Coleus, Cleome, and Friends

I got out and did some weeding and deadheading today, thankful that the horrible heatwave is taking a hiatus. I think the heat has simply moved over to Ontario though. Poor them! We need some good soaking rains to perk up the poor plants. This raised bed is full of lilies, coneflowers, potentilla, and (the beginnings of) liatris blooms. These perennials completely disguise the tulips' unsightly remains.

Here is Cleome spinosa "Violet Queen". It looks amazing next to the deep blue delphiniums and provides some bright color among the deadheaded perennials. Now that I see it in bloom, the flower reminds me a bit of the wild fireweed.

Finally, my Coleus "Kong Rose" is looking full and lush. It got some frost in early June that stunted it, but it grew back beautifully. This is one of the new large coleus grown from seed (started in my basement).

This is a new delphinium in my garden, started from seed last year. It is a rich purple from the Pacific giant series, called "King Arthur". I absolutely love this color!

Pictured here is daylily "Double River Wye", which has been blooming for weeks now. I am quite happy with it. I like the contrast between it and Delphinium grandiflorum "Blue Elf", which is probably the only reason I don't rip that floppy, self-seeding delphinium out!

My daylily "Little Business" started blooming last week, but I really don't like the color, which is orangy-red. It must go. Besides, it got cooked in its location along the house, which may be more suited to dry and hot-loving plants.

Ice Chimes and Giant Coleus

The Lac La Ronge ice is quickly being replaced with rippling water now. Nobody's taking trips out to their cabins for a little while now, except perhaps that guy we see with one of those airboats that travels over ice and water as if he were in the northern version of the everglades. I hear he lives out there year-round. Impressive. We walked out on the pier across the street and I was really taken by the tinkling of the ice in the water. The lake ice is about a foot thick, and vertical shards of ice are continually "calving" off the leading edges . Millions of glassy ice sticks float around, glinting in the sunshine and banging against each other, making a sound like hundreds of bamboo wind chimes. Heavenly!

Meanwhile, down in the fertile grounds of the basement, my coleus grows bigger than most coleus I have ever seen before. Check out the photo -- these plants only have about 3 sets of true leaves! This is a Kong Rose coleus, I suppose the "Kong" series name denoting their size. These are supposed to get 18" tall. I'll probably be putting them in a whisky barrel planter under the poplar, so they are in shade.

Germination Determination

Currently, I am in the spring manic phase of seed starting. I am planting far more seeds than I could ever grow, and potting up as many seedlings as I could possibly have room for. Some seeds germinate easier than others. As yet, my Pulsatilla, Cleome, and Campanula carpatica have been a no-go. Currently, they are sitting on the garage window sill in hopes that fluctuating temperatures might help do the trick. The only thing that is growing in these pots so far is moss!

My Saxifraga mix seeds are potted and in a ziploc bag in my fridge until May 1. The package says they need cold stratification to germinate and I've had success with the refrigerator in the past. So far, no guests have noticed the little pots of dirt in baggies in my fridge...

The pretty little green and pink-leafed plants are Coleus Kong Rose. These were fairly expensive seeds, but luckily, all germinated easily.

Of course, it is still rather cool and snowy outdoors, but I am quite proud of my lettuce and herb project. These are growing very well indoors and I uploaded a picture of a basement-grown salad I made last weekend. I didn't grow the cucumbers and tomatoes, but the basil, parsley and lettuce were all homegrown. I do have 3 grape tomato plants under the lights though, and they're going to be planted outdoors in June. Hopefully we'll get to eat vine-ripened tomatoes this year, though that is a real challenge in this climate. Last year, we picked nearly all of them green to save them from the first frost. The season is just too short for tomatoes, unless they get a real head-start.