In addition to buying new thyme, I decided to go to a small garden shop. While driving home from work during the week, I always pass this tiny little herb and flower shop and just a few days ago I decided "What the heck, I'll stop by."" The types of plants they had were amazing. Unfortunately for them I already have most of the ones they were selling. However, as I walked around, I remembered that chives are very good for carrots which I have planted with my tomato assortment.
Finding some chives, I went to go to the check stand when I saw, and smelled, something that caught my attention. It was a small herb called "dwarf curry." Although its culinary uses are limited, after buying it I did a little research on it and apparently it is used for medicinal purposes. If you steep the leaves into a tea it can help with sore throats. The oil can be used as a soothing ointment. If you want to look up more uses of it the Latin name is Helichrysum italicum. Here is a good website that explains all the uses of the plants oil http://www.helichrysum-italicum.com/properties.html. 
This plant is, like most aromatic plants, very drought tolerant. It likes dry soils and full sunlight, so top of a hill would be a perfect place for this plant. As the name entails, it has the smell of curry, although when cooked it apparently isn't strong at all. This plant is, from what I've learned, mainly used for its aromatic smell and medicinal qualities.
In addition to these plants I bought, I also got some seeds from my neighborhood gardening store and bought watermelon, edamame, and stevia. Because watermelons like warm soil, and lots of room to grow in, I will probably have to think about where I will plant them. The edamame beans, becauses they are beans, will be planted along the fence and likely replace some of the dead beans that are simply flopped against it. As for the stevia, because it is a tropical plant, I will have it in a sandy loam soil and water it regularly.
My final plant, which I obtained today while gardening, is the deciduous tree Betula nigra, river birch. While I was weeding an azalea and rhododendron garden, I noticed a small birch sapling that didn't belong in the bed. Instead of simply tossing it into the trash however, I decided I would wrap it in paper towels and bring it home. River birch is a good native tree that can do well in a wide variety of areas. It can handle incredibly dry soil as well as incredibly thick clay soils. In addition to being adaptable, it is also a very good landscape tree. It can grow 40-50 feet in height and its most prominent and interesting feature is the exfoliating paper-like bark. I have it now planted in my backyard next to the Little Henry sweetspire.
In terms of my other plants, the tomato has began producing more fruit and the first few ones have started to change from green to orange. The bell pepper has just started to bloom its flowers and hopefully I will be able to see some peppers forming soon. The oak sapling, as well as many other saplings I've tried to propagate, have unfortunately passed away, but the bluebeard, which is near the rosemary and sage, is doing alright, albeit being a tad bit lopsided. The blackberries have yet to ripen, but I walked by just today and the berries are fully formed and starting to turn red, which means that in a couple of weeks they will be ripe and ready to eat. Sometime in the next few weeks, I'm going to do a post solely dedicated to "what not to plant." This will be in terms of primarily landscape plants and ornamental plants, rather than fruiting ones. I will also go over good native alternatives or good non-native plants that aren't as aggressive. Good night and happy gardening!
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