A.I. Garden Help

I've been having fun creating and modifying pictures on Gemini A.I. to see what tweaks I could make to my garden design. It's usually a bit off when creating whole garden scenes (not everything blooms at once or so prolifically). It comes up with some odd distortions. 

But for a simple request to compare two plants, it was really helpful. 

I wanted to compare Rocky Mountain penstemon (in my High Country Gardens order) and Black Adder agastache (I'll divide the pot of it that I have) both of which I'm going to plant in the new strip I'm adding between the birdbath and the left edge of the potting bench curve. 

Both are purple spiky flowering plants, quite similar looking, but I needed to compare bloom times, sizes, preferred conditions, etc.

Rocky Mountain penstemon versus agastache Black Adder

So I asked Google Gemini to compare the two and within seconds I had this really helpful and concise information, even a chart. I think it's accurate.

Response from Gemini --

Both 

Rocky Mountain Penstemon (Penstemon strictus) and 'Black Adder' Agastache (Agastache hybrid) are popular purple-flowering perennials known for their drought tolerance and ability to attract pollinators. Their primary differences lie in their bloom timing, foliage scent, and growth habit. 

Key Comparison

Feature	Rocky Mountain Penstemon	'Black Adder' Agastache
Bloom Time	Late Spring to Early Summer (brief, intense)	Mid-Summer to Fall (extended blooming)
Flower Color	Deep lavender to royal purple	Red-violet flowers from dark, smoky buds
Foliage	Smooth, dark green; non-aromatic	Blue-green; strong anise/mint scent
Hardy	USDA Zones 3–9 (very cold hardy)	USDA Zones 5–9 (prefers well-drained soil)
Height	24–36 inches	24–36 inches

Detailed Differences

• Flowering Window: Penstemon provides a spectacular but relatively short display in late spring, often acting as a bridge between spring bulbs and summer perennials. 'Black Adder' is a "season extender," blooming continuously for several months until the first frost.
• Aromatic Qualities: 'Black Adder' belongs to the mint family; its leaves release a spicy liquorice scent when crushed, which also makes it highly deer and rabbit resistant. Rocky Mountain Penstemon does not have fragrant foliage.
• Soil Requirements: While both are drought-tolerant, 'Black Adder' Agastache is particularly sensitive to "wet feet" in winter. It requires exceptional drainage to survive cold seasons, whereas Rocky Mountain Penstemon is more adaptable to various garden soils as long as they are not boggy.
• Growth Habit: Penstemon tends to form a basal rosette of leaves with tall, vertical flower spikes. 'Black Adder' forms a bushier, more branched upright clump with multiple "bottlebrush" flower heads. 

Then I asked for a comparison of Hot Lips salvia and Windwalker Red salvia. 

Hot Lips Salvia v. Windwalker Red

Not only did it compare them side by side but it also added creative commentary -- like calling Hot lips a gumdrop covered in confetti and labeling it the "Compact Mounder" (misspelled, tho) versus Windwalker Red as the "Elegant Archer".

That really helped me visualize forms. (It's hard to find any photos online that show the mature form of a plant, photos all focus only on close ups of the flowers.)

With this info I am rethinking where to put each plant. 

Clearly Windwalker Red salvia needs room and should have other things around it -- so where to put a tall arching plant to give it enough room to spread?

Response from Gemini --

Quick Comparison: Form & Habit

Feature	Hot Lips Salvia (S. microphylla)	Windwalker Royal Red (S. darcyi x microphylla)
Growth Habit	Dense, mounding, and twiggy; shrub-like.	Upright and arching; more "open" and airy.
Mature Size	2–3 ft. tall and 3 ft. wide (can spread to 5 ft.).	3–4 ft. tall and 3–4 ft. wide; a "rambunctious" grower.
Flower Form	Bicolor (red/white) "lips" scattered all over the plant.	Tall terminal spikes of solid blood-red flowers.
Foliage	Tiny, dark green, aromatic leaves; very fine texture.	Light green, slightly larger leaves; medium texture.
Hardy	USDA Zones 7–10 (Tender in cold winters).	USDA Zones 5–9 (Significantly more cold-hardy).

---

Visualizing the Form & Habit

Hot Lips Salvia: The "Compact Mounter"

• The Look: Imagine a tidy, rounded green gumdrop covered in confetti. Because it is a cultivar of Salvia microphylla (Baby Sage), it has a very twiggy, woody structure that stays relatively close to the ground.

• Habit in the Garden: It functions more like a small flowering shrub. The flowers are distributed throughout the outer "shell" of the plant rather than on tall spikes.

• Landscape Use: Best for the front or middle of a border, or as a "filler" in large containers. It creates a solid mass of color and texture.

Windwalker Royal Red: The "Elegant Archer"

• The Look: Imagine a taller, more dramatic plant with long, graceful wands that arch outward from the center. It has a "see-through" quality because the flowering stems are much longer and more vertical than those of 'Hot Lips'.

• Habit in the Garden: It is a vigorous grower that can look a bit "floppy" or "relaxed" if given too much water or shade. It has a much bolder presence and acts more like a focal point or "thriller."

• Landscape Use: Best for the back of a border or mixed with ornamental grasses (like Muhly grass). Its height makes it a superior "magnet" for hummingbirds, as the flowers are held high on spikes.

Key Decision Factors

• Color Stability: Hot Lips is famous for changing color based on temperature (it can turn all red in high heat or all white in cool weather). Windwalker Red stays a consistent, deep blood-red all season.

• Climate: If you live in a cold climate (Zone 5 or 6), Windwalker Red is the clear winner for winter survival. Hot Lips often requires protection or is treated as an annual in those zones.

• Space: Windwalker Red needs significantly more room to "breathe" and show off its arching form, whereas Hot Lips can be tucked into tighter spots or kept pruned as a low hedge.

Winter Sunshine Surprises

The single bloom on one of the two hellebores has now opened. 

It's a spot of sunshine in winter. A perfect little flower, although it is downward facing and you have to get the camera under it to see what it looks like. 

But even from above the yellow shines in the winter light.

The other hellebore has green leaves but no sign yet of a bud or any blooms to come. Hellebores don't typically bloom in the first couple years so I need to wait for a while. 

The first flowers on this one are a surprise. And there is a second bud about to open too.

The winter sun also lights the tiny branches of the newly transplanted serviceberry and that has surprised me too.

I am caught each time I look out through the glass door or come in the other way through the gate.

Winter sunlight hits the thin limbs and slender whip of a stem. It just lights up. 

Morning sun catches the tiny tree, and afternoon sun bathes it. 

It's such a nothing little set of twigs, yet in the winter sunshine it is a noticeable accent in the garden. 

I may regret putting a 15 foot tree in this enclosed spot and I may not be able to limb it up enough to eventually walk under. It might look too crowded in time, but it just looks right in its new spot. 

The sun knows it and wants me to see how fine it looks right there.

A New Vision

At the very end of 2025, I impulsively took out the skinny Blue Arrow juniper by the fence and that unleashed a torrent of changes for 2026. 

I moved the birdhouse in front of the fence to have something to look at, then arranged a moss rock border in front of it and imagined the perennials I wanted to put in there.

Then I was ordering plants, lots of them -- penstemon and verbascum and then more things to enhance the other spaces I have and I even moved things like the serviceberry and the Jackmanii clematis. 

I ordered plants to weave among the rock border stones along the walkway, and things to fill empty spots.

Everything was suddenly in play as I imagined a new vision for my garden: lusher, busier, more filled up.

Before that one act of taking out the juniper I had been cautiously conservative about changes. I wanted to edit down, streamline, wait for structural items to fill in, keep a more open and spare garden.

I had originally created separate rooms and levels -- the circle garden bordered and surrounded by a line of rocks, cut off from the lower flagstone patio, which ended even with the raised deck, separated from the garden under the aspens behind it, which was further bounded by the step down to the potting bench level.

Now I suddenly wanted flow, with the entire long narrow space tied together. I envisioned lots of plants and a fuller look all blending together, extending from the garage wall down through the yard to the aspens, skirting the deck and patio, filling out against the fence. Yikes.

A whole new vision. 

Bun Balls and a Bud

It's still February and I have finished almost all my spring chores. It was just so nice and pleasant and after I spread mulch and prepped some new planting areas, I went out one afternoon and cut back the perennials.

I left the one Japanese forest grass alone, though. In winter it is tawny and dried, but still full of grace and movement. I'll cut that one back much closer to actual spring.

I also left the Blonde Ambition grasses uncut. They too are attractive in winter and almost the only thing to look at out there.

The three blue fescue grasses in the red pots got cut back though. I did not shear them in prior years and they have gotten overgrown and floppy in their pots. Two did not bloom last year. 

So this winter I sheared them right down to little rounded bun balls.

I planned to take them out and plant each in some spot in the ground. But I think I'll wait and see if they fill out in the pots. 

Most advice is to simply rake out dried grass fronds but not to cut back these cool season grasses. Other sources say to cut them completely down to a few inches. Maybe either approach is fine? Let's see what they do in spring.

And here's something - one of the two Spanish Flare hellebores has a big fat bud. I want more of these, but I'll wait to see how they look in summer when they go dormant.

Key points regarding summer dormancy:

• Appearance: Leaves might look tired, brown, or flat, but it is normal, they bounce back when cooler weather returns.
• Watering: Reduce watering in the summer, they do not need as much moisture while dormant. Overwatering in summer can lead to issues.
• Maintenance: Avoid cutting back foliage during this time, as they need it for energy. The best time to remove old, tattered leaves is late winter.
• Sun Protection: They prefer to be in shady areas, which helps manage their summer dormancy. They will resume growth and produce new foliage once temperatures drop.

Well, Why Not

On Sunday I spread 5 bags (2 cu. feet each) of bark mulch to cover the new areas where I had put down cotton bur compost and topsoil. I don't want it to dry out in the sun and blow away in the March winds.

Then I came in, showered and made myself a gin and tonic. Just like summer.

Why not -- it felt like summer, my body was tired from the work, the sun was lovely and after a warm day outside working hard I like to treat myself to a gin and tonic.

But that's always been a refreshing summer ritual after a day in the garden. A hot weather indulgence.

This is still February.

After the half inch of rain it warmed up again and I got the moist soil covered. And because the new mulch is chunky and light colored, I had to spread more of it over existing areas to match up and look cohesive.

I continue to marvel at the fact that I can still do this. I am 76.

I work slowly now but I get it done. Rock moving, mulch spreading all of an afternoon, and when the time comes in spring, digging and planting. 

With all these pleasant February afternoons and with new soil and fresh mulch I am ready for the digging and planting right now! My gin and tonic reinforced the summery garden-ready vibe and I despair to think we have two and a half months to go before I can make my garden vision come alive. That's 10 weeks at least.

Oh well, it's nice now. And my sparkling drink was so restorative after all that work.

 

Winter Rain

It's felt like summer on so many pleasant afternoons this month with hot sun, nights above freezing and little breeze.

Now it feels like refreshed spring. We got half an inch of rain overnight. 

Everything is dormant of course, but still, the soil and the air seem restored and clean. Especially the areas of fresh compost and topsoil that I had just put down along the rock borders and in the new strip of garden along the fence.

I even brought out the pots from the garage to give them a soaking and then let them warm up in the sun after the rain.

The rain barrel is capped for winter, so water just poured off it all around it.

This is so unusual. It's still deep winter!!

Fertilizers and Fungi

Many of my plants just aren't very full even after years, and some even look stunted. Last year I had poor flowering on several mature plants that should have been much showier. 

The Rose of Sharon bloomed sparsely, and the butterfly bushes weren't great. The caryopteris in front (in too much shade?) looked skimpy. 

Major Wheeler honeysuckle (also in too much shade perhaps) didn't produce much and I never even got a photo of it last spring.

The Venosa violacae clematis has always been spindly and it produces only a few blooms, even after six years in my garden.

Other plants were better -- the Cascade rose and the Kintzley's Ghost plants flowered well enough. The peony is okay, it had brief blooms. Sweet Summer Love clematis bloomed well.

I did rejuvenate prune the caryopteris and butterfly bushes this winter.

I used bloom booster fertilizer on most everything last year: water soluble fast acting Tiger Bloom 2-8-4 and Jack's 10-30-20, both lower nitrogen fertilizers with higher phosphorous. New Mexico soils are usually ok for potassium but the phosphorus is locked up and often unavailable.

Nitrogen contributes to overall growth and foliage. 

Phosphorous supports roots and blooms. 

Potassium assures disease resistance and hardiness.

Bloom booster fertilizing helped some things look a bit better, but I didn't notice greater flower production on anything.

I do notice when I dig up a newer plant or a struggler the root development is always very poor. And it takes three or four years for my new plantings to grow at all.

So here is my 3 prong approach to getting plants better established, growing bigger and putting out more flowers:

1. Mycorrhizae fungus - a powder diluted in water and applied as a soil drench. The fungi drench has to reach and touch the roots. I only got two one pound bags, not very much. I'll experiment with using it a couple times in the season on the smallest strugglers:

The potted cuphea

Electric Blue penstemon

Orange Kudos agastaches

The tiny sulphur buckwheats

Annuals (zinnias), applied directly to roots at potting time

And all the new plants I just ordered, applied at planting time 

2. Rose Tone - a standard granular NPK 4-3-2 fertilizer for growth and flowering. I got a 4 pound bag. I'll use it on:

The Venosa violacae clematis

Sweet Sumer Love clematis 

Red Cascade rose

Container plants, including Kent's Beauty oregano 

 

3. Dr. Earth Exotic Blend (for hibiscus) granular fertilizer. It is highest in potassium, low in phosphorous, with medium nitrogen. NPK 5-4-6. I'll use it on:

     The Rose of Sharon

     Delphiniums

Most sources give generic plant advice for Rose of Sharon to apply a balanced fertilizer 10-10-10 and add compost. But a couple sources have said that hibiscus, both the tropical and the hardy althea, want higher potassium. So I'll try it.

Also, the delphiniums in the dining room window garden apparently can use higher potassium, so I'll try it on them too.

The caryopteris and Major Wheeler honeysuckle need more sun, though.

(Yes, I should get a soil test done. The extension office is nearby at the fairgrounds, easy to get to. I just need to get the forms and dig up the dirt to do the test. But the test doesn't address a specific plant's need, like that of hibiscus needing higher potassium than most plants, does it?)

Why doesn't mine look like this, planted at Newman's parking lot ---

3/4 of a Cubic Yard

On these warm almost summery February afternoons with still air and sunny temps near 60° I have been doing more spring chores.

Cotton burr compost

I got ten bags of soil amendments at Newman's, each one 2 cubic feet (so three quarters of a cubic yard combined). 

Five bags were soil builder mix, which is cotton bur compost, and five bags were topsoil.

I'll mix them together to build up the areas I want to plant around the newly arranged moss rock borders. 

Note:

Cotton bur compost does not have much NPK -- nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium. It does have lots of trace minerals from the inputs to cotton growing, and it adds structure for moisture retention. It helps mitigate alkalinity a bit.

I had used mushroom compost to plant around the circle garden, and I'm reading now that it may not be a good choice -- too high in salts and it adds alkalinity which I don't need and it's too fine to support soil structure. 

Could that be a reason I've had trouble getting things going there? As a small amendment to existing soil it might be good, but as a planting mix not so much?

The cotton bur amendment is much better for planting (and not just as touted by sellers, it gets high marks in independent reviews.)

So I used the cotton bur mixed with the topsoil and filled the new planting bed, then added a bunch of just the cotton bur compost around a bunch of established plants. 

I watered everything well to keep it from blowing away (actually hooked up the hose, it was like being out there watering in summer).

I need to get bags of bark mulch to cover the bare soil now. 

I schlepped all 10 bags to the yard and it wasn't even that hard. I'm a little amazed at how easy all my chores and rock moving and tree transplanting and now toting and spreading bags of amendments have been.

Of course, it's the luxury of doing things very slowly over many days and well in advance of the spring rush. 

And in cool winter weather -- although it feels summery, the air at 60° is cool enough for working outside comfortably. And I only do a little bit each day, with months ahead to get it all done.