Why I Oughta...

Last year, I planted three Inferno Coleus in the corner patio bed and as they grew up (and out), I really loved them.  I called them a [garden win] specifically.   This year, I found some small quarts at Wannemakers of a new (to me) variety - Talavera Moondust Coleus.  See below for a few photos showing the tag and the speckled foliage.  It is easy to see why this one jumped off the bench, right? Here is how Ball Seed describes Talavera Moondust Coleus : Sun-tolerant varieties maintain color and foliage patterns in both sun and shade conditions. These late-flowering selections are tidy, non-bolting plants in the garden. Sun-tolerant.  Check. Maintains color and foliage pattern in sun.  Check. Late-flowering.  Check. Non-bolting.  Check.  What's not to love? Below is a photo of the back of the plant tag where they mention it is 'well-branching' and 'stunning' and 'rich'. Select Seeds adds these details in their product listing : Unsurpassed i...

Earlier this season, I planted three small Inferno Coleus plants in the small bed that sits at the corner of our back patio .  I had grown Inferno in the front yard last year and wanted to grow it again.  Have a look at the photo below - showing the late-Summer view of what started as three small plants.  I wanted to grow more coleus as bedding annuals in the beds , so I'd call this a success.  (#6 on my 2025 to-do list this year .) I'll grow Inferno again next year.  Maybe in multiple spots - as a form of 'repetition' to help improve 'legibility' with some colorful annuals.   Last Fall, I expanded this bed a bit.  I'll look to grow it even more this Fall with my 'lazy bed' method using cardboard, compost and municipal biosolids.  

I'm a sucker for silver foliage.  And, the best bang-for-my-buck comes via a flat of Dusty Miller annuals from the big box nursery.  Eight plants for four bucks.  I put all eight in the corner bed of the back patio.  These are in the 'lazy bed extension' that I created last Fall.  (note to self:  expand this bed even more this Fall.) I can use these in cut flower arrangements later this Summer and early Fall.  They did really well out in the front porch bed a few years ago, so here's hoping they'll like this spot, too. 

Number 6 on my 2025 to-do list this year was to 'use more coleus as bedding plants'.  That idea was based on the success that I had with some Inferno coleus that I planted in our front yard island bed last season.    Earlier this year, I planted a dozen Crimson Gold Versa coleus (full sun coleus) in the front island bed.  And, a trio of Inferno Coleus that I bought at The Growing Place in the backyard corner patio bed.  I figured I'd try at least one more this year as a bedding plant.  So....when I've been on the look-out for a unique one to try.  I came across a placed called Patyk's Farm up near Richmond .  It is on the south side of Route 173, a few miles out of Richmond as you head towards Woodstock.  It is a medium-sized family farm operation with four-or-five greenhouses and TONS of plants.  I arrived right when they were closing, so I didn't spend too much time there.   I did, however, find this unique coleus and bough...

Last year, I planted three Inferno coleus in the island bed in our front yard after seeing them on a garden tour video and I wasn't disappointed.  By October of last year, I wrote a post praising sun-tolerant coleus as bedding plants and pledged to plant more this year.  I even included 'planting coleus as bedding plants' as one of my 2025 to-do items .   With the larger-scale planting of Crimson Gold Coleus in the (newly expanded) Island Bed in front, I decided to not walk-away-from Inferno coleus.  I bought three quart-sized pots of the red/brown annual and planned to put them into the expanded back patio corner bed.    Last Fall, I used the 'lazy bed extension' method to expand the corner bed adjacent to our back patio .  That created some new planting space that I can fill this season.   That spot gets decent sun - for our backyard at least.  It gets the MOST sun, I suppose, of anywhere in our backyard.  Thus, it seemed l...