An Iceberg boutonniere
Rachel came by last Sunday just as I was finishing a day of labor in the garden. She had come from a friend's house, with a gift of Moroccan mint. The mint was smuggled into the country from Morocco some years ago and they have been propagating and sharing this mint with friends ever since. It's very pungent.
I looked at the pictures on Rachel's camera of the mint smugglers' garden and went into an immediate spiral of envy, stunned by the amount of physical labor, clever design, and overarching vision.
Why do I do this? I remind myself that the style of my garden is mostly informed by my stated desire to keep this plot homespun and quiet in the mode of the house's 1941 vintage. But how much of the plan for my garden is based more on the the limitations of my age/energy, budget, etc.? Is it just a coincidence that green is the color of envy?
Let's move on. This weekend's activities:
planted white verbena in the pink bed
potted purple mini petunias in the muñequita
transplanted lambs ears, dayflower, agapanthus,and oxalis
planted the white oleander propagated from rustled cutting on Arroyo Seco
Finally, in a giant gaping space that has long baffled me in the front window bed, I planted what might be my new favorite plant: Indigofera kirilowii or Pink Indigo. From a casual glance it could be hypericum, the same pinnate leaf pattern, color, and surface touch. But more upright and shrubby in growth. It's got a spreading clump growth habit and reportedly blooms from spring to frost with its sprays of pink blooms. Nursery guy said that while it does sucker, it's easy to control. It's really sweet and old-fashioned. It makes me miss the altheas I had growing in my two previous yards. But I don't have enough room for one now.
Indigofera kirilowii
4 comments:
Ooh-
Moroccan mint is the sort of thing that incites envy in me, too!
Rachel @ in bloom
Austin, TX
I just saw that pink indigo at Barton Springs Nursery and stared at it for about 10 minutes before resisting. It's a beautiful shrub. Please give us updates through the summer. I'm curious to know how much it blooms after spring. Also, about that suckering.
In the photo your new plant looks like the passalong Indigofera that I started from one of the Divas of the Dirt...she's had it for several years. I hasn't gone nuts but so far has spread gently and is lovely.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Your fence is beautiful. Such a fence is never seen in Japan because it is damp and perishable.
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