Some new plants

Dave gave me a gift card for my birthday, and it has been burning a hole in my gardening shorts.  But I knew I couldn't purchase anything until after I returned from vacation.  Two weeks in the hot oven without any extra water would not spell well for my plants.

So today I finally got out and purchased some new plants.

South Front Garden Bed
One of my main interests is in filling in the south front garden bed.  In the spring, it is full of blue bonnets, but after the blue bonnets fade, there isn't much there.  I have a dwarf lorapetalum that has never done very much, some bamboo muhly (one of which died over the winter), some four nerve daisies, a struggling black foot daisy and a Knock Out Rose.  

Mirage Burgundy Autumn Sage
I have had such good luck with my salvia greggii in all of my other beds.  In fact, this is just about the only full sun bed I have that doesn't have one.  So I picked up three tiny plants.

Gregg's Mist Flower
This is supposed to spread... we'll see.  I am hoping this will do well behind the black foot daisy, as it seems to do well in part shade. I bought three small plants.

Fire Cracker Fern
I have always loved the look of this plant. In my new move to purchase multiple of plants, I bought two of these.  But since they grow to three foot in size, I am thinking I may only plant one of these in the bed, and another in the north bed.


Side Back Bed
I also purchased a few plants to fill out the side back bed. It is hard to believe, but my mom and I first created this bed in 2013.  Four years later, I honestly would have thought it would have filled out more by now. One of the things I am learning is to purchase multiple plants to fill in an area.  

Mexican Honeysuckle - Justicia Spigera
For example, the Mexican honeysuckle that I purchased in the fall of 2015 has done nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  In fact, it is now smaller than it was when I purchased it.  Last year (in its second year), one of the dogs trampled it, and it lost a lot of foliage. But, as with all of my gardening, I don't give up home.  I purchased three news ones to keep it company.  I am hoping it will fill out that whole area... some day.

Desert Spoon Sotol
There is an area in the middle of the bed that gets no water from the sprinkler system. Nothing has really thrived there.  So, I am going to try the Desert Sotol.  Central Texas Gardener says to plant it in the hottest, most brutal part of your garden.  Check.

Black and Blue Salvia
I recently saw this in another garden, and really liked the look of it. I was originally was going to put it in my back fence bed, but there really wasn't room. So I decided to put it where my recently departed Lamb's ear was.  It claims it likes full sun, but can also grow in part shade, so hopefully it will do well in this spot.  I only bought one, as it is said to grow quickly into a three foot wide bush.

Back Fence Bed
I just started this bed a year ago.  It is my only shade/part-shade bed.  It also is very dry.  The Esperanza that I put in last year seems to be doing well, as is the shrimp plant that I put in this year.  The two cone flowers and one plumbago are hanging in there... about the best I can say for them.  The cone flower is continually being eaten by my two resident rabbits and the plumbago is, well, you know, plumbago...

Double Purple Devil's Trumpet
I have been wanting to try a Datura plant for awhile.  I went to get on from NG, and the sales person talked me into the 2 gallon version of this one. I really should have gotten the one gallon version (let traumatic when it dies and less to dig), but the pictures she showed me of this one were truly beautiful.  SO, I consider this my birthday plant.