Herb Circle Update

When the plants get going, one cool cloudy day I'll straighten the dividers that form the sectors and take away the extra pieces of brick.

The center piece is a part from an old planter that I found

in the dirt. It is held by a large bolt from a light pole with

an old brown insulator on top. The grapevine ball was lying

around where I twisted grapevines together when I pruned. 

When I considered the heat and the amount of work to make a near-perfect wheel first I settled for getting plants growing (at the wrong time of year) instead of making a photo-worthy base with no herbs.

So far there are dwarf marigold transplants that I grew from seed a few weeks back and a clump of Lemon Grass Cymbopogon citratus that wintered in the greenhouse. Lemon Grass is slow to return from roots this year outside. Out of sight in the far left section are three Parsley plants deciding whether to live in the heat or not. They would prefer shade, I think.

Waiting on the greenhouse porch are bits of Rosemay. The larger Rosemary that I transplanted has already died. Two pots of Oregano divisions are promising. Small pots of Thyme from seed await enough roots to safely transplant. The bits of brown in the pots are aged juniper needles the storm blew off last night.

More Thyme seedlings. How many puns about having Thyme

for the garden could you stand?

My Garden Becomes a Photo Studio, sort of

Steve Asbell suggested using a piece of black poster board as background for houseplant shots. Now,  I don't just run to the Dollar Store like it was around the corner -- it's fifteen miles one way. I did have a little pack of cardstock and a piece of cardboard so I improvised.

I want to make a post on winter weeds, the good and the bad. Weeds show up in photos as a blob of green and more green. What do you think of the Henbit above with its nice neutral background rather than weeds and dry grass? I think you could identify Henbit from it.

Henbit is one of those weeds that get to stay because beneficials seek it and the little flowers are kind of cute.  It goes away when the weather gets hot.

Dianthus 'Bath's Pink.'

 

Cardstock backdrop in hand, I was all over the garden.

 

Hyacinth. Pink when it opens.

Dogwood seeds and buds.

 

Early White Azaleas.

I kind of experimented with letting the background show. Yes.

 

Lantana, a favorite of American Painted Ladies when it's warm.

Oxalis blooms and Parsley

 Orchid, inside the house. I had a terrible time with these before because they're in front of a window.

Many of the plants pictured above are here on Secrets of a Seedscatterer.wordpress. Yesterday there was no backdrop so you can see how they look with their normal background. I thought it an improvement, what say you?

Joining Tootsie Time for Fertilizer Friday. Come join the fun!