Earth N Moon: 06/22/16

Yes, the title picture is from my garden. It is a Spearmint plant. Anyone who knows me knows that I love plants, and when I say I love plants, I run down to Lowe's quite often trying to find plants on clearance to save. I absolutely love taking care of plants and helping them grow so I can either use them in my bath products, my cooking, or just to enjoy looking at them.

I feel at peace when I work in my little garden with my plant friends. I would like to get some more and I think I will once I have a little extra money.

So, this is just a blog post about the plants that I put around my house.

Oregano Plant
Photo taken by: Kristine with Earth N Moon

Oregano is a wonderful addition to any herb garden or garden in general. It is easy to keep up and looks great as an ornamental plant. Did you know you can easily propagate cuttings from Oregano plants?

How to easily propagate Oregano:

Choose branches or stalks of Oregano that are healthy and green.
Make sure you make a clean cut close to the base of the plant.
Place the cutting(s) in a vase or glass of water as you would cut flowers.
Wait at least a week or so, and you should start to see tiny roots that have grown near the bottom of the cuttings.
Remove the cuttings from the glass or vase and plant in potted soil.
Once the cuttings have taken to the soil, you can either plant them in the ground or leave them in the container.

Black Petunia & Red Verbena
Photo taken by: Kristine with Earth N Moon

I found some black petunias mixed in with some red and yellow verbena at Lowe's. It was the only black petunia they had and it instantly caught my eye. I love the velvety look of the black petunia in contrast with the yellow and red verbenas.

I'm not really fond of the flavor of Tarragon, however, I like the smell, and the small yellow flowers that it produces are pretty. I have a patch of Mexican Tarragon in my garden right next to a small patch of Rosemary. My Rosemary has not fared very well until I placed some other herbs around it. I guess it was lonely.

Mexican Tarragon
Photo taken by: Kristine with Earth N Moon

I also love my lilies along the side row of the yard. Every year, they bloom peach and purple. They are called Peach Candy Day lilies.

Peach Candy Day lily
Photo taken by: Kristine with Earth N Moon

Black & Orange Tiger Lily
Photo taken by: Kristine with Earth N Moon

I have not seen this color in any of the local stores around me. I also have some orange and black tiger lilies that bloomed this year. Before they opened, something ate one of the buds off of my black and orange lilies. I had planted the bulbs the season before and I had been waiting anxiously all year for them to bloom. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper, but they will come back next year.

I have some solid black lily bulbs that I bought this year. So, I am hoping that if I throw them out there this year, next year they will bloom. I know spring is usually the season for planting bulbs, but in my experiences, usually as long as it is in spring or summer when the ground is warm, they'll still bloom. Don't believe everything you read on packages. Some plants that come with the little information cards are incorrect. The card will read that the plant does best in full, direct sun which is not always true. I have gotten plants that the information card says full, direct sunlight and in fact, the plant did better in indirect sun. One example is verbena. As mentioned before, I have red and yellow verbena that seems to do well in half-day sun. I also have Aztec verbena that likes half-day sun although the information card reads full sun. Verbena is also supposed to be a perennial. Two years ago, I planted purple verbena as directed by the information card- in the sunniest location and it never came back. I have also planted some other plants that have claimed they were annuals such as Dianthus. However, mine have come back for the past 2 years! I know that there are some perennial varieties of Dianthus such as Sweet William, but when people buy a plant, the care cards should be taken into slight consideration.

Viola Mixed Colors
Photo taken by: Kristine with Earth N Moon

Another thing I've learned just by taking care of my plants is that they seem to do better when they are placed next to a garden fountain. I have one in my front yard and the plants immediately around the fountain are always bigger than the plants farther away.

I also love the color combinations of purple, yellow, white, and orange among the violas in my garden. My mother-in-law has some wild purple and yellow violas that grow in her front yard and they come back every year. This is the first year I have grown violas in my garden and they have grown into a bush! I have noticed that they are passing already. I'm not sure if it is due to the heat or whether it is something else, but I'll have to take a closer look.

I love petunias. They last quite a while if you keep them watered properly. They are best for containers when you want to add a little color. I usually try to get various different colors and mix and match them in my containers.

Of course, Basil and Spearmint are in my garden as well along with Bee Balm, Cilantro, and Lavender. The Lavender and Cilantro has already bloomed. I'm waiting on the Bee Balm to start blooming so I can witness what they will look like. I am very excited about that.

Basil
Photo taken by: Kristine with Earth N Moon

I'm not sure if you can see it in the picture of the Aztec Verbena, but there are some Coleus in the background I have planted in a pot. They are HUGE, a lot larger than I have ever grown before. I am happy with the way they are growing this year.

Aztec Verbena
Photo taken by: Kristine with Earth N Moon

I have combined pinks of different flowers together in a box container this year. It is filled to the max with Aztec Verbena, pink Begonias, and pink Petunias. The different shades complement each other nicely, I think. So, for the rest of the blog post, I am just going to show my pictures of the plants I have around my house. Enjoy!