Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Something Weird Going On, Herbally Speaking!

My Beloved Lemon Verbena in Miniature!
This One is on the Opposite Side of the Miniature!
I Think Drainage Has Become a Factor!
Really it has been a very strange year in the herb garden.  Besides not getting the herb plants I normally get, the ones I did get have been dying.  The third photo shows the worst area.  I have lost (or killed) two lavenders, the two nasturtiums (They may have just died because of too much water and early blooming at the greenhouse!)  The echinacea 'Primadonna' is going well and the pineapple sage towards the back near the wall is going well too.  The green bit in the front is a feverfew volunteer.  The rest is a mess.  Now I heard we got 1.2" of rain yesterday and maybe more today.  I think I'm going to get a bag of compost and manure and dig this area up and replant the lemon verbena and small lavender in the front and see if that helps.  If not, I'll get a soil test and really try to find out what's going on.  It has been 8 years since this garden was designed.  I have added new soil every so often, but I think I might need an major infusion of good soil.

Hot and very humid here.  Tropical like it gets in DC.  Hope you are having a great day.  I will be doing more posts of my England adventures soon.  Talk to you later.

4 comments:

Carol said...

It's been a tough year here too.All of this rain after 2 years of heat and drought I think has washed away alot of the good nutrients I'm adding tons of compost too in hopes of salvaging what has survived.

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

Sounds like a good idea Carol. When this heat wave breaks, it will be out to the garden to reinvigorate the garden! xo

Pat said...

Same here in northern Wisconsin - what is going on with our herbs?? Moved my struggling sages back into one of the raised beds in the veggie garden & they are looking alittle happier. Ended up buying new thyme plants and moved them into a large pot with fresh soil. The ones in the ground are so sad as is marjoram & lavenders. Mr. Outback & I are considering building a new raised bed just for the herbs next season. Like you - too much early water and stressed greenhouse conditions and our clay soils... Now very warm & humid too. On another note, the parsley and dill plants are looking good but they are also in a raised bed and large pot respectively - has to be the drainage!

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

The Herbal Husband and I were out discussing the situation but briefly. So freaking hot and humid here! It's terrible. Yeah, my marjoram is looking pretty terrible. It has been depressing! Stay cool, dear TO! xo