Oddballs of the pack

Well this week seems to be mainly about plants that I haven't stopped to consider adding to my plant
collection. At the same store that I got the chives and the dwarf curry plant, I stopped by and bought 3 plants. The first was a healthy lavender bush, which is to replace the lavender I have, as it seems to not have transplanted well into the soil I put it in. While its difficult to see from the photo, the plant I chose is already starting to bloom and I plan on transferring it first into a somewhat larger planter and after it grows larger, putting it into the ground, as I think I put the young one in too soon. The second two plants I bought from the store however were an interesting plant that I learned about just about a week or so ago. These plants are called nasturtium

Nasturtium is a plant with edible leaves and flowers, both of which have a hot peppery taste. These plants can be trimmed to be a dense bush or a trailing ground cover, which is what I intend to do with them. I am planning to plant the canna in the front yard and have the two nasturtiums on either side of it. The flowers generally will vary from yellow to red in color, making them compliment the reccurent yellow bloom of the canna I have. Like the canna they like full sunlight as well as moist soils.
In addition to this interesting edible plant I bought for my garden, while at the grocery store with one of my friends, I couldn't help but notice that the place was selling a plant I think all of us have heard of, Venus flytrap. Quite by chance about a week before I found this plant, I was considering of trying to find one, as it is native to the Carolina beach areas. Seeing it, I simply had to buy it. Venus flytrap, a carnivorous plant, is typically found in swampy and poor soiled areas. It likes partial sun but doesn't do well in full sun so I plan on, for now, keeping it in its planter inside and having it sit near the east facing windows.

In terms of the other plants I am growing, the tomato plant is producing more and more tomatoes and they are ripening perfectly, no insects seeming to eat them or get to them. One thing however I am trying to decrease is the amount of mint I have, as more and more suckers have seemed to pop up. In the second planter, the one with the cilantro, parsley and peppers, the peppers are growing and forming quite nicely. The cilantro that flowered is now going to seed and I plan on taking a few for next year and taking the rest and making it into coriander powder.
The stevia has also grown quite a bit since I last checked, as I went on vacation from Friday to Monday and have had work all day this week. It's grown to about the length of a pinkie and the leaves are growing quite nicely. The hot muggy humid weather has also been helping it as it is used to rainforest climate conditions. Sometime in the next few weeks I am going to look up ways to turn the leaves into the substance used to actually sweeten food and beverages and get back to you. I am also trying to think of any creative uses for the nasturtium leaves and flower so if anyone has suggestions, feel free to leave them below.

Growing and Harvesting

Well the past few days have been very exciting for my garden, as far as product wise. As I walked around my deck the other day, I noticed the first of my tomatoes had ripened and decided to take it off before bugs and animals tried to get to it. Although it isn't the largest tomato, it still is a very nice sized one for being grown at home. I'm not sure what we plan to do with this little tomato but if we need a fresh tomato for a recipe we have one nice and ready.

In addition to having this tomato ripe, as well as a few other tomatoes close to ripening, while I was walking around our deck I noticed our pepper plant is beginning to form tiny little green peppers. as of now they are a little bigger than an average thumb nail.
In the same planter, I have parsley which just recently began to flower and, apparently, the flowers attract butterflies, bumble bees and many beneficial insects, such as predatory wasps. My only concern is that the wasps will begin nesting at our house, as oppose to living in the forests near by. Most people will clip the flowers in order to have the leaves stay fresh but if you are like me and decide to keep the flowers you can use the fruit to make the spice coriander.
As I continued to walk and water my different plants, I was pleased to see that in a very small planter I'm using, my stevia plant has began to sprout and leaf out. Although the leaves are very small for right now, I am very excited that they came out so quickly and can't wait for the leaves to be large enough to use as a natural calorie free sweetener. When the individual sprouts each get large enough, I also plan on transferring them into individual larger plants, as this plant is a perennial and as long as we can keep it warm, it will do alright. The only problem I've read about this plant is the initial germination as well as not being very cold hardy here. The germination didn't seem to be that large of a problem for me so I think I'll be able to keep them nice and warm in our sunroom during the cold months.
As I continued watering, I decided to check the side of our house to see how the blackberries were going and I'm proud to say we have our first ripe blackberries. I snatched a few of them yesterday and one today and they are the perfect taste and ripeness.
As for the other plants I am growing they all seem to be doing pretty well. The honey locust on the deck are growing nice and big and already forming a slight canopy. Pretty soon I think I'll have to either plant them in the yard or transplant them into larger planters so their roots can take off. The bluebeard for a while wasn't looking too good but it seemed to recover, having its leaves nice and firm instead of drooping. The sweetspire is starting to grow vertically as well. I think the only plant that isn't doing so well is the river birch I got last week, which is in the shade.

Seeds and saplings

Hello to everyone, I have quite the new assortment of plants this week! First plant I got this week was actually an herb to replace a plant I previously had. For whatever reason the thyme I had planted by the rosemary and sage vanished not too long ago and honestly it didn't look that healthy anyway. So while at the grocery store I decided I would go and buy a new more healthier plant and I am planning on putting it where I had the previous one.

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!

Plants Galore!

Well hello peeps. I have been given even more plants by my professor and couldn't be more excited! First off these honey locust, Gleditsia triacanthos, are now in individual tubelets as I call them and in my possession. Like the Cercis canadensis it is a native member of the Fabaceae family. I will be growing 9 of these. In addition to these I received a much larger basil and a new stronger tomato plant. The last edible thing is a green bell pepper plant but my list doesn't stop their. I received some wonderful landscape plants, who's names are escaping me right now. They are annuals but they are pretty and I look forward to planting them.
In addition to these plants I got for free, the other day I bought some seeds from a gardening store, Benhke's Nursery, in Beltsville MD. I bought carrot seeds, lettuce seeds and chamomile seeds. Starting today is the start of corn planting season so I may buy some corn seeds as well. I planted the carrots in a large pot which I have been planting my other plants in. I will take pictures in later posts. Its coming around quite nicely. Literally right after I planted them our area got plenty of rain and mist which was great for the plants. 

When I get home today I will be taking out the not so well tomato and planting the nice healthier one. I am also planning on planting the Lavender by our fence. 

Moving and correcting

Well this morning I went into our sunroom and thought it would probably be best for me to move the Solanum lycopersicum, commonly known as tomato, out of the acid plant bin, as it requires alkaline soil. When I lifted it however, I noticed its roots were far past growing out. So, remembering that I planted some Allium sativum, garlic, a few days ago, and garlic being a good companion plant for tomatoes, I planted this tomato plant outside.
I would however like to correct a statement I made in my first post. I was looking up hardiness of poinsettias and realized that they are subtropical shrubs. They can only survive in zone 10-11 making them only good as indoor plants for most of us. Because they are tropical plants you can also guess they like acidic soils. Most tropical soil is acidic while inlands are more alkaline.
If any of you have questions just send me a message and I'll answer you.