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.

Snowflakes the Size of Tissues

My daughter looked out the window tonight and was surprised at the large snowflakes, she said it looked like tissues were falling. They were the largest snowflakes I've ever seen.

Both of my children are beginning to groan and complain when it snows now. We are all so ready for spring, but according to the forecast we have several more days with snow this week.

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?

Bird Brained Part 2

Here is part two of my bird post. I thought I'd show Lilly doing her Elvis lip curl first!

All winter I've had one cardinal couple that comes regularly to my feeders. Today I saw another male cardinal! The bright red against the snow is quite beautiful. One of the males lingered around until dark and it was a joy watching the flashes of red in my neighbors shrubs while I was busy in the kitchen.

Mary, once posted that she had twenty pairs of cardinals, they looked like red berries on her tree. I can't imagine having that many in my yard; I would be so thrilled.

I usually see the hawk fly through the backyard at least once everyday, it usually perches in the tree for a while and then flies away empty handed. One other time when we had several inches of snow I saw a Cooper swoop by my feeder and catch a bird. Some unfortunate bird met its demise today. It was probably a starling since the feathers looked short and black. And there were a lot of feathers!

I've also had a downy woodpecker couple that have been faithful visitors to my feeders all winter.


It's funny, I never really thought the females were that pretty until I started photographing them. They really are gorgeous birds.

While I was outside, (without a coat), trying to get pictures of the hawk, I heard the goldfinch in the tree above my head. I haven't seen them lately. In the beginning of the winter I had quite a few of them, one even came to the window during a snowstorm to drink water from the window.

A house finch on the frozen birdbath.

Several people have mentioned that they don't see as many house sparrows where they live. They are still plentiful here...

as are the starlings.

It will be very interesting to see how many of my seeds actually germinate. When spring comes I'm going to have so much to plant...I hope!

Bird Brained Part 1

We've had more wintry weather today that has brought quite a lot of bird activity to Robin's Nesting Place. I apologize in advance for the number of bird pictures I'll be posting, I've been just a little bit bird brained today. I'll do two posts to divide up the pictures.

This blue jay was quite upset that the acorns and peanuts were covered with snow, (this picture was taken yesterday). It was making quite a racket. It never tried to move the snow out of the way to eat, just squawked angrily. Notice the whack job the rabbits have done on the burning bush? I saw little rabbit prints in the snow. I actually spotted the little menace a few days ago for the first time.

I went out and scraped away the snow this morning and filled it with fresh acorns and peanuts; the blue jays have been much happier today.




It always amazes me how many doves can sit together on a thin limb. There were more but a few flew away when I walked up to the door to get the picture.
Doves are so common, but they are such beautiful creatures.

I haven't really minded winter too much today. It always thrills me when I have beautiful birds within camera range.