Clara is Here!

Born January 27, 2011 at 6:35 PM

6 pounds
21 inches

No baby yet.... Will you help me with my new garden plans?

No baby yet…. She was due last Friday, and we’ll go in tomorrow evening for them to induce. I worked through 4 pm today then we went out for a nice dinner. I still need to finish packing our bag, but don’t have much else to do to distract me from the nerves tonight….

In response to my last post, Janet @ The Queen of Seaford suggested I start a “family garden.” Such a great idea! However, I need some help! We can either go with full sun or partial shade. There is nowhere in my yard that isn’t hot, dry and with clay soil (though it’s been well-amended in certain parts). Here are some of the plants I’m considering:

For baby Clara: Leading the pack is Clara Curtis Mums. These types of mums grow so well here with no care. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen this particular variety or not. In some photos they look salmon pink while in others they look pale lavender. Another plus for this plant is that I can definitely find some to order.

Other options include white Clara Goula Louisiana Iris (probably needs more moisture than I’m willing/able to provide), or maybe a shrub (Clara Indian Hawthorne with white flowers, or Clara Brooks Camellia – which is mentioned on mygardenguide.com but I can’t seem to find a picture of, much less a seller for).

For Scott: Definitely the most challenging of the family…. There are a couple of azaleas with “Scott” in the name (“Eliza Scott,” “Scott Gartrell”), but none I can find for sale… I thought about Scottish Thistle, but I’m not sure if it’s the kind of thistle that grows around here, and frankly I’ve always considered thistle a weed! Then there’s Scott’s Clematis – a weird hairy bell-shaped clematis that grows more like a shrubby perennial than a “normal” clematis….

Any other ideas?

For me: I’m thinking “Butterfly Ginger,” even though I killed some I bought last year at a plant sale. What is the trick with this plant? Watering to get it established then neglect? I’m open to other kinds of gingers that will grow as perennials here. I’m also open to other plants altogether with “ginger” in the name…. perhaps the orange “Ginger Bread Man Daylily” (though, I already have a ton of orange daylilies)? Frustratingly, lots of plants that I find on the web don’t appear to be available in the US or I can’t find a seller for, like Iced Ginger Rose (grown only in Australia or New Zealand??) or the gorgeous orangey-pink Ginger Rogers Rose…

Scott suggested we add the pets to the family garden, but that’s a bit ambitious at this point I think! Anyway, I’d greatly appreciate your input and ideas. And thanks much to Janet for the concept!

January Update and Last Pre-Baby Post!

Happy 2011, y'all! I hope everyone is well and warm, and I apologize for slacking both in reading your blogs and updating mine. Clara is due on Friday, so I've been pretty busy with baby stuff and trying to tie up a lot of loose ends at work before I take some time off.

It was fairly warm today, so I spent about an hour in the garden cutting down old perennials and such. Not much is going on. In the edibles category, lettuce and carrots are growing with pretty much zero care:

Not sure if it was the hot summer or what, but our camellias have been off this year. The pale pink fall-bloomers only had a couple of blooms. The hot pink camellias that usually bloom for months are just now starting their show, as evidenced by the only bloom I could find for a blog pic, hiding under a leaf.

Many of our perennials are showcasing healthy new growth, including this patch of shasta daisies:

Asters:

Coneflowers:

I'm anxious to see if many of the perennials I planted last year that seemed to wither to death in the extreme heat will be back.

My seed-starting operation this year has been relegated to one tray of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and basil under a single incandescent lightbulb. I almost skipped it entirely, but if there's ever a time to be thrifty, it's when you are trying to take a long (unpaid) vacation from work!

Take care and check back soon for baby news! -Ginger