders all benefit from the creeping, cascading habit of woolly

thyme. It also spills gracefully over stone walls and can be grown

between pavers.  picture

Care: Provide well-drained, average, neutral to alkaline soil in full

sun. It will rot in moist soils. Cut back when needed to maintain

appearance.

Propagation: Divide in spring or fall, or sow seed in spring. Thymes

are slow to germinate and hybridize regularly.

Problems: Gray mold, root rot.

source

Dave's Garden info

Tulips

Tulipa Darwin Hybrids

Varieties:

Design Impressions

unknown

Hardy to:             4a

Plant Height:      18-24"

Spacing:               6-9"

Sun Preference:  Sun to Full Sun

Flower Color:     Pink

Zone info

This is one of my favorite flowers from my childhood.  I have a few on the south side of my house, but they don't tend to do very well.  They have been in the ground for a long time but they do produce flowers each year, but they just wither up.  I am not sure as to why, whether they are old and worn out or whether they get baked by the sun and side of the house.  I am going to try to water them well this spring to see if they will actually bloom and then I will dig them up and see if there are any small bulbs I can plant elsewhere.  

The tulips I bought a few years ago and have near the front door are beautiful however and are growing well.

The tulip has been the favored spring bulb for centuries. Thriving where summers are dry and winters are cold, this bulb is treated as an annual where summers are hot and long. A genus with around 100 species, tulips are divided into 15 distinguishing divisions. Best planted in large drifts, tulips can be used in rock gardens, containers, overplantings above perennials, forced indoors, and as a cut flower. Make your selections according to what zone you live in. Largest selections are available for USDA zones 4 through 6, fewer for USDA zones 7 through 8.  Plant between 8 and 4 inches deep in early fall in USDA zones 4 through 8 or late winter in USDA zones 9 and 10. If you live in an area where your tulips will be perennial (zones 4 through 6 and sometimes 7), work bonemeal or bulb booster into or around planting hole per label directions. While growing, water periodically and fertilize with a liquid fertilizer every 4 weeks. Once flowering is complete, remove spent flowers and allow foliage to yellow and wither for 6 weeks prior to cutting back foliage. Greigii and Kaufmanniana Group tulips may remain in the ground for several years, where other groups may be removed annually and stored in a warm, dry place. Replant the largest bulbs the following year, allowing smaller bulbs to grow out in nurse beds.  source

The Plant Expert

Dave's Garden info

Design Impressions on 4/22/09

One of my unknowns on 4/22/09

A group of unknowns (the same as the right group on the top picture)

Thunbergia

Thunbergia alata

Variety:

Spanish Eyes

picture of pink flowers

picture of vining plant

picture

Hardy to:             9a

Plant Height:      6-8'

Spacing:               2-3'

Sun Preference:  Part Shade to Full Sun

Flower Color:     Burnt Red, Rose, Pink, Salmon

Zone info

This was another flower I was attracted to in my search for climbers.  The package had pink flowers... how could I resist.  Unfortunately the species names were not given so I will attempt to identify after they bloom.

Unique mix of shades for Black-eyed susan vine, including burnt red, rose, pink and salmon.  Begins blooming just 6 weeks after sowing and continues for 6 months.  (from package)

Perennial climber, grown as an annual, with opposite, oval to rounded leaves and trumpet-shaped yellow, orange or white flowers with almost black centers. Great used in containers, trained on trellises, or in hanging baskets.  source

a possible identification on Dave's Garden