All the flowers are finally showing life! The second heat wave seems to be agreeing with them, and they’re coming up… well, not roses. A bunch of other things instead! Even the ever-dominant thyme is flowering. There’s plenty of new leaves to share.
If you’ve got a garden you want to show off, don’t hesitate to write your own Six on Saturday post! They’re easy to make and I’d certainly enjoy taking a look at more gardens. If you want to learn how they work, check out where it all started!
1
I’m feeling so excited – the Billy Button has finally shown its first flower head! It’s only on one of the five plants, and showing off magnificently. This plant had developed a bit of aphid problem over the recent past, difficult to spot due to how the ceramic pig’s ribs curve. I finally sprayed it down, and this popped up the next day. I hope it wasn’t waiting on me! This led me to check the other four Craspedia. Two are doing magnificently, throwing up tons of leaves. Two others are turning sour, with only five or six leaves apiece. Neither of them are suffering from aphids, but I’m keeping an eye out from now on. Can’t wait until this one finally blooms!
2
The first little tomato has appeared! It’s growing incredibly slowly and all alone, but without any signs of stopping. The color has stayed a nice green as it’s grown in size over the last week and a half. I’m waiting for it to slow down and turn red so I can finally eat it. It’s looking more and more like this is a cherry tomato plant… which means more tomatoes for me! I’m wondering at this point how many of the flowers ended up getting pollinated, and how many are going to go to waste. Only time and taste will tell!
3
A new type of wildflower has opened up with great aplomb. It burst open one day with a startling purple bunch of feathery petals. I’m amazed the stalk is able to stand up under so much flower! A few of the nearby wildflowers look like a similar species, but haven’t bloomed yet. We’ll see if they end up being the same colors. Meanwhile, the little flowers growing at a much lower height have begun to fade. They didn’t seem to want to stick around for longer than a couple weeks. I hope they spread some seeds for next year.
4
I really like how some of the succulents choose to show off. They grow the most adorable little leaves, all of which show no sign of acknowledging the rapidly changing weather we’ve been having. They just hang off the sides, like little happy arms of victory. This one doesn’t show any signs of growing new segments or pups. It just chooses to hang out as a fluffy succulent. To compare – they almost feel like pine needles without any of the sap or pointy bits. A bit tough, but springy.
5
The thyme has finally been allowed to go too far. The little pods of semi-leaves have finally started to burst open as flowers. I’ve heard that flowering changes the flavor of the plant, but I’m not sure that it’s such a bad thing. I’m debating whether to let it flower and go to seed completely, just to see what happens. It’s lived quite a while and given more thyme than I’ve had time to deal with. Still – if they’re not careful, they’re going to get a serious pruning soon!
6
The calathea has sent up a couple new Shrek-ears of new leaves. I’m really enjoying how they expand out into broad new leaves so slowly. This plant keeps growing up in a slow bunch, adding leaf after leaf every couple of weeks. Soon enough, it’s definitely going to be too large for the pot that it’s currently in. I hope I find the right pot before it’s too late! Also – any recommendations on soil?
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you had a pleasant time checking out the plants. If you’re in the mood for more nature, please stay in touch!
Mindful Foliage 
What kind of thyme? I have several and none have flowers like that. I like to “collect” different kinds of herbs. I let all my herbs flower and never noticed a taste difference. But, I’m no fancy cook! The honey bees especially like my oregano. I tried growing Billy Buttons from seed this year, nothing germinated.
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I’m actually not sure on the species. It was grown from a cutting that smelled nice, so I’ll have to swing by a plant store and track it down by nose.
Good luck to all your plants! That Billy Button is one tough plant.
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