flowerseeds

Making an effort

2009-04-30T12:20:00.000-04:00

I've been working on cleaning away winter's debris from the yard and getting a few flowers out. The grass under the magnolia tree is patchy and I wanted to fill it in with something that can survive shade. Mom mentioned that the lily of the valley was taking over near the garage so I dug out a bit and put it under the tree. I put a few impatience around for color and will probably add more. I love the instant color that impatience give.

I filled the buckets of the yard people with salmon impatience and had enough for a small silver bucket that Mom didn't want and brought to me. (Standard procedure for Mom. Give it to Marge.) A neighbor brought over a pink double impatience that sits on a low table on the front porch. My sister gave me a Gerbera daisy for Easter and it now rests in a large pot near the front porch. I don't know much about them so hope it does well.

I repotted the red hibiscus tree that has grown so much in the past year. I waited until it was warm enough to drag it outside and still had quite a mess. It's heavy and cumbersome but it looks wonderful. I've enjoyed it so much because the bright blooms are so welcome in the cold of winter.

I scattered zinnia seeds in one of the beds by the back door. The other bed has little tips of gladiola peeking through the soil. Last year I moved a rose bush to that area and it seems to be happy there. It has more buds now than it's had in a total of 5 years.

The peonies are looking good. The two at the back of the yard didn't bloom last year but I had just moved them there from my grandmother's house. I hope they bloom this year but I know it may take another year for them to establish themselves.

The begonias that I put in the basement last fall in the hope that they would survive actually did. They are small but they're outside now, so they should be fine.

I bought a new set of loppers and have lopped off any wayward stuff that I've found. There's a big pile in the driveway, most from an attractive parasite vine that was climbing the tulip tree, to be put out front Monday for the chipper. I love that the city picks up that stuff.

I had a piece of fence in the garage that I bought years ago for some obscure reason. It now sits in the alcove at the corner of the house as a climber for morning glories. I put the seeds in water to soak a few days ago and we've had rain ever since. It let up enough today for me to get the seeds in the ground and to plant a start from an old fashioned lilac that a neighbor thought she wanted but didn't. I'm glad to have it. It's at a corner of the front porch. I've decided that I want blooming things where I can see and enjoy them. Bees may cause me to rethink that.

A gift of flowers

2009-04-15T09:55:00.000-04:00

At gift giving time my son often buys blooming plants for his children to give to this grandma. Three years ago, one of the plants was a pink hydrangea. I read several articles about what to do with it and the chances of it blooming again. I took a chance, planted it in a sheltered spot, and it has bloomed for the last two years. I was certain the mum I planted the same year would come back, but it didn't.

Not being a garden person, my son doesn't know that there is a difference in plants from the florist and from the garden center. Some can be planted outside, some just die. This year I received 2 plants for my birthday, pink tulips and an Easter lily. I will keep the tulips in a pot until fall, then plant them outside and hope for the best. The lily will be planted outside when the weather finally stabilizes. It should bloom next year.

Walmart is a good place to find plants on sale because they never take care of them. As long as the plant isn't dead, even the most scraggly plant has come back with a little care. I may look for a few Easter lilies there.

Photo courtesy of FreeTulipPictures.com

Did you plant?

2009-04-06T13:42:00.000-04:00

The weather forecast for tonight is snow. That shouldn't be surprising. Midwest spring weather is iffy, at best. One day it's 65 degrees and the next brings frost. I used to get anxious to get annuals set out, ready to see the instant color they give. After losing them a time or two, my mother suggested that I wait until the first part of May to plant flowers. Wow, that's a long wait. I've found that it's worth the wait. By that time there is a better selection of annuals at garden centers and I have to buy them only one time.

In the meantime, I browse online sites to get new ideas and view new plant varieties. Visit Great Garden Plants http://www.greatgardenplants.com/index.php?pageId=15 or

Summer Hill Seeds http://summerhillseeds.com/new-for-2009-c-37.html.

Do it once

2009-03-23T11:55:00.000-04:00

Even though we've had some warm days, I haven't been digging in the flower beds yet. It's March, famous for wind and rain. I will spend about an hour picking up branches that have been tossed around the yard. I have messy trees. Leaves need to be raked from the beds but we could still have cold weather that could damage the tiny shoots that are just poking up through the earth.

I tend to leave everything in the flower beds at the end of the year. The old zinnia stalks give the rabbits a place to hide from the weather and I hope that birds will enjoy any leftover seeds they find around the yard.

I'm only cleaning this yard one time this spring and I'll wait until I can be fairly certain that bad weather is over. I will get tools and the mower ready but I won't cut grass until it's really high. Once the cutting begins, it seems that the grass grows even faster.

The tree begonia has been a delight these past few weeks and the begonia in the basement looks like it will survive.

Yard art

2009-02-02T12:46:00.000-05:00

Snow is on the ground but stores are getting ready for spring. Seed displays are out and I've resisted buying, so far.

One of the fun things for the yard is yard art. My son found these little people at CVS a few years ago. He tends to shop last minute and late at night. A 24 hour CVS had one set of these left and all my neighbors have asked where I got them. This is probably not the best spot for them but I keep them close to the house so they won't disappear. The photo isn't great but it's a man and woman holding buckets of flowers on their outstretched arms. This spot gets a lot of sun but I can use impatience in the buckets if I keep them well watered.

Yard art is just fun and I'd like to add more without being tacky. There is so much fun stuff to choose from but I really like my yard people.

In bloom

2008-12-12T10:57:00.000-05:00

This is in bloom in my office. Now. I've had four blooms in the past week with more to come. They only last two days but it's such a bright spot in the room and I can't help but smile when I look at it.

I've been told that the tree hibiscus will bloom all year but I've not yet had that happen. Maybe this year. It's really an annoyance to have to bring it in every fall and I've thought about leaving it outside and be done with it but I can't just let it die out there. So I bring it in and find a spot near a window and enjoy the bright red flowers on gloomy winter days.

Photo courtesy of http://www.freenaturepictures.com/.

The begonias live

2008-10-27T11:32:00.000-04:00

We had a bit of frost this past week, just enough to nip some of the flowers. I brought the begonias inside and hope to keep them over the winter. I've done this before and kept one for several years, moving in outside when the weather was warm.

The yellow begonia got nipped and I've removed the damaged parts and hope it will survive the winter. The plant looks like it has two different species in one pot. The leaves are slightly different and the bloom colors are bright to pale yellow.

The pink begonia survived the frost and it looks good. It has never had a lot of blooms but I think I had it in too much shade. It will be a bright spot in the house this winter.

The suggestions for begonias in winter is to let dig them up and them go dormant, the natural cycle. That's just more work than I'm going to do. We'll see what happens.

They need water

2008-10-21T20:41:00.000-04:00

For some reason, I've not watered the flowers in a week or so. I guess I thought... if I thought about it at all... since the mornings have been cool and damp the flowers were just fine. Not. When I sat down with a cup of coffee this morning and looked out the window, my beautiful yellow begonia was drooped over the pot. No, not frostbit but totally and thoroughly dry. It's a living breathing thing and I let it almost die of thirst. I watered everything. And cleaned the birdbath.

I don't understand morning glories. They are absolutely gorgeous right now, full and trailing. They seem to bloom late, July or so, but maybe it's the cooler days? I don't know but I want them where I can see them next year. They're behind the garage and only the neighbors across the alley and the trash men see them.

Across the street the roses are still blooming and tomatoes are still on the vines. A few more weeks of flowers, I hope. Enjoy.

Morning glories and hostas

2008-09-09T14:34:00.000-04:00

I've mentioned before that I've noticed that my morning glories seem to bloom late in the season. Is that true for yours? Mine start about mid-July and don't really get thick until late August and early September. I've noticed, too, that the ones that are growing around an old stump, the ones that I never water, are doing extremely well.

The hostas on the north side of the house are still in bloom. There must be three dozen purple blooms on each one. Many of my neighbors have hostas that bloom months earlier than mine. They are outstanding this year. I feed the plants throughout the growing season but I burned some of the hosta leaves by pouring the solution on them. I knew it as I did it so hopefully next year I'll remember to pour it on the roots.

Begonia carpet

2008-08-19T09:47:00.000-04:00

Every other year in August a carpet of begonia blossoms is created in front of the Grand-Place of Brussels, Belgium. Over 700,000 gorgeous begonia blossoms are packed together to create a 77 x 24 m design. (I think that translates to 252 X 78 feet, a huge area.) Begonias are used because of the color range and their resistance to fading.

The design is laid out and in about four hours, master gardeners have finished the intricate design. To see the photos, I would have thought it would take far longer than a few hours.

I have a bright yellow begonia on the front porch. It is so eye catching with the blooms draping over the side of the pot. They are great in hanging baskets, too. If you haven't used begonias, plan on having some next year. Or this year, if you live in a warm climate where you may be ab;e to find them year round. Around here, it's slim picking at most garden centers.

To see the flower carpets, go here .

Mimosa tree

2008-07-21T18:35:00.000-04:00

My view out the window from my desk is to the neighbor's back yard and the stunning mimosa tree that was planted just a few years ago. It was little more than a twig three years ago and it's a good sized tree now, slightly taller than the one in the Wikipedia photo on the left.

I've read that it's a messy tree but I've not heard my neighbor complain about it. Of course, only the dogs use that back yard so maybe it's something she hasn't noticed since her husband does dog duty.

If I were to plant a tree, this would be it. It grows rapidly and the flowers last for several months. Notice the shape? It spreads more out than up.

You either like this tree or you don't and those who don't really hate it. Before you plant one of these. read some of the comments at Dave's Garden .

Glads and morning glories

2008-07-21T17:34:00.000-04:00

The gladiolas started blooming last week, reds and yellows. I staggered planting the bulbs so they wouldn't bloom all at once. I have more red than yellow, even though I planted the same amount of each. Mom loves glads and had a few but the little creatures around her place dig them up. She gave up on everything this year because no matter what she planted, the chipmunks got it.

The morning glories are just starting to bloom. The vines aren't thick yet and there's just a bloom here and there. Some purples and just one Heavenly Blue so far. I only planted Heavenly Blue but I've found that what I get is what I get.

The zinnias along the side of the house are also in bloom. I love zinnias. They are good cut flowers and they bloom all season. I have a mix of colors and they're all medium sized. I used seed from last year's flowers so the blooms not as big as I had hoped.

The impatience on the north side of the house are thriving. I fed them last week and it doesn't take long to see the results. Snow-on-the-mountain (Bishop's weed) is behind and threatening to take over. It is very invasive and I do think I will plant it under the magnolia tree where the grass is sparse and weedy.

I enjoy my flowers outside but I like having flowers that I can use in vases inside. I don't rob the flower beds but I have something inside all summer. Actually, I have flowers inside almost all year. Mom brings flowers every time she comes over, as I do when I visit her, and I often buy flowers for myself because I'm worth it.

I am going to have to cut the grass today or tomorrow and it's so hot out there. Ugh.

Hydrangeas, again

2008-06-25T12:36:00.000-04:00

I have moved the hydrangea from the front, the east side of the house, to the north side of the garage. I really, really liked it out front, right by the porch, but it kept getting droopy from too much sun. I may not have given it enough water but I thought I did. Anyway, I bought two more and put them all on the same side of the garage. That gives me four along there, counting the one my youngest granddaughter gave me two years ago. It has buds and I'm anxious to see the blooms. All are pink but I do want blue.

I told a male friend that the plants look pretty silly sitting there so far from the garage wall but I didn't want them too close. He said they should be three feet from the building. That's just about where they are, maybe slightly less. I have a bed of lily of the valley there and put the hydrangeas just in front. I don't think they will choke out the flowers. They are so thick and they thrive in that shady area. I think they'll be fine.

Hydrangea

2008-06-15T16:27:00.000-04:00

Walmart takes the worst care of their plants. The upside to that is that they will put them on sale just before they're completely dead. Today I bought a two gallon hydrangea for half price, $6.50. It's not big but it will grow. It has some beginnings of blooms on it and the leaves aren't brown. I've been looking at hydrangeas and saw some nice ones at Rural King for about $15. They were a bit bigger than the one I bought today. But I often have to watch what I spend and it never seemed the right time when I was over there. When I'm at Rural King I'm either getting bird seed or that high dollar cat food my two guys need. So plants are usually not a priority. I wasn't looking when I went to Walmart today, either. I was there on one quick errand and walked back to the plants just to browse. And bought only one plant. Good for me.

A few blocks from my house is a beautiful hydrangea bush, full of blue flowers. It's on the north side of the house, the side hydrangeas seem to like best. They like some shade, especially in hot climates, but too much shade will prevent blooming. There are many types of hydrangeas, so check the tag on the plant you look at to see where to plant and how big it will get. It will probably grow to four feet high and wide, or something close.

The hydrangeas that you get from grocery or department stores around Mother's Day or Easter are probably florist hydrangeas and may or may not come back when planted in the yard. My youngest granddaughter gave me one two years ago and I put it in a sheltered spot by the garage. It came back last year and has buds on it this year. I think I'll move it to a sunny spot.

Hydrangea colors can be changed from pink to blue depending on the pH of the soil. Acidic soil (pH 5.5 and lower) produces blue flowers, alkaline (pH 6.5 and higher) produces pink to red. Between pH 5.5 and pH 6.5 gives purple or a combination of blue and pink. How cool is that! I want blue.

More info can be found here at U.S. National Arboretum site. Thanks to Beiz Graphics for the generosity of free photos.

Tree hibiscus

2008-06-15T16:12:00.000-04:00

Last fall the ex-boyfriend gave me a hibiscus tree that one of his women had left at his house. It's about four feet tall and had two blooms on it when I brought it home. It's a tropical hibiscus and needs to be kept inside in the winter, at least in Indiana. I put it outside a month or so ago and it's in bloom. I've questioned whether or not to keep it because I really don't have space for a tree in this house. I have until fall to decide.

These are different from the hardy hibiscus in my backyard. The flowers are not quite as big but seem to be the same as other hardy hibiscus I've seen. If you get one of these and don't live in the warm South, remember that it won't withstand temperatures below 60 degrees. The flowers are beautiful but I don't think the tree creates the dispaly that the shrub does. If you only have so much space or need to brighten up a patio, this tree will do it.

Photo courtesy of http://www.freenaturepictures.com/

Peonies

2008-05-28T10:31:00.000-04:00

The peonies are in bloom here in Indiana. I have one established bush in the backyard that has blooms, an 'Alma Hansen'. Last year I put two starts from my grandmother's peonies at the back of the yard. They're growing but have no blooms. It's a good sunny location so I'm surprised that they aren't doing better.

A neighbor once told me that I should have peony bushes all across my back yard. Not. Apparently, people around here have been known to dig up plants if they find a vacant house with nice plants.

I see some beautiful peonies around the area that I would like to add to the yard. Pinks and deep rose would be nice. I may do that yet. I mean to buy them, not dig them up in the dead of night.

The photo from Wikipedia is one I would like to have.

Lobelia

2008-05-19T10:26:00.001-04:00

The neighbor across the street has a lobelia so I decided that I needed a few. I added them to the geranium and wax begonia bed. The lobelia should spread out and crawl between the other plants. In theory, anyway. It's a nice color accent for the salmon and pink of the others. We'll see.

If you're not familiar with this plant, lobelia is an annual with a trailing habit and it is heat tolerant. It's often found in those pricey hanging baskets at garden centers.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia. Photo byAndré Karwath.

Snowball bush

2008-05-16T10:49:00.000-04:00

The snowball bush at the house Grandma's used to own is in bloom. It's not as full as many I've seen but it is still nice. I cut an armful of branches to bring home and they look stunning in a vase. A squat bowl would have been better but I didn't feel like digging around for one.

If you have a snowball bush, take some of the flowers inside. When the petals start to fall off the blooms, it's time to get rid of them because they will create a real mess. But in the meantime, enjoy them.

I'm trying to remember to attribute the photos to the photographer. This photo is from Wikipedia, taken by Steve Karg.

Cosmos, again

2008-05-10T18:07:00.000-04:00

I just looked at a neighbor's flower beds. There is cosmos coming up all over! I've read that they reseed but I've not seen that, until now. We walked around back to see if I had any and there are two puny plants coming up behind my garage where I had the cosmos last year. Barb's are nice size plants already. She has offered me some of the shoots because she likes a neat and tidy flower bed and there are quite a lot of cosmos shoots. I think I'll take her up on her offer.

The planting is done

2008-05-06T21:58:00.000-04:00

I seem to have very little interest in planting much of anything this year, so I pushed myself to get it all done. That's really weird because I usually love getting out in the yard and putting flowers in every available space. I even planned stuff for this spring. Things change. I cleaned the flower beds yesterday and put out a dozen salmon geraniums and pinkish wax leaf begonias in the bed just off the front porch.

I had started with red geraniums and moved them three times before I decided where I wanted them... around the side of the house in a little alcove. I put yellow zinnia seeds behind them and small yellow spreading something in front. It will look good.

The other side of the front porch has some unknown flower coming up that my neighbor tells me is purple. I've been pulling them out for seven years and some are still there, thriving and thickening so I'm going to quit messing with them and find out what they are. I added Burpee's Scabiosa (ugly name) Summer Berries seed, hoping to complement the unknown. I scattered a few pink and purple gomphrea seeds because there were very few seeds in the Burpee package. There are two little metal garden people that stand at the back of that small bed. They are painted in soft pastels and add to, rather than detract from, the flowers that bloom there. They have arms extended to hold small pails that I will fill with pink wax begonias, I think.

On the north side of the house are two beds, each with two spreading hostas. I added salmon impatiens around the hostas. Nice. They will fill out and cover the space around the hostas. I don't like bare spots.

Along the south side of the house are two beds, one on each side of the steps... it's not really a porch, just a way to get in the back door. The right side goes around to join the alcove part toward the front of the house. Red and yellow gladiolas are coming up there and some purple yarrow that I wish I had never planted... it just takes over. Day lilies are full just near the steps. The bed on the left has a lone rose bush that hasn't grown in three years. I paid $12 for that thing and it was a two year plant. My neighbors pay $3 at Walmart or Big Lots and have gorgeous roses all summer. There are two buds on mine and that's probably all I'll get. I've moved it to find the best spot and I've decided that there isn't one. Behind that pitiful thing are half a dozen glads, red, yellow, or both. The rest of the bed is seeded with rose, purple, and yellow zinnias. There is a very nice lemon balm down toward the end of the bed. It's a nice looking bushy plant and smells wonderful when the leaves are rubbed. One orange hybrid lily is in there and at the end, daisies are beginning to come up. The corner has a white azalea that is just starting to open, rather late.

The bed across the back of the house has a wild mix of vinca, daylilies, some purple obedient plant that tends to crowd everything else out, a bit of wild strawberry, and a scattering of purple zinnia seeds to fill in any bare spares.

There is a nice peony bush just beyond that flower bed that has a lot of buds. I can hardly wait. Next to the peony are those stupid suprise lilies. I don't want to discuss them. The two peonies at the far back of the yard don't have ants on them yet so I may not get any flowers from them this year. I put them in last year after taking them from the house my grandparents had lived in. It's empty so no one knows, except Mom.

Two sides of the garage have flower beds, one with wild violets and lily of the valley stolen from Grandma's house and the other side that's not really visible is full of violets, wild strawberry and seeded with pink, purple, and white cosmos and gomphrea. I planted morning glories along the back of the garage, hoping they will cover the damage my neighbor did when he took down the dog run that was back there.

At the very far corner of the yard is the hardy hibiscus. It needs a lot of room but I wish I hadn't put it so far back and so close to the trash cans. I don't think ahead.

I put the few left over impatiens under two trees and hung a begonia in the tree at the edge of the front yard. I have a pot of bright pink geraniums on a table on the front porch and one of salmon geraniums and mixed petunias on the floor nearby.

I got a new bird bath for my birthday and, with the help of a neighbor kid, it's now out front near the feeders and the morning glories that I put around a small shepherd's hook that I can not get out of the ground. It's too flimsy to hold a pot so I just plant morning glories around it every year. The old bird bath, the $6 plastic one from Menard's, is in the back under the tree that has several feeders.

I just pushed myself yesterday and today to get it all done. I also cut the grass. I passed exhausted a long time ago but I want you to know how much work I've done on my days off.

It's all good.

Thanks to Burpee for the photos of their Scabiosa Summer Berries.

Lilacs

2008-04-27T10:38:00.000-04:00

I was driving home from downtown the other evening. The windows were down and I caught the scent of lilacs from the yards along 4th Street. What a delightful surprise that was.

I love lilacs and have not one bush in my yard. The neighbor next door trimmed hers way back last fall and will probably have few, if any, blooms this year. The house on the other side of hers has a nice lilac, pale purple flowers. Down on McKinley is a deep purple bush, gorgeous.

Several years ago, when I was living in Nashville, I was having dinner with friends and took a huge bouquet of lilacs to my hostess, Mary. She asked, "Where did you steal these?" I told her where there was a huge bush down the street, just in the alley, where no one was ever around to see me pick the sweet smelling flowers. I have no shame. Lilacs should be picked in giant bunches to fill the house with their springtime scent.

The current issue of Better Homes and Gardens has a great article about lilacs and different varieties. Or see photos here.

David Austin roses

2008-04-15T14:02:00.000-04:00

I've had very little success with roses. I read about all the work they require and wonder if that's why my one little rose bush has done so poorly. But then I remember what my grandfather told me about growing things; just plant it, add water, and nature will do the rest.

I love David Austin roses and would love to have them in my yard. The look of old roses, the 80 and more petals per flower, make them the most beautiful roses I've seen. Only a few states have nurseries that carry the roses, so they have to be ordered and shipped. I think I'm too impatient for that.

If you haven't seen these, browse his site. the photos are gorgeous and there are a lot of suggested uses for roses. http://www.davidaustinroses.com/american/ The photo on this page is from the site. Borrowed without permission.

Magnolia tree

2008-04-02T10:09:00.000-04:00

I have a gorgeous Saucer Magnolia tree in the back yard. I love the way some of the branches curve to the ground. There are buds on the tree and it will bloom soon. It has been known to bloom twice in one season but the second time there were few flowers.

I like to bring a few of the flowers inside to put in a shallow bowl. They will last a few days and it keeps me aware that spring is here.

This tree will grow about one foot a year and grow to 20-30 feet in height and width. It needs a lot of space. Mine has been struck by lightening twice and still continues to grow and produce flowers.

Morning glories

2008-03-31T12:42:00.000-04:00

Morning glories cascading over a porch or trellis is one of the most beautiful sites of summer. I haven't had the luck with them that Mom has but even the puny few I've had draw comments from the neighbors.

The bloom time is summer but they seem to be late summer here. I think I'll start a few inside to give them a head start. Mom wants to keep hers away from the deck this year because of the bees that are drawn to the flowers. She has had some severe reactions to bee stings in the last few years and we don't want to take chances. She has a brush pile at the end of her lane and I think that's where I'll put the morning glories this year. They can climb all over and around it and will look beautiful. Mom will be able to see them well when as she sips her coffee on the deck but the bees will be a good distance away.

The ones Mom had the most success with last year had been started in pots at Kelp's Pumpkin Patch in Gnawbone. She sent them as a gift to Mom. They have gorgeous thing there.

If you haven't used morning glories before, soak the seed over night before planting. Don't fertilize or all you will get is leaves. Keep in mind that this is a vine and will crawl under shingles and between loose bricks. It will, however, cover any unsightly buildings in your yard. I think I'll plant them to cover the garage.

The morning glories shown here, Heavenly Blue, were dangling from Mom's deck. They do come in other shades of blue, red, purple, and white. Heavenly Blue will be more than 2 inches across, while others seem to be a bit smaller.

Hibiscus

2008-03-31T12:10:00.000-04:00

A few years ago, maybe three, I bought a hardy hibiscus on impulse. I had no idea where I would put it or how big it would be. I didn't know a thing about it except it was a nice plant that should produce pretty flowers.

What an understatement! That plant turned out to be about four feet tall and maybe the same width. The blooms are the size of dinner plates! Mine has three colors of blooms; pink, white, and a combination of the two that varies from barely there to a medium shade of pink.

There is difference between hardy and tropical hibiscus. I have both. The tropical is a tree. The tropical must be brought inside for the winter, a real annoyance if your space is limited. The hardy is just what it implies, tough enough to withstand cold temperatures.

My tropical was given to me last year. I doubt that I would have bought such a large indoor plant for myself. It has large red blooms that appeared in the fall. We'll see what it does this year.

I believe I will look for more of the hardy type. It is stunning in bloom and I would love to have another.

Photo courtesy of freenaturepictures.com

Red and yellow

2008-03-26T10:26:00.000-04:00

Several years ago, my friend Mary put red and yellow zinnias in front of her business in Nashville. Maybe I hadn't noticed the color combination before but that year I decided that red and yellow were my favorite colors for flowers. It took several more years for me to work those colors into my kitchen but now that I have, I don't think I'll ever change.

I have no trouble finding seed for the giant yellow zinnias but I haven't found the red in my area stores. They can be ordered from Park Seed. Mary always used pots of blooms that she found at a garden center so there would be instant color in front of her store, Trolley's.

The photo here is not the Dreamland Scarlet in the link above but more likely Dreamland Red. While they are both reds, they are distinctly different colors.

Photo from Mississippi State University Agricultural Department

Sprouts

2008-03-23T21:41:00.000-04:00

The hollyhock seeds are coming up. Well, one. They will be ready to go outside early in May. When the weather settles into spring, I'll gather up all the branches from the yard and tidy the flower beds. I think I'll have a neighbor till up one patch of lawn for flowers. I've planned this before but haven't followed through. It's a narrow strip of lawn between the driveway and the neighbor's fence and isn't good for much. It's uneven and the grass is patchy. It will serve me better to have flowers there.

I would like to find some edging for the flower beds that I really like. I look at garden centers but nothing jumps out at me. I think I would like Brown County stone but it's a bit pricey, I imagine. I need to browse, I guess. This is exactly why things don't turn out as I expect them to... I do them a bit at a time instead of making a plan and sticking to it. Ahhh.

Seeds and weeds

2008-03-19T11:07:00.000-04:00

I started a few seeds Tuesday, the hollyhocks and Shasta daisies. I used twelve cell boxes like you get plants in at garden centers. I have them in a spot where they get plenty of sun and no cats. They should be ready to put outside the first week of May. Indiana weather is so iffy and I have waited until mid-May to set out plants and sow seeds. I'm going to give myself a head start this year.

I'm going to clean the flower beds well and add more dirt and peat moss. I need to kill off some shrubs that have found their way into the beds. I don't know what they are but I have them all around the house, close to the foundation. I've cut them back several times and have poured salt on them to kill the roots but I'm just going to use some sort of chemical killer on them... I'm tired of fighting them. I don't like using chemicals but these things are too close to the foundation of the house. I have enough house problems.

Surprise lily

2008-03-13T12:38:00.000-04:00

There are green shoots in the back yard. They have been coming up for several weeks... through the snow... and are maybe two inches high. It's a flower called Surprise Lily or Magic Lily or Naked Lady. Whatever it's called, it is definately one I don't want. It is the dumbest thing ever. There will be mounds of green leaves, sort of like daffodil leaves. They will be around most of the summer, then will die off. One hot day in August, bam... there's a flower on a tall stem with no leaves. Who needs it?

I tried to dig these out a few years ago and only managed to double them. Wonderful. I may try to just kill them off this year.

Photo courtesy of freenaturepictures.com

Dusty miller and wax leaf begonias

2008-03-04T11:44:00.000-05:00

Last summer I took a ride around town with a neighbor in her golf cart. It was a great opportunity to get a close up look at flower beds and the creativity of my neighbors. One of the most outstanding was a bed of dusty miller and pink wax leaf begonias that went all around a house. The contrast of the colors caught my eye and I realized that I wouldn't have put the two together. Mainly, I love begonias but don't care for the wax leaf variety. And I'm not particularly creative. But this display was absolutely gorgeous and the homeowner uses it every year.

Dusty miller has silver gray foliage with small yellow flowers. The foliage is the attraction, not the flowers. It can be started from seed but I would just get a few plants from a garden center. This annual will grow about 8 to 15 inches high, a real variation in height. It does well in beds or pots. Just be sure to plant in well drained soil.

The photo here from Mississippi State University Agricultural Department shows dusty miller partnered with two shades of sweet alyssum. Both require sun to part shade and you'll want to keep that in mind when combining plants. I often don't, then wonder why the results aren't what I wanted.

Mexican sunflower

2008-03-01T22:02:00.000-05:00

I was looking through the seeds I saved from last year and one of the packets is Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). It’s a stunning plant… more than five feet tall with multiple branches full of orange blooms.

This plant needs a lot of space simply because of it will branch out to about four feet wide. This annual tolerates heat and drought and needs a well drained location. Enjoy blooms from summer till frost.

The orange flowers in the photo are Mexican sunflowers, though they are much shorter than the ones I’ve had. Many seed companies have dwarfed these plants, so read the seed packet carefully for size. The smaller ones may work best in your garden.

Keep in mind that while these beauties will attract butterflies, they will also attract bees.

These are a nice addition to cut flowers arrangements but keep in mind that they have a hollow stem so cut carefully.

I've read that this flower will reseed itself but I don't know that it will in Indiana's cold climate so I consider it an annual.

Hollyhocks

2008-03-01T21:58:00.000-05:00

My mother has told me that Grandma had hollyhocks when she was a little girl. Mom turned the blooms upside down and used them as a skirt for a small doll. Cute.

My neighbors to north have pink hollyhocks along their back fences and it’s a nice display. I’m going to try them this year. For some reason I picked up this packet of black seeds. My son had them at a house he rented years ago and I remember them as being rather pretty.

This picture shows a double bloom. I hope that’s what they turn out to be. I’ll put them along the side fence that belongs to my neighbor to the south. It gets afternoon sun so that should work. Hollyhocks need full sun. Or I could put them along the south side of the house. It gets sun most of the day. These should grow four to six feet high so I want them to have plenty of room.

Hollyhocks are a perennial so they will come back year after year and will bloom summer to fall.

Note to self: think ahead. Often when I plan on putting flowers in a particular spot, I neglect to remember that when the trees fill out in summer, that spot may not get the sun that the flowers need.

Cosmos

2008-03-01T21:54:00.000-05:00

A real favorite of mine. I put them behind the garage last year and my neighbor across the alley said she enjoyed seeing them all season. There is more than one variety of cosmos but the ones I’m familiar with are tall with spindly stems so they need to be staked or tied to keep from falling over. I neglected to do that. I thought the small wire fence in front of the plants would hold them up. Wrong. I kept pushing them up and into each other to hold the upright. Why I didn’t just get some twine to run across from one side of the garage to the other is beyond me. So easy but I just kept putting it off.

Planning ahead is one of my goals for this year. Getting all the tools and other necessary stuff before I start a project. I do tend to make lists but often I just don’t follow through. Note to self: tie up the cosmos.

Cosmos is easy to start. I just scatter the seeds in loose soil and keep the soil moist. Plants will begin to appear in 10 to 15 days. Put these in a sunny spot or part shade.

I love adding cosmos to vases of flowers. Some will stand upright while others droop over to create a unique look to each arrangement.

Again, thanks to Missippi State University Agicultural Department for use of the photo.

Globe amaranth

2008-03-01T21:51:00.000-05:00

Or gomphrena or bachelor buttons will bloom summer till frost. It’s a beautiful cut flower and dries well for fall and winter arrangements. I’ve seen the entire plant pulled up and dried upside down.

Colors are purple , lavender, orange, pink, red, or white. Plants will be about a foot and a half tall or maybe a bit more. I haven’t used these flowers before but I’ve always admired them so I have a few packets of seeds for this year. Mine are mixed and I’m thinking I might put them in front of mixed cosmos. Or not. The colors are very close and I’m thinking it will work well.

Thanks to Missippi State University Agicultural Department for the photo. Oh, the globe amaranth are the purple ones.

New beginnings

2008-03-01T21:43:00.000-05:00

Even though our winter here has been mild, the time of year is still dismal. A customer at work mentioned this very thing the other day and I suggested that she start buying flower seeds for the coming spring. It’s something to look forward to, an acknowledgement that spring will arrive.

I love flowers and plant them in every bare spot in my yard. I tend to use a lot of seed but I add blooming plants to have color while waiting for the seeds to come up. I’m partial to annuals because of they are quick to come up and I have flowers sooner. And annuals seem to have a long bloom time.

I’ve bought my first seed packets and I’m thinking that I will start them inside this year. That’s assuming that I can find a place for the flats that the cats can’t reach. (I must be dreaming.) I’m going to try a few things this year that I haven’t planted before. You’ll read here about success and less than.

This will be a place where I will keep track of what I plant, what I want to plant, what works and what doesn’t, things I may or may not try, gadgets that I find useful or to be junk. Nothing complicated, just gardening and flower stuff.

I tend to keep things simple. I remember what my grandpa told me when I asked for details about planting seeds: “Just throw them in there. God will take care of the rest.”