Senetti Pericallis, Creeping Thyme and Eco-Friendly Lawn Mixes
And a Wally One Pocket Planter giveaway!
“What are you doing in your own home and garden, Ellen?” That is a very good question, if indeed you are wondering. I live in coastal southern New England, so it’s not exactly warm-warm this time of year. But then again we don’t have snow like my brother does in northern Maine. However the tulips are up, the trees are leafing out and the crab apples and lilacs are about to pop. Full steam ahead from here on out.
To answer your question, if you are indeed asking it … I raked the lawn, gave it a mow then treated for grubs with some—I hate to say it—nasty stuff that had giant warnings about children and pets all across the label. But we have an end-of-the-world type situation going on with those creatures. Drastic times, drastic measures.
What else do I have going on? Three things, actually …
Senetti Pericallis
I received my first free plant samples of the season, and it contained four happy and healthy new Senetti pericallis plants from plant breeding company Suntory Flowers.
These plants are some of the most cold-hardy annuals available for spring planting, able to handle temps down to 35F. Sure, I like the happy little faces of pansies. But pericallis are larger plants that can really fill out a container. And that’s where they should go—in a container as opposed to planting in a garden bed. These are more of a featured plant rather than “let’s plant a hundred of these all around the house” type of plant. Three other reasons I enjoy Senetti pericallis:
They come in some incredibly vibrant colors (see above for proof).
Just cut back the first round of blooms once they fade and another round will follow. Bonus!
I love that people stop and ask, “What are those? They are so cool!”
These will reliably flower until summer’s heat knocks them down. Find out more about Senetti pericallis and then go find them at your local garden center.
Lawn Option I: Creeping Thyme
Back to that grub-infested lawn for a moment. I’ve mentioned the Groundcover Revolution book from Kathy Jentz here before, and I am using that book as some inspiration for replacing a portion of my lawn once those grubs are gone. I’m considering two options.
The first is replacing a section of my full-sun, dry-location yard with a variety of Creeping Thyme. Something along the lines of Doone Valley Pink Creeping Thyme or Red Creeping Thyme, both from Monrovia Plants.
These will creep along and create a nice mat of perennial greenery that doesn’t get too tall—up to 6 inches, but that’s fine with me. I bet I could even mow them without much harm. And wouldn’t that be fragrant! The whole lawn would smell like I’m about to prep the grill. These both are hardy to my Zone 6, and they’d keep pollinators happy for several months of the year.
Lawn Option II: An Eco-Friendly Alternative
A couple years ago we seeded this same area with a grass seed mix from the folks at PT Lawn Seed. The mix was specifically the Dog Park Eco-Lawn Mix with Micoclover. This Microclover is bred to have a higher tolerance to the salts in urine—and since we have dogs, this was a selling point. The clover is also a great thing to have in your lawn for pollinators. The mix of both perennial ryegrass and clover is the best of both worlds. It worked really well—until the drought beat it down and the grubs took over.
What I might end up doing is a combination of both creeping thyme and some sort of eco-friendly lawn mix from PT Lawn Seed. They have dozens of different mixes, all in support of reducing the amount of must-mow lawn space. Check out all of the eco-options at www.ptlawnseed.com.
#FreeStuffFridays
This week’s #FreeStuffFridays giveaway is a Wally One Pocket Planter. I’ve had these two (one brown, one camel hair) indoor wall planters sitting in a closet for a few years—and it’s time to give them to someone who will put them to good use.
Their tags say “moisture liner for use indoors” but I bet you could also use them outside, at least for a season. And since you’d be getting it for free from me, why not?
Want either or both of these?
This Is How You Win That Wally One Pocket Planter
Comment below with “I want that Pocket Planter!”
This giveaway will close at 6:00 p.m. Eastern on next Friday, May 5, 2023.
I will use a random number generator to choose which commenter is the winner.
Best of luck!
While I have you, I’d love for you to consider a paid subscription.
Why? It’s your way of telling me I’m giving you something of value. If you’re a free subscriber—thank you! If you’d like to chip in a few dollars a month to help supplement the time I spend bringing this to you, I’d be forever thankful.
As a recap, your subscription options include:
Free—you receive the information, just not the chance for the #FreeStuffFridays giveaways
Monthly paid ($7/month)
Annual paid ($70/year, plus you’ll have my undying gratitude)
Have a great weekend!