The Slow, Sweltering Days of Summer~

I have been doing very little in the garden lately.  Even in the early morning and late afternoon to evening, it is still very warm and, most days, uncomfortably humid. I prefer to take refuge in the cool of our home.  Those times when I simply must get out to run errands can leave me feeling a bit on the faint and queasy side.  I'm beginning to think it's age but I'm not really sure, as I've never been a fan of the heat. I'm fairly certain that I should be living in an area that is mainly rainy and cool, sheltered by the shade of a thousand trees in the spring and summer. And chilled by brisk autumn winds and icy cold snow in the winter. But...God in His wisdom, that is much greater than mine, saw fit to plant me in an area hot & steamy enough to cook up a mess o' crawdads.  It is well...

I mentioned last week that I took some cuttings from the one & only chartreuse colored coleus that I have, in hopes of making more. That is it pictured above^^^. I love it and think it is just beautiful! It is rooting nicely and is just about ready to spread it's little toes in some soil.  There I will let it grow some before putting it in the ground.

I also transplanted some mina lobata, some well established sage & the big mama chartreuse coleus.  The sage and coleus had been sharing a pot for far too many seasons and were desperately in need of repotting.  It was originally the sage's home and the coleus just popped up out of nowhere, as most of my coleus plants have.  (I may have told this story before, but I tried and tried and tried again to grow coleus from a package of seeds with no luck for the longest time.  I had all but given up when, suddenly, coleus was popping up everywhere!  In spaces between concrete slabs, in craggy rocks...here, there and everywhere!) 

Back to the transplanting business...I always do my transplanting in the cooler temps of the evening, but I always wait with bated breath until I am sure that they are going to manage in their new home.  This has been especially so with the mina lobata since they were very tender new seedlings (a few didn't make it, despite my efforts to baby them by shading them from the harshest rays of the midday sun and keeping them well watered).

I reseeded some things that didn't germinate.  I experimenting with sowing seeds inside this time around.  I still think the seeds may be too old to be viable but hey, it doesn't hurt to try!

my plant haul! (rosemary plants not pictured)

I set out one day on a mission to buy a new rosemary plant since I have really missed having one.  Their scent reminds me of Christmas trees and winter, and because of that, it is probably my favorite herb.  (I love them but apparently they don't love me, as I've never successfully been able to keep one alive.)  Anyway, four stores later, I finally found some! The store also happened to have many plants on a major sale, some as low as fifty cents each! So...two rosemary plants and six other plants later😶, I made my way home, happy as a clam.

I'm going to take a cue from our public library and plant one of the rosemary in a sunny spot on our property that is reminiscent of a tiny Tuscan hillside micro climate. The library has had some swoon worthy rosemary plants out front for as long as I can remember, so they must be doing something right.  I think I may have been loving mine to death...ya know, to mush watering and whatnot.  Wish me luck!

Even though I'm pretty sure it's not the correct time to prune my grapevines, like Edward Scissorhands, I took to snipping "the freeloader".  After doing some reading on grapevine care, I'm thinking that maybe I had let him run amock and take advantage of my good graces for far too long. "It is for the best", I whispered soothingly, "I will use your beautiful vines to make a wreath so that your beauty will be admired for years to come.  Just think!  You will be making a contribution to the home!  And next season, hopefully you will also contribute to our bellies."🍇 He wasn't convinced. I took away all his glorious, flourishing leaves.  He's now embarrassed.  He feels naked.  He'll live.

still pretty skimpy. i will add to it as i get more vines

I hope you had some lovely garden adventures this past week!  I would love to hear about them.  And if you have any rosemary growing tips, PLEASE send them my way!

Thanks for stopping by! ~TJ