I couldn't ask for a more well behaved kitty. She really is a sweetheart. Not once has she attempted to play in the dirt or nibble on my plants. Even though I have a few gnats swarming around the plants and she is fascinated with them, she just watches from a close but safe distance.
Honest, mom, I was just looking.
Four of the five gerbera daisies are blooming right now. This yellow one has three blooms.
As you can see from my pictures I'm kind of desperate for containers. Thankfully I eat a lot of yogurt and had saved some of the containers. (Dannon All Natural Vanilla is my absolute favorite yogurt.)In the grouping above I have pansies, foxglove, bee balm, balloon flowers and three kinds of grass that have germinated and seem to be doing well.
I bought a package of lilies the other day that had already started growing. There were six in the package, 2 Stargazer, 2 Le Reve, and 2 Mona Lisa all three types are differing shades of pink. I've never grown them before and hope they will do well until they can be planted outside. The large plastic yogurt containers are a great size for planting bulbs. I punched holes, with an ice pick, in the bottom and lower sides to aid in drainage.
The impatiens are still doing great. They were growing so fast that the dreaded task of pinching back was much easier for me to do this time. They are filling out quite nicely.
All but three or four of the 43 Purple Wave petunia seeds have germinated.
The Scabiosa, Blue flax, and rudbeckia 'Irish Eyes' have also germinated in large quantities.
The Blanketflower seeds, that were guaranteed to grow, are growing. Beside the blanketflower is liatris. I don't know if the corms are viable or not, but there were 12 corms in a package at Aldis for under $3.00, (I think it was $2.49, maybe $2.99), anyway, I thought it was worth a shot. I also bought a package with two 'Bright-eyes' phlox for the same price. They already had a little bit of growth, so I know at least they were alive.
Here is another picture of the Bee Balm.
I don't know what I'm going to do with all of these seedlings. I guess I had better be finding more containers for transplanting, which will need to be done soon. I still have so much more that I want to plant, but I'm quickly running out of space.
22 comments:
What a sweet Kitty. As I was moving some of the primroses out into the garden, I noticed large bites had been taken out of several of the leaves. The pot was on the floor and even thought the door to the main house is supposed to be closed at all times, I know it was Hazel, the plant eating cat. She is quick and sneaky. You really have a lot of seedlings, how long before some of that stuff can go outside? And I worry about running out of room! Whew! You really have the touch for getting those seeds started, my petunias haven't done a thing in over a month since planting. Failure.
Frances at Faire Garden
Kitty is a beautiful cat! We had a dog named kitty some years ago. Interesting post too.
I can't wait to see your garden all abloom Robin. You have quite the collection of plants already.
You are blessed with a good kitty. I have a friend that can't have real plants indoors because her cats eat them and do unmentionalble acts in the pots.
Libby is a beautiful cat ! .. her eyes show an old soul .. perhaps that is why she is so well behaved ? .. past experience !
Sophie .. is very good about my window sill plants .. so she knows better or they just don't taste good to her ? haha
I would send you my yogurt containers but I think customs would wonder about it all ..haha
Any pointers on foxglove ? .. I only get foliage .. no flowers and I'm about to give up after I try Candy Mountain and if it doesn't work (if I can get it that is !)
Joy
Well Robin, if you are planting indoors I guess it is time for me to get busy. I have been waiting not wanting to start them too early. We are very close on the "zone". If you drew a line straight west of you, you would run into me! So, I will be planting this week. Great pictures and recycling.
Robin, your kitty looks so darling!
All those yogurt containers made me smile. When I first started gardening my neighbor gave me a huge sleeve of coin cups his mother had collected at the Atlantic city casinos. They were just the right size and nice and sturdy. My only problem was I was afraid people would come over and think I had a gamboling problem!
Hi Robin! What a great, informative post!!! And yes, Libby is *very* well-behaved indeed--all three of my indoor cats enjoy leaf-munching (they even attacked the poinsettia this year), so all seed-starting must occur in the greenhouse. Lilly must be related to my Molly. Goldens are the best! (Though I do have a soft spot for Springers, too.) My all-time favorite Dannon yogurt was vanilla-banana, which I haven't seen in the stores for years. Now if I want some I have to make my own...
Frances, your kitty looks a lot like our wild now tame kitty. How do you harden off your seedlings? It's the one thing I mess up every year. I don't know if I get impatient and leave them out too long or what.~~Dee
such a good kitty! You're lucky!
Frances: According to Purdue University our last frost date is April 22, so I'll start hardening them off around that time. For some reason I've had great success every time I've planted petunias. Last year every seed grew and flowered.
Marie: Her name is actually Libby, but for some reason I always call her Kitty.
Lisa: I can't wait either. I want flowers everywhere. She has gone potty before in my ficus tree container, but she was younger then.
Gardenjoy4me: I don't have any pointers on foxglove. I grew it for the first time last year, so mine haven't bloomed yet. They are biennials, so hopefully I'll have flowers this year. They germinate at an incredible rate. Candy Mountain is what I'm growing now.
Beckie, I probably started too soon. I just get so antsy to start gardening. I did start at the same time last year, and the only thing that was started too early was the moonflower and coleus; they grow like weeds.
Melanie: That is funny. Right now I would take any container given, I think. I used the peat pots last year but don't like them at all.
Ourfrienben: I wish I had a green house. That is a goal of mine. Goldens are the best.
Dee: Our average last frost date is around April 22. I usually put the shade seedlings that will be planted in the front yard on the covered front porch for several days. The rest I put under the patio umbrella for a few days, gradually exposing them to the midday sun. This worked really well last year.
Linty: The kitty was dumped off at a church. I found her one night in December during a freezing rain and rescued her. I am so glad I found her and kept her, She is a wonderful pet.
I haven't a sweet well mannered kitty...he would have been eating the seedlings and sleeping on top of the warm soil.
Count me in on those waiting to see your garden blooming.
gail
Ahh how lovely Libby is! She's far better behaved than our 2 - they'd be in there 'lending a paw' and generally creating havoc!
She is, indeed, a good boojums! I have to keep the tempting plants here in my office where the door can be shut, because some bad boojumses that live here think they need salad with their meals. Nice to see so much seedling growth too, Robin, makes me excited for you.
Impressive. Does it take you a long time to transplant all those seedlings.
I grow a lot of things from seed. Being down south I can start them outdoors. However, I think I spend the months from November to March doing nothing but transplanting...and I really don't have as many seedlings as it might sound like. Less than you I bet.
Here it is beautiful weather in NC, I can't claim a single plant as show and tell. You are in the frozen north and got all these babies thriving--something is wrong here--like.....WHEN WILL MY HOUSE BE DONE! Ok, I vented, feels better. I was most amazed that the wave petunias have germinated so well. The impatients will be getting a bloom soon--aren't they the best bang for the buck. I like them and wax begonias.
I am sooooo not worthy. I am not worthy. Sigh. I threw out my seedlings (a handful) and started again yesterday. Now I know two things that I simply can't do - bake pie crusts and grow seedlings. You'll just have to keep posting specific techniques and I will just have to keep reading!
Love your kitties and for sure my cats would be into those plants the second I turned my back!
I'm afraid my kitty isn't so well behaved. My seedlings are in a room with the door shut, I learned the hard way after my kitty "scooter" attacked one of them. I guess he couldn't help himself :)
What a beautiful cat your Libby is! You can tell she is trying very hard to be a Good Kitty, and not get into anything. Just watch. How endearing. :) I don't have a single seed in a pot. Being in CA I just always stick them in the ground about now, actually, and hope for the best. I have a completely impractical suggestion on where to put seeds: Celia Thaxter (1800's gardener) used to put seeds in half an eggshell! Can you imagine? As I said, completely impractical, but very poetic and a lovely thought.
Robin, I am just about as excited to see all your little seedlings in your garden as I am to see my own garden sprout. You are one busy indoor gardener. Love the kitty photo and the good reports of her good habits.
Are your impatiens different colors or monochromatic? they look great.
Robin, you're totally right - Raisin and LIbby must be distant cousins!
I start some of my seeds in coconut pellets. One morning last fall I woke up to the sound of Raisin playing in the kitchen, and then promptly went back to bed. In the morning, I found about 1/3 of my seedlings had been used as cat toys... coir everywhere, quite a few seedlings destroyed, and one happy cat.
She's an adorable kitty Robin :) Our kitties have been surprisingly good so far. Good for you pinching back the Impatiens! They'll branch out and have stronger stems now. Your seeds looks so good to me :) If you use milk jugs they make great containers. Just cut off the top below the handle, or leave it on until they germinate and grow a little (just like you would for winter sowing). And of course drill a few small holes in the bottom for drainage.
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