Ok, I admit it -- I'm a sucker for Salvia! This maintenance-free plant gets me every time. I've always had some variety in my garden and this year is no different.

There are over 900 varieties on record of Salvia, and it's available as both perennial and annual.

Perennial salvia, also known as sage (pictured above), is available in several cultivars, grown for the summer show of violet-purple spikes of bloom on plants that reach 2 to 3 feet tall. The cultivar "May Night" is distinguished by having dark violet-blue flower spikes on a more dwarf plant, reaching about 18 to 24 inches tall. I happen to have three of these and have transplanted them a few times over the years. They always come back bigger and better than before. If it gets too tall, cut it back in midsummer. The plant will come back bushier with more blooms in the fall. It likes full sun to partial shade.

The annual salvias come in different colors such as red, lavendar, coral and even white. It also comes in different sizes and leaf shapes. This hardy plant often reseeds itself. As seen here, it's coming up all over my garden path even though I haven't planted any new annual salvias in over three years.

My favorite annual specimens are the Lady in Red and the Coral Nymph, which is a salmon and white bicolor on compact plants. These uniform heat and drought-tolerant plants reach 2-ft. tall and bloom prolifically.

So if you're looking for something that needs no tending to at all, go for the Salvias, in any variety. You can't go wrong.

Enjoy this photo of my first Sunflower of the season. It just opened yesterday right in the middle of my new cutting garden. Everything's coming up really nicely and will be ready to make some nice arrangements for in the house.

Next up, the veggie garden update -- how's your veggie garden growing? Another look at those Earth Boxes, which are doing very well, by the way. And how about a couple of zucchini recipes, now that we are getting swamped with them?

OK, I'm back from vacation, and I'm always amazed at how much my garden seems to grow while I'm away.
I spend time every day tending to various aspects of my garden. I'm happy to do it. It's very therapeutic and I enjoy seeing the plants grow and bloom or produce veggies. But sometimes it's like watching paint dry ...
Before I go on vacation, I always trim things up, make sure the last plants are planted, finally finish mulching and water and fertilize everything again.
Although every vacation is a great getaway, there's no place like home, and I look forward to seeing what's been happening in the garden. And I'm never disappointed. Everything seems to have grown a lot this time ... the pond's overcome with water hyacinths and lillypads. (I'm happy to report that the waterfall's just fine.)
My dad's on "pond watch" while I'm away, feeding the fish, and making sure things runs smoothly. So he couldn't help himself and already cleaned the new waterfall filter twice. "You can't believe how much easier it is than the old filter," he told me over the phone. "Dad, the new filter's not supposed to need cleaning for a couple of weeks," I said.
"Yeah, but I just wanted to see how difficult it was and it's not at all!" he gleamed.
The ornamental grass has gotten taller. New spikes are coming out of the top of the ravena grasses. The butterfly bushes are starting to bloom. The hydrangeas are blooming. The annual salvias have returned among the stones in the path. I haven't planted annual salvias in at least three years, but they must re-seed themselves and keep coming back each year. I even have petunias coming up through the bricks in the patio. They must have re-seeded out of the planter pots I had there last year. That's the "cool" thing about a mild winter ... sometimes annuals come back.
And it's time to prune my wave petunias, a chore that I don't look forward too. Everything I read says that it's perfectly fine to cut them back. It promotes more blooms. But that hasn't exactly been my luck over the years. They are definitely getting too leggy now, but I know once I cut them back it'll be weeks before they bloom again. I just can't win with them!
On a brighter note, the first veggies have been harvested out of the garden ... we have a few cherry tomatoes, the first Early Girl tomato, four zucchini and six cucumbers! Yes, I love to have fresh vegetables in the summer. Soon we'll be making our own bruschetta and cucumber salad. I already made some zucchini bread, and we recently dined on zucchini "crab" cakes.
Before leaving on vacation, I declared that my 2008 Planting Season was officially over ... I spoke too soon. I bought a few new plants on vacation, and yesterday I had to stop at Lowe's to get gravel for a new pond plant I bought ... and there by the check out stood racks of plants marked "Clearance." Well, you know, I couldn't pass that by without a look. So I got some elephant ears ($1.99), a lonely lime green hosta ($1.49), lantana ($2.49) and a few more geraniums (all under $1), because, you know, I can't pass up a bargain.
Remember, there's still a lot of good stock out there, just be sure to check the roots before buying. And when planting these late buys, definitely break up the root ball so the roots don't continue growing in the shape of the pot they've been kept in.
So now that I'm back, there's lots to share ... I tell you about the new plants I got at Rehoboth Beach, plus the unexpected visitor on one of them, my lillies, salvias, ferns, hostas, the parrot boat and, best of all, the triumphant return of Flamingos to my nighttime landscape!

Recently neighbors of mine went on vacation and asked me to feed their tropical fish and water plants in their garden in case there wasn't any rain. Their home is currently on the market, so they wanted to make sure the yard was looking its best for prospective buyers.

While their tropical aquarium is nothing short of fabulous, their backyard is outstanding! Since they're moving, I decided to take some pictures on my last day caring for the property. Talk about a backyard oasis, they were happy to let me share the snapshots with you.

When you first step through the sliders off the dining room onto their covered deck (with skylights, of course), you can't help but be taken with the whole scene, but first let's start with the patio off the deck to the left ...
A chimnea sets the focal point in the corner surrounded by various ground covers and a bird bath. Just past is a hand-crafted pergola complete with Wisteria vine framing an alcove planted with irises, lillies and two clematis. Follow the path to the right up to the quaint gardening shed, surrounded by hostas.

Beyond that in the far corner sits another hand-crafted item - an exquisite suspended swing offset by more hostas and yet another pergola atop the back gate. (There's one more pergola on the other side of the front-facing part of the also hand-crafted privacy fence, complete with another Wisteria vine. It doesn't get more fabulous than this folks!)
All the plantings are just so ... the complete opposite of my garden. I tend to over think and over plant, as everything at my neighbors' seems to have been put just in the right place, with just the right amount of statuary for accent. There's also hand-crafted bird feeders and houses (have I written "hand-crafted" enough?) Yes, they're also very handy with power tools and wood work.
So if there's something they think would be perfect in a certain spot, unlike me who will search the net for it, they'll just make it themselves!

Check out this serene scene along the back fence, what bird wouldn't want to take a break and get a bite or bath in this pleasant setting? These are also the people I mentioned in a past blog entry that have taken broken lawn statues and placed them on their side in the garden, creating a natural rustic look.
And the best part about all this for you is ... it's for sale! While I'm going to miss my neighbors greatly, this oasis could be yours. I forgot to mention, there's also a pool, and if you think the yard's fabulous, just imagine the interior ... It's available via Century 21 Agent Sharon Sapp and can be found on the web thru her site www.berkshomebuying.com/ Check it out for more photos.

Coming up this week: Round 2 with the Muck-Vac (and other pond stories), Daylillies, Salvias and the Musa Basjoo (oooh what's that?). And remember, if you're planning a cookout for the 4th, cut your grass at least 24 hours ahead of time to cut down on possible allergies and green feet!