2009 Gardening Year Highlights

We've got at least two more months to go before we're clear of that! I wouldn't mind more snow, keeps the plants nice and warm & hydrated.

I never seem to get around to potting up bulbs for forcing... but it seems to me that I could dig a few emerging daffs in early March and pot them up for an early inside bloom... ?

I'm trying not to go in quite so many directions with gardening this spring, so I can get something more substantial looking done. But temptations abound... have you seen the sale (in Classifieds) from Rosy Dawn Coleus?

I did a hanging basket last year with 2 kinds of caladiums and gave it to my dad... it did great, and they loved it... definitely need more caladiums in baskets this year! (Bill is having a caladium sale in Classifieds also, and his bulbs are always wonderful!)

Sleet and etc forecast here Thurs PM.
~~~

The more you shop the more you buy! But I'm finding that plant gifts really make good choices for our seniors. hm I might need caladiums. Actually Jill, if you wait till March, aren't they going to bloom almost the same as the outside? Depending....I put these in the moist soil, pots, cardboard box, and left it on the deck. Tiny roots were already starting when I planted them. But what will make them bloom earlier? seems like these experinced about the same conditions as those in the ground. It's gotta be temperature. I am now supposed to put them in light cool indoor spot. well, maybe I should refresh my memory before proceeding.
Now I am tempted to go dig something in the garden right now and see how much top growth there is underground.

Sally, I had written to Bill last fall about storing the Caladiums and he told me that they had to be stored at between 65 to 75 degrees.

I think Sally switched topics from caladiums to daffs... I was thinking my daffs bloom later in March and I might bring some in early... how early do you suppose I should try? Would they have had enough outside chilling by Feb? When do you bring in your potted daffs, Sally?

I ordered quite a few caladiums from bill again. You are right he is the best. I told myself that I don't need more but........ I also ordered a couple more of those huge Port Odora Elephant Ears. I had 2 last year so if the bulbs over wintered that would give me 4 and if not I will still have some. I was hoping to use the leaves to make concrete leaf casts but never did get around to it. Maybe next year. I planted one of them out by the rock pile and I thought that several more in that area would look really good.

Us and our projects!!! Holly, didn't you think when you retired, you'd have all the time in the world to do these things??? You got a lot done last year considering your & Ric's injuries and what not.

Guys, I couldn't stand that 2009 being up there. I started another thread over here:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1070472/

Yes I did switch 'midstream;' and was debating daffs with crittero ( i thnk I will try calling you crittero, so its less buggy LOL) but stormyla, that reminds me I did save some caladiums in the basement and will have to get them started, but when? notthis early.

So the daffs--I AM NO EXPERT-- but the minimum chill is about twelve weeks. I potted some leftover small daffs (I call them half pint but don't know what they are. Thy have a trumpet bloom thats small, but sort of large in scale compared to the short foliage they have when they bloom, if that makes any sense ) They had been in a bag out of the soil all summer, laying in the garden. Some had a few roots started. Potted them in Oct and counted twelve weeks I think, and left them on the deck in the shade so I supposed they had gotten on average, refrigerated temps . Its a big IF though--even tho they are now putting up green nubs, I can't yet tell if they'll bloom, and if not, was it because of the temps, or because they were the smaller ones left from thinning a clump.

Let's work backwards on yours. If you think they bloom late March, but they are showing more than four weeks before that, dig some then and pot them in a warm spot and see how fast they will bloom? I really don't know but would rather mess with this than what I
'should ' be doing.

holly--very cool EE

Sally I was trying to remember when I started my caladiums. You are right not this early, sometime in April. I remember that I had some that started to grow a bit early and they got very droopy.

My blue columbines were really nice in 2009.

I finally got some pictures out of the camera and onto the PC.

Also, my golden African trumpet lilies were bigger, more colorful and very fragrant last July. They really brightened up an area in the garden.

And finally, one of the several crocosmias I got had put on a nice flower show for about a month in August. I think this one is "Meteor." It took a couple of years, re-locating and potting up.

such nice vibrant colors~~ after spending time out in the dull winter garden today!

Fox, is that African Queen? I just planted some, they bloomed last year but they were really not at home yet. I got them because I love the old movie "African Queen" but I think my taste in colors were starting to change too. I have started to look for more red and orange flowers to grow. Getting tired of the pastels.

Foxy, your photos are really beautiful. Thanks for posting them! That blue on your columbine is spectacular. If your lily is African Queen, then it's the deepest Orange one that I've seen. That is one gorgeous lily. I love Crocosmia.

12 weeks... thanks... ok, new plan for the few leftover bulbs that didn't go outside yesterday... pot them, refrigerate them, and enjoy some indoor blooms when the season for outside ones has passed! LOL

That probably means the crocuses that just got planted won't bloom this spring, unless the cold temps they got in the garage in their bag counted, LOL. But they should at least survive, and I can toss them around after they've gone dormant again when I'm planting things out later this spring.

Holly, that's a marvelous leaf. Now I'm sad that I didn't include one in my order... might have to Dmail Bill & see how much extra shipping it would be to add one (I tried to limit myself to the small $10 box, with 20 caladiums for me & 20 for nutmegnana).

My box will be huge I ordered for two friends besides the two huge EE bulbs I got two of the 5lb mixed caladiums, six clumps of tuberose, and 120 caladiums. Shipping was only 19.00 didn't think that was too bad.
Foxy, Those are just beautiful pictures. I haven't posted many pics as I still don't have all of mine back from the computer guy but I should in the next week or so. Josh has his laptop up there and I figured he would get my pics when he gets his laptop.
I found this pic of one of my new Lilies

As a comparison for color ......Here is my African Queen, The pink I think is Pink Perfection, White Flower Farm got the bulbs mixed, but they sent me more African Queens to make up for the error.

They sure look nice against the white fence.

Thanks Holly, Now that I look at the picture, I notice how the Gloriosa Daisy picks up the orange, I also see that the white lily was in the AQ bag also. I don't do white flowers against that fence, they would get lost, white on white.

LOL, Tell me about that, Lady! Your lily combo with the daisies looks beautiful. Holly, That lily is beautiful.

Thanks Stormy, the combo was not my doing, it was an accident, the AQ was intentional, the Daisy self seeded probably from my compost. That is what is wonderful about the cottage garden style, and sometimes nature knows best.
P.S. feel free to copy against your white fence.

Holly, do you recall the name of your lily? There are so many new ones coming out it is hard to keep up.

This one is Candy Club, it has some white in it. I need something growing closer to the ground in front of it, it is a fairly new bed, and this may be the "leap" year.

LadyG, Yes I noticed how nice the daisies complemented the lilies, too. I will have to look and see if I can ID those lilies, they came from a DG Co-op last year and I didn't get that many so I should be able too when I have the time to look back in my records.

lady, My African Queens are planted out by the road. I am putting a lot of orange, coral, purples and blues along that fence.

I just loved these "Big Mamas"

Stormy! I love those Big Mamas too, I've planted them for two years now.
Burpee seed, I think. Also Celebrity was fruitfull almost 'til frost.

That sure is an interesting tomato shape. Is it like a paste tomato?

Stormy, you may want to take some of my Canterbury Bell seeds for your fence. They do take the 2nd year to bloom, but then they will reseed if you let them.

LOL, Chris. I already snagged some!!

Lady and Karldan, I slice big Mama lengthwise and use her on sandwiches. 1 slice on each half. Fits perfectly! She is yummy! Where did you get Celebrity?

Celebrity is available from seed I believe I saw it at Parks. Big Mama is in Burpee's new catalog, I just checked. I got my Celebrity plants from a local garden center. A snapping turtle (!) ate one plant to the ground and got stuck in the tomato cage, so I had two left.

Chris, Big Mama's are quite large for a oval tomato. Great flavor.

Or a child's leg. When We lived in Silver springs in Fla, we were next to the National Forest. These 3' across turtles would come into our yard when my sister, who was 3 yrs old at the time, was out there playing. I used to have to run and scoop her up . Good thing they moved slowly. Karlden, did you cook him?

I'll have to give BM a try, but not this year. I always grow Early Girls and one other tomato just to try a different verity.

Chris, If I get one this year, I'll save some seeds for you.

HA! It was about 12 X 12. I grabbed the tail, and his (her?) neck twisted around the entire length of the body. He hissed at me quite menacingly. OK I said. I removed the cage and used the flat shovel and scooped him up. He was chucked into the swamp with a most satisfactory splash. Your Florida turtles were those Cajun favorites, the Alligator snappers.

They were big and tall! I actually admire turtles quite a bit. Where I vacation, in Cape May, NJ, there's a big turtle nesting beach right beside our swimming beach. It is wonderful to watch them. Last year another gal here posted that a 3 legged turtle took a bite out of every one of her tomatoes!!

Ladyg, I'm pretty sure that is Lavon an oriental trumpet. BTW are you interested in any of my Hyacinth Bean seeds?

Holly, Thank you, but I have some Hyacinth Bean seeds in my seed stach from a Round Robin.

Snapping turtles in the garden?? Oh, dear, something else to watch out for.

Ladyg--yes, the golden lilies are African Queens. I took the picture while the sun was behind me. I thought the gold color was brilliant this year, maybe with all the rain. Give yours time. I didn't see the move but funny, I got "Casa Blancas" often after I saw that movie!! My Casa Blancas petered out a couple of years ago and I haven't replaced them because I wanted to try some new ones. Love your lily, Holly!! Actually, all trumpets are gorgeous.

Stormy, those tomatoes look great! I grew Celebriity a year ago and loved them, but last year I started a bunch of Romas from seed. They did half-butt but I blame the weather because we had so many sunless days. Romas are weird, anyway. I haveseveral tomato varieties seed from Critter last Feb's swap I need to try this year. Forgot the names.Something like Wisconsin, etc.

Thanks, Foxy. At the spring swap, either Nisi or Critter gave me a Black Russian princess? Maybe it was just a russian princess. It was very dark brown in color, but boy was it delicious. I had bought 3 plants at the Burpee open house, but everybody gave me a few of their favorites and I ended up with 23 varieties! I liked all of them except Patio Princess. I thought that one was tough and tasteless. The Fourth of July was probably my favorite next to Big Mama. Some of the Cherries that I had were superb. I've decided that I really don't care for the Sungolds. They performed very well, but the flavor was not to my liking. I only had one other Roma and they were small but very sweet.

I don't think that I ever posted a photo of my "Tomatoe Alley". They are all grown in pots. It was a bumper year for tomatoes here with no BER, unlike last year. I did have one variety that got green hard shoulders on some of the later fruits.

I will be getting my pics back tomorrow night. Oh how I have missed not having them to look at. Just love looking at my garden pictures.
Love the tomato alley. LOL
Foxy, Last year was the first for those trumpet lilies. I plan on getting more as I get more of the permanent beds in out back.