Interesting things happening.

I sort of lost my enthusiasm for gardening this year after I had a major disaster.  I planted a garden in my front yard, not realizing that the front would be too shady for anything to grow.  I spent a lot of money on it too, so when it didn't grow, it sort of sucked the enthusiasm that I had for gardening this year right out the window along with the disaster that the front yard became.

It's late summer now though, and many interesting things are beginning to happen in the backyard garden.  Things that have never bloomed for me before are starting to show up and show off their specialness to me and the rest of the folks in my apartment complex.  The Gardenia that was almost dead last year is FULL of buds, the Blue Plumbago is lush and growing, and my Burrotail cactus is doing some serious dangling out of the sides of it's container.  In other words, things are looking surprisingly good, even considering the heat and the lack of water we've had this year.

Perhaps the  most exciting thing happening right now is the blooming of lilies.  I've been trying to get these blasted Lilies that I transplanted from the front yard to the backyard to bloom for two years now and I am FINALLY seeing the fruits of my labor.  I don't have flowers yet, but I have flower stalks!  I believe these to be hurricane lilies, but I can't be sure since they are hanger-onners that didn't come with an ID tag.  Another completely unknown lily that I've been playing with has come to stalk as well.  It is also unknown with flowers that grow on a seperate stalk away from the original plant.  This stalk will grow with flowers on it, much like gladiola do.  No idea what that is called either!

Many things that I attempted this year didn't survive, despite the positivity I express right now.  I planted at least 25 snapdragons in yellow and pink, grown from seed that I planted with my Mom while she was in the nursing home before she passed away.  Not a single one of those survived the heat.  They were bred in the air conditioning, so I don't think that they had enough of a "hardening off" period after I brought them home. Additionally, I planted Gerber Daisies and Alyssum that didn't survive.

The Datura that I grew from seed last year that was supposed to be sold to a greenhouse was instead planted in the ground, part in the front yard.  Of the eleven that I planted up there, three still live.  The others were planted in a little area in the backyard and are doing very very well!  There are blooms on those almost daily it seems.  The Canna Lily Indica were also planted into the ground.  They are still alive, but not doing very well.  The require more water than the desert can provide, and will die off without a watering every three days.  There are about six plants remaining of those, and it's a real chore to keep them alive now that they are in the ground in back.

Thus far this year has seen yet another disaster, of sorts, for me.  I tried planting Texas Bluebonnets, the state flower mind you, and they DIED almost as soon as I got the in ground.  I love TX Bluebonnets, and they grow like weeds here in this state.  How could I NOT have success with them?  That was terribly discouraging.  I also planted another Pink Desert Sage along with it though, and it's beginning to take off finally after about three months of near dormancy.  I planted roses in pots this year also, but they burn up almost as fast as they bloom and never seem to look attractive.  I can't wait to put them in the ground so that I can transfer other things into the huge pots that the roses now occupy.  I have no place to put them though where they won't just die off!

As you can tell, this year has been a bit of a struggle for me.  I plan to keep at it though, and report a little more often.  Till next time....and there WILL be photos next time...