Flora and Fauna

My doggie Cuomo likes to come out and hang out on the deck when I'm working...or really just when anything is going on. He particularly enjoys the sticks he finds on the roof, which he then proceeds to chew quite enthusiastically. Cuomo is constantly adjusting his body temperature by moving around the deck--basking in the sun, getting too hot, finding the shade (of anything: a tree, a table, etc) and then moving to the sun again. And so, I present Cuomo in the wild:

BBG Plant Sale Spoils

So, as promised, I attended the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Plant Sale last night--member's only preview at that.

And as expected, it was a complete and total freakout. Carts of plants falling over, nowhere to move, people lunging at plants, the works. People are crazy, me included. I made it out alive and without breaking the bank--spent about half what I have in previous years, having made the decision to spend on perennials to maximize my return investment, as well as on some quality annuals. The grasses I can buy at Lowe's or Home Depot.

Seeing all these people buy all these plants, or even TREES, made me think of the little Edens they have squirelled away behind their brownstones...and made me crumble with envy. Whatever.

So, the list includes, but is not limited to:

Magilla Perilla Vanilla--had a Magilla a couple seasons ago and it got huge, loved it. High hopes for this.
Similar Coleus variety, apparently gets to 3'. We'll see.
Some Cosmos--hoping they'll self-seed
A Columbine...I think
Some million bells petunias. love these.
A clover like thing with black accents, low-growing
A bright green low-growing thing with white flowers
A small hanging plant that the BBG woman had never seen. Purple Bells. High hopes for this if I can keep it watered.
Lewisia--saw this at the farmer's market. Perennial that has vaguely succulent looking foliage. Pink blooms.
A couple Confetti Lantana, because I love this plant and always have them. Magical. But they do smell.
A couple Phlox. Saw these in the neighborhood and wondered why I didn't have them. Pink and candy stripe. Fun.

The booty:

Um...whoops.

So, we have our answer regarding the Rite-Aid $20 tent. Submitting for evidence, this photo, taken earlier this week at about 8am. We were awoken by the sound of the bricks weighing down the tent sliding across the deck, and apparently, the whole friggin' thing flipping over to the roof of the building next to ours. Whoops indeed. The good news is our anchoring system prevented it from taking off. Experiment complete.

The Tale of the Two Clematis

So, we have two Clemati--one, that's three years old, grew year one, no blooms, thrived year two, many blooms...year three (this year)....vines, no leaves on them, BUT new growth from the base, that I at this point am thrilled to see, as I thought it was just dead.

Second plant, at least two years old--I admit to having ignored it and can't recall when I got it--bascially, all I can remember is that it was hanging out somewhere on the deck and I think it produced a couple blooms last year. THIS year, it is rockin' and rolling, sprouting from old wood, producing new shoots, and about to burst with blooms, I believe. It is positioned by a trellis that I hope it will overtake. Have a pot positioned with Morning Glory seeds nearby just in case not. Let's go to the videotape (Note aforementioned Mystery Plant to the right of the thriving Clematis. My mother, a master gardener, thinks this is a Foxglove, which I have had in my garden, but not in this pot. I am discouraged, as when I went to the bank in downtown Brooklyn, I thought I spied the Mystery Plant growing out of a crevice in the pavement. Boo. Sorry Mom.) :

More Photos of Deck First Phase

Deck in Place

So we've set up the deck, at least in some preliminary fashion. Went for the $30 canopy that was on sale for $20 at Rite Aid. It's, um, lightweight. We'll see how it does. (It is anchored down.)

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden plant sale is Tuesday, so I will attend the freakout and I'm sure come back with things I never intended on buying. It's always so overwhelming and I go into sort of a trance. After that, I plan to head to Lowe's to get some cheap annuals and maybe some impulse-buy perennials, as well as tomatoes and herbs. Although I do plan on buying some herbs at the farmer's market at Borough Hall, from the wizened old plant man who I love and think rocks. (And have never spoken to other than when buying plants.) Anyway, at Lowe's they had a bargain rack last year of kind of busted up plants that were way cheap and in some cases, capable of rehabilitation. Score.

Filed under experimentation: bought some elepant ears bulbs (is that what they are?) at Lowe's (ok, I went to preview the goods a couple weeks ago). Hoping I can have some huge glorious, tropical action. Planted one today, with some Morning Glory seeds I harvested from last year's vines. Together, we will track the progress.