See How They Grow

A short update on what's going on in the front bed.  It is starting to stay hot in Fort Worth and the rains are dwindling I'm afraid.

This Spring I have been getting to know my new garden and have already learned where I have gone wrong.  I can definitely say that replacing and replanting are in my near future.

The Camellia and the hydrangea I planted early in Spring are going to have to be moved.  As the warm weather creeps up on us, so is the sun on the part of the bed where these two plants rest.  It is becoming way too much sun for them.  

Same for the impatiens that were planted there.  They are struggling and it hurts to watch them.  A trip to the neighborhood nursery is on the agenda this week to pick out some annual color that can't get enough sun.

The Cannas are growing and blooming nicely.  I'm dead-heading practically every evening.  See these bright yellow-orange blooms?  In all these plants my brother and sister-in-law gave me a year ago, there is one canna that is different from all the rest.  Come winter I'll pull it up and plant it somewhere else on its own.  It's bloom is a completely different style and the leaves and stems are much heftier than the bright orange ones in the background.

Texas Sage in bloom.

The lilies getting ready to open up.

I thought I was buying three blue salvia and one of them turned out to be very white.  I'm taking a shining to the white one.

After pulling out all the pansies I filled in that space with Spanish Moss.




I love the succulent leaves and the bright flowers.  I love that each plant has multi colors on them.  They are very festive and they will do well in our heat  and drought this summer.

Gladiolas.  Still picking caterpillars off.

When I find caterpillars, I pick them off and put them in my bug box with enough of the host plants to feed on.  Let me tell ya, all these caterpillars do is eat and poop, eat and poop.  When they've eaten and pooped enough they crawl around looking for a little branch to attach to and form their cocoon.  Then they become the beautiful butterfly they were meant to be.

I check the box on a regular basis and when I see they have emerged from their cocoon I lift the lid on the box and they fly away when they are ready.
 

Esperanza.  I think this will fair very well where I placed it.  It's also drought tolerant and loves the sun

Hanging pots on front porch are doing well.  We have two purple jews and an airplane plant in the center spot.

Well, hello there.  This is Chrysanthemum who is a baby cottontail that is growing up in my front garden.  Looks like she is enjoying a little Yarrow.