Does it Really Matter? Apparently Not

Earlier this month I posted about my experience last year with using cheap potting soil for my seed sowing. I had pampered a stinging nettle for months without realizing it until I went to plant it. I had never seen one before and had no clue what it was until I gripped it and felt a terrible burning and stinging on my hand. It was so painful!

This year I was more careful with my sowing medium, because I didn't want to nurture weeds. For some of my seeds I used a sterile soil mix and for others I used the little pellets. I had planted impatiens seeds and was excited to see them germinate and begin to grow. One of them was growing faster than the others. Today when I was watering, I realized that it wasn't impatiens after all. It is another stinging nettle! How did that happen? Believe me, this one is being handled very carefully...I won't make that mistake twice!

Ouch! Lesson Learned the Hard Way!

After work today I stopped by the garden centers at Lowe's, Meijer's and Home Depot, mainly to look for lantana and Calibrachoa, (Million Bells). I was successful in finding lantana at Lowe's and the pink and purple calibrachoa at Meijer's. I still had the Lowe's gift card from January 25, and finally spent it today on three Knock Out roses, several lantana and red salvia.

I have grown so much from seed that I can't tell what some of the plants are anymore. I was moving some of them outside tonight and picked up this plant; as soon as it touched my skin I started stinging like I was being stung by bees. It actually left whelps on my arm and it really hurt. I'm thinking that it must be Stinging Nettle. I know I didn't plant it, but I also made a huge mistake and tried to cut corners on the planting medium this year. It wasn't sterile and I've not only had damping off disease but I've obviously got weeds too. Ouch! Another lesson learned the hard way!




The Swizzle zinnia that I grew from seed is not pretty like the mother plant. Another disappointment. Although I was warned that it might not be true to seed, I just had to try. Hopefully, I can find it again this year.



The petunias are blooming. Some have already been planted outside, and the rest will hopefully go out tomorrow.



The anise hyssop has really been neglected because it was never transplanted into a larger container.It is still beginning to bloom in spite of the poor treatment. I've enjoyed the licorice smell!

I've uncovered some of my winter sowing containers and I'm very happy to report that I have sprouts in every container except one. The only thing not successful was the lantana and I knew it was a long shot when I attempted it.

I'm hoping to have some breaks in the rain tomorrow to get some much needed planting done. It's pouring right now and I'm concerned about the young, exposed plants I have on the patio. Hopefully they will be all right.

Common Lilac as Phenological Indicator

In Creative Homeowner's Gardening For All Seasons, it states that the "Common lilac is a good phenological indicator".


"Phenological indicators are natural timekeepers" supposedly better at telling us when to plant rather than going by the calendar or last frost dates.

It states, "Because weather conditions vary from year to year, timing some of your plantings by the development of lilacs in your neighborhood can be a more reliable guide than mere calendar dates."

"When lilacs begin to leaf out, (that is, when the widest part of the leaves grows out past the bud scales that had enclosed the leaf), it is safe to plant hardy annuals such as sweet alyssum, pansies, and calendulas. And when the lilacs are in full bloom it's time to plant tender annuals, such as impatiens and marigolds, as well as summer bulbs such as dahlias, gladiolas and tuberous begonias."

Considering we have a freeze warning again tonight and my lilacs already have significant bud formation, I wonder if this is truly a reliable indicator of when to plant tender annuals. I sure hope so, because I have a lot of plants inside that are getting huge and desperately need to go into the flower beds. A few plants have wilted and dropped over dead, I've probably over-watered and caused damping off disease. I also have an infestation of aphids, white flies and gnats on my indoor seedlings. I am so ready to move these plants outdoors!

I was wondering what you thought. Do you think this is a reliable method for determining when to plant tender annuals?

Buebirds Again

The bluebird is becoming a regular visitor now, I spotted him at the birdbath today. I'm not sure if he was checking out the nesting box again.

I got a few pictures before he flew away.

The ducks are so funny. I was outside on the patio this evening and spotted them coming into the yard. I walked over to Lilly and sat on the grass beside her to hold her leash so she wouldn't chase them. They walked right up to the patio and ate the sunflower seeds. I couldn't believe that they would come so close to me and the dog.

Hopefully Lilly will get used to seeing them and won't bother them, but between the cat yesterday and the neighbors dog in my yard today, they better be careful.

It was a beautiful spring day today with temperatures reaching around the low 70's. My son mowed our backyard for the first time today. It only needed it in the areas where Lilly regularly "waters".
I transplanted the zinnias and quite a few petunias. A few weeks ago, I took some cuttings from the sweet potato vines, that I had overwintered, and placed them in water.


They had nice long roots already and I put into containers today. I'm getting tired of taking care of all of these plants inside and I'm ready to do some real gardening. With temperatures in the 70's it's hard to imagine another cold snap, but I know better than to put these babies outside yet. I have so many petunias that I did get tired of re-potting them today and stuck a few into containers on the patio. I'll just have to cover them if it gets too cold.

All but two of the winter sowing containers have plants growing in them and one of those is purple fountain grass seeds that I just planted a few days ago. The other is columbine. Everything else looks great. We have rain, rain and more rain in the forecast for this week. I'm so glad I was able to play outside for awhile today.

Doggy at the Window and a Lovely Bloom

Two of the impatiens bloomed today and a few others have buds forming. I'm excited to see blooms, but it's really too early. I can't put them outside for a while yet. I definitely won't start them so early next year.

My tomatoes are up and growing well, as is the cilantro. The dill isn't looking too great though, I may have to sow a few more seeds and try again.

We thought Lilly looked so cute looking out the window. She may have been watching for the ducks. Unfortunately we didn't see them again today, or the bluebird either. I don't think my new nesting box was selected. Bummer!

This is a busy week for me since Hubby is on vacation. We are trying to get a few things done around the house. Hopefully, I can get the inside cleaned up and organized during this rainy week and then I can be free to play outside as soon as it warms up.

Indoor Growing Update

So far, all of my seedlings are doing well and I'm quickly running out of space on the shelves. The upstairs loft area has been a perfect location for growing plants. The combination of corner windows and overhead lights seems to be perfect too since all of my plants are growing straight and are filling out nicely. I just bought another light to put on the bottom shelf because it is time to transplant more seedlings.

The impatiens are getting too large and a few have tiny little buds. They really should be planted outside soon, that is, if it was already past the frost date. They grew faster this year than in 2007. I need to remember not to plant them as early next year.

I just checked and I started these on Feb. 5, last year they were started at the end of February and it took them a while to bloom once they were planted outside. They definitely did better and are healthier this year, but starting them in early February is too soon.


I've never grown liatris before, it grew much faster than I expected. They are so easy to grow from the little bulbs and they are inexpensive too. I planted three bulbs to a pot and now have six nice sized plants to add to the garden. The Butterflies and bees loved the small clump I already had and I'm very excited about adding a few more to my butterfly garden.

The Purple Wave petunias are growing well. Last year I had trouble with the lower leaves turning yellow, (probably from too much moisture), but so far, no problems this year.

Growing and propagating plants is a lot of fun for me, I love to learn new things and I like to experiment to see what works and what doesn't.

I'm a little embarrassed to tell what all I have growing inside right now, but here is the list any way. With a few notes to myself, (and you too, if interested).

Impatiens - Feb 5- 37 plants - Beginning to form buds. Start in late February 2009.
Petunias - Feb. 28- 40 plants- Need to transplant the other 34 in containers.
Balloon Flower Feb. 28 - a lot of them germinated- thin and transplant
Pansy- Feb. 28- 8 plants- transplant
Feathertop grass - Feb. 28- growing well
Hare's Tail grass - Feb. 28- growing well
Fountain Grass- Feb. 28- growing well
Scabiosa - Feb. 28- ? lost label and can't remember where they are.
Blue Flax- Feb. 28- Several- transplant
Bee Balm- Feb. 28- 10 plants- transplant
Irish eyes Rudbeckia- Feb. 28 - several germinated - transplant
Blanketflower Feb. 28- ?
Candy Mountain Foxglove Feb. 28- Several -thin and transplant

Liatris- 6 plants- Growing too quickly; in the future plant bulbs outside.
Larkspur- 12 plants so far- Recently germinated. Transplant soon.
Lilies- 6plants- Buds have formed, grew way too quickly, shouldn't grow these inside.
Hyssop- hundreds- Thin and transplant.
Lavender Hyssop- 17 plants - Transplant
Bonfire Salvia- 16-18 plants - still germinating- some ready to transplant.
Hollyhock Maroon- Some have germinated- didn't label well
Butterfly weed- growing well but didn't label - (Can't distinguish between butterfly plants)
Pink Butterfly plant - growing well but didn't label

Mallow pink beauty -March 12- a few are growing - transplant
Rudbeckia Maya - March 12- just germinating
Frost Hardy Geraniums - March 12- two have germinated - transplant

Coleus, March 22, hasn't germinated
Cilantro - Planted March 22, hasn't germinated
Parsley- Planted March 22, hasn't germinated
Mint- March 22, hasn't germinated
Dill- March 22, hasn't germinated
Roma tomato - March 22, a few are just beginning to germinate.
Tomato Super Sweet 100 - March 22, a few are just beginning to germinate.

Ranunculus - 20 bulbs- no growth because I planted them upside down, (post to follow).

This doesn't include what is being winter sown outside, or the many seed packets I still have, many of which I will direct sow.

Anybody want to volunteer to help me plant all of this?

Winter Sowing Update 3-21-08

Even though it's spring, it doesn't feel like it today. It's cold, but thankfully we aren't getting the snow the upper Midwest is getting.

I took a stroll around the soggy yard today to see if anything else was blooming besides my lone crocus, other than one other purple crocus, there isn't. I wasn't too disappointed though because I'd rather the blooms hold off just a little longer until it warms up so I can really enjoy them. I saw a lot of tulip, lily and daffodil sprouts coming up. Soon, it will really look and feel like spring!

This picture was taken spring 2007. I hope the pink tulips are as pretty this year.

I checked on my winter sowing containers on the patio and there are more sprouts. Here are the containers that have germinated so far:

#1- Foxglove, Candy Mountain
#2 & 3 -English poppy
#10 & 11- Cosmos
#17- Alyssum
#18- Gazania

I don't think I had ever made a complete listing, in one post, of what I had winter sowed, so here is my winter sowing list for 2008:

1- Foxglove, Candy Mountain
2 & 3- English Poppy
4- Foxglove Excelsior Mix
5- Blanketflower Gaillardia Aristata
6- Delphinium, Blue Bird
7- Delphinium, pacific Giants, Mixed color
8- Milkweed, Rose, Asclepias incarnata
9- Viola
10 & 11- Cosmos
12- Bellflower, Campanula carpatica -Blue
13- Lantana (This is just an experiment since I had plenty of seed. Considering this is zone 5, I doubt it will be successful.)
14- Columbine
15- Daisy Garden wildflower mix, (Black-eyed Susan, Blanket flower, Coreopsis, Cosmos, Shasta Daisy, Tricolor Chrysanthemum)
17 Alyssum
18 & 19 Gazania
20 & 23 Larkspur
21 Milkweed
22 Hollyhock
24 Ipomopsis Hummingbird mix
26 Butterfly bush
27 Malva

I'm missing numbers 16 and 25, I'm not sure what happened, I may have skipped the numbers or just forgotten to write down what I sowed.

First Crocus and the Swizzle

Saturday was Garden Blogger Bloom Day and I didn't have one single outside bloom to report. I had forgotten to look on the side of the house where I have a new flowerbed. I just happened to walk past that side of the house on Sunday and notice this purple crocus in full bloom.



One of the flowers that brought me immense pleasure last summer was the Swizzle zinnia. At the end if the season I collected what I hoped were seeds, they were terribly thin and didn't seem like viable zinnia seeds. A few days ago I decided to plant a few just to see if they were really seeds.
Well, I'm very happy to report that my first attempt, has been successful! Now I will try a few more. FUN! FUN! FUN!


The Purple Wave petunias are getting larger and all forty of them are growing!

I've been asked what I will do with all of my plants. Most of them I will keep and plant around the perimeter of the yard. I'd love to start a butterfly garden in the courtyard of the nursing home where my mother-in-law resides, so, many of the plants will go there.

Also, I'm on the neighborhood HOA committee and I've volunteered to help beautify the common area that is beside by home. I plan to plant some of the flowers on the street corner around the new playground rules sign we are installing. With the new flowerbed and the new sign posting the rules, hopefully it will be a more beautiful and pleasant place to live. I can only hope.

Well Behaved Kitty and Seedlings Galore

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.

Nice While it Lasted

We had springlike weather yesterday and this morning. It was warm enough to melt all of the snow here at Robin's Nesting Place. I walked around the saturated yard and didn't find a single crocus peeking up through the ground. What a disappointment!

Lilly and I usually walk everyday when the weather is nice and we have really been missing our walks during the winter. We took a long walk yesterday and then again this morning. It was so nice to see our neighbors out and about. I miss the interaction during the winter months when everyone is in hibernation. Lilly was pretty tired after our long walk and she soon fell asleep with her little friend.


I sat outside on the patio this morning and watched the birds for a while. I was thrilled to see two frisky robins; a sure sign that spring is near. I can go weeks at a time without seeing goldfinches, but there were a few here today. It was warm enough to raise the windows for a short time this morning, I enjoyed listening to their sweet chatter. There were also a lot of noisy geese flying through.

Now for a seed update: I sowed these seeds on February 28, just a few days ago, and already quite a few are germinating. The Hare's Tail grass is doing well.

The Purple Wave petunias are beginning to germinate.

On a side note, I really dislike this brand of peat pellets. I usually buy the Jiffy pellets and thought these would be similar, they're not. SuzyQ had left a comment asking me where to purchase the Jiffy pellets, because she couldn't find them. I had mine left over from last year and now that I want to purchase more I can't find them either.

This isn't good. I wasn't as particular with the seed starting mix with this batch of seeds and I'm getting a bit of fungus. I cut a few slits in the plastic lid for ventilation, hopefully this will help. I have a few balloon flowers and Irish Eyes Rudbeckia that have germinated along with the fungus.


I finally pinched back some of the impatiens and it is amazing how quickly these are filling out.

The nice weather sure didn't last long. We are expecting ice and maybe a little bit of snow tomorrow and a few chances of snow during the week. Maybe, just maybe, this will be the last of the ice and snow.

Impatiens

This group of impatiens are growing so fast and are very healthy. The roots are now showing through the peat and I really need to get them into larger containers tomorrow.

I know there are people who avoid using peat for environmental reasons, but I have had great success with the peat pellets on those plants that are fussy about transplanting and will continue to use them.

Notice the huge difference in the impatiens? This group was sown at the same time, from the same seeds and under the same lights as those in the first two pictures. The only difference is that these were the ones that were gently pulled from the peat pellets when I thinned them and the others were left undisturbed. The impatiens I planted last year did the exact same way. I probably won't even bother transplanting them next year. It is just so hard for me to throw them away, on the other hand, it is very time consuming and takes up valuable space that I could be using to grow other things. Considering that, I'll give these a few more days to perk up and start growing, if not, I'll not waste any more time pampering them. I do have two other impatiens seed packets that I can use to grow more if I want. This makes so much sense, why is it so hard to do? It's really kinda dumb.

I just got up from my seat went over with the resolve to pluck those inferior plants right from the dirt while I had the nerve, but I couldn't do it. O.K. be brutally honest with me, do I have a problem, is this abnormal? Never mind, I don't think I want to know.

Indoor Garden Update

I think I would go absolutely nuts if I didn't have a little gardening to do inside during these long winter months. Here is a little update on whats going on right now in my indoor garden.

The gerbera daisies have almost made it to spring. I've had at least one of them blooming at one time or another throughout the winter.

The pink one is blooming now. I took over a hundred pictures of it this morning, with three different cameras, trying to get the lighting correct and a good close-up.
I still am not satisfied, but I'm tired of editing pictures.


For some reason, I love the center of these flowers. It looks like little ribbon curls in there.

The sun was streaming in through the window while I was having the photo session with the gerbera and I notice the back of the flower.

I'm usually so focused on the front that I haven't really paid attention to the back. It's actually quite beautiful too.

The red gerbera has new buds and a full bloom too.

The yellow one has a new bloom and seems to be the healthiest of the five, with a lot of new green growth. I am having a problem with white flies and gnats at the moment and have to spray regularly with soapy water.

I don't think I've ever mentioned that I brought in four containers of the sweet potato vine to winter over, (2 blacks and two chartreuse). They all have new growth and are doing well inside. I plan to get cuttings and propagate new plants from them. I also saved some of the tubers from the plants I discarded. I don't know if they will be any good, since I didn't store them properly. I just threw them in an open box in the garage, it may have gotten too cold for them.

I'm beginning to wonder if I started the impatiens too early. I started them at the end of February last year and they weren't quite ready at planting time. These seem to be thriving and growing quickly. I'll soon have to plant them in a larger container.

This little experiment isn't going so well. The lantana seeds need warmth to germinate, with the lid on it gets too humid and stays too moist. Now I have some kind of algae or moss growing on my peat moss. I may try to heat from the bottom and leave the lid off. Does anyone have any advice? I know it's a long shot growing these but I'm not ready to give up yet.

It will soon be time to start my other seeds, but before I do I really need to get rid of the fungus gnats. Any suggestions on that little problem?