OMG! Cold dreary, rainy and NO SUN! We are dying out here in Indiana!
How about that Marguerite Sweet Potato Vine for Chartreuse?
Running to U Tube now
Suzy
Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #12
Morning all!
It's warm and sunny again and babies are turning into teenagers. Some are flowering already or have at least some buds.
Wind, did you know the berries of mahonia are edible? The berries are too sour to eat directly but the juice can be used for syrups or even liquors. They're very rich in vitamins and birds love them too!
Wow that mg video is amazing, I wonder how long they had to video them to get that video!
good morning :)
thanks Tuink, the more I hear the more I really want the mahonia. I did ask at my fav local gdn ctr and they didn't carry it but are looking into it for me. Post some photos of your teenage blooms! I just now finally have a first bud on a viola and still nothing on the geraniums yet.
Suzy, the sweet potato vine might work perfectly; I found it comes in a dwarf variety which I would rather have, that is if I can even find it! For those who may be interested, I did a quest for more chartreuse plants this morning. Sweet potato vines scare me because they can really take over and become monsters! I also like golden creeping Jenny and sedum Ogon. Xanthosoma is not appropriate for a basket, but could work in a potted arrangement so I kept it in this chartreuse foliage list, which is by no means complete:
> Margarita' sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas 'Margarita', Zone 11)
> Ipomoea ‘Dwarf Margarita’ - Trailing plant with chartreuse foliage
> Geranium ‘Mrs. Pat’ – chartreuse & burgundy foliage, pink flowers
> Tradescantia fluminensis ‘Aurea’ – Trailing plant with chartreuse foliage
> Sedum ‘Ogon’ – Trailing plant with small succulent chartreuse leaves. Fairy has a photo of this in plant files!
> Solenostemon ‘Limelight’ – Small plant with chartreuse foliage
> Xanthosoma aurea ‘Lime Zinger’ – Large chartreuse arrowhead-shaped leaves
> Golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’, Z 4–8)
this is the site where I found most of these ideas http://www.scottarboretum.org/publications/06containers.pdf
and this was another interesting site with ideas for container combos
http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/design/articles/2007-container-challenge-results.aspx
I have a book too on container gardening that I just remembered...will go check it out now
Hi Wind,
If you can't find a mahonia plant, I could send you some cuttings. They're all over the place where I live!
I have petunia's (the ones the slugs didn't like) and viola's in bloom, as well as cockscombs, egg-plants (they now have little fruits) and tomato's. Sanvitalia, chamomille, sweet annie and brachycombe are budding. I even had to pinch some flower buds out of my pineappe sage seedlings. Lots of salvia's are growing rapidly by now. A whole area in the cutting garden has been direct sown and seedlings vary from just above the ground to about 2 inches. And there's lots of perennials which I don't expect will flower this year.
I'll take pictures as soon I can!
hi....where is everybody??? :0
must be the holiday weekend coming and college graduations too, or could be plum exhaustion from too much gardening and weeding! I've been weeding and feel like I'm not even making a dent but I sure am tired. I didn't realize how bad the weeds grew in around all our beds; especially wild strawberry, which I do try and leave some because the birds eat the berries, but enough is enough!
Tuink, thank you for the offer of the mahonia cuttings :) do you think it would grow from seed fairly easily? Tuink you are growing some things I've never even heard of...will have to look them up, like the brachycombe and the Sanvitalia
I think our house sparrows are at war. We had a nest full of babies and next thing I knew they were gone and new tenants were building a nest after pulling out what was in the bird house. Then a few days ago the round entry hole was completely filled with nesting materials and clogged. My DH had to unplug the hole yesterday after we waited a few days to see if the birds would do it. Very strange.
Well, 'm sending off some of my seedling babies to new homes tonight. I'm taking some to a local garden club meeting.
LeBug, do you happen to have a photo of your white lace flower seedlings? I'm not sure what to look for. I have it planted in a spot with Queen Anne's Lace.
happy gardening everybody and have a nice Holiday weekend coming up :)
Sorry been SUPER busy!!
THat videoo was pretty neat!!
GUESS WHAT!!! DH GOT A JOB!!!YEAH!!!!
Got a co-op going right now, doing a group buy for coleus tomorrow 3 hrs. away, have to harden off my seedlings to get ready to plant, digging out new beds, laying topsoil & mulch and planting this weekend!! Busy Busy!!
I have been mindlessly planting out for several days. I finally figured they will be better off in the ground and just slapped them in. lol. About all I have left are the ws perennials and some foxgloves. Any suggestions on these. I really want to put them all in my holding garden until next year. Should I put the foxgloves where I want them in the fall or can I wait to transplant them in the spring?
Put in my tomatoes and am going to have to really baby them as I want them to grow as fast and as big as the nursery plants my DH would be to have.
Morning All!
Wind, you can grow them from seed too though they may need to be stratified/wintersowed.
Fairy, Congratulations!
Indynanny, you can transplant foxgloves whenever you want (except when they're flowering). I do so all the time, they always sprout where I don't need them!
If you want to see what's in flower in my gardens now, you can check it out on: http://www.freewebs.com/garden-gnomes-adventures/photoalbums.htm
When at our first honeymoon, we decided to have one every five years. It feels like only yesterday, but monday we'll take off for our second one! And where better to celebrate than on Madeira, an island just off the coast of Africa, which is called "Flower Island" and has the most wonderful climate you can imagine?
The taxi will us up at half past two (at night!) to take us to the airport, we take off at six o'clock and at nine o'clock we're there already! You bet that during the week to come I'll never let my seed-snatching kit out of sight!
You can read about my botanical adventures in my blog (http://www.freewebs.com/garden-gnomes-adventures/gardengnomesadventures.htm), but you will find many more photo's on: http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/kk44/Waarbenjijnu/Madeira%202008/
This message was edited May 23, 2008 7:38 AM
Ooooh.....
Eh, these are spring bulbs. Shouldn't they be planted in october-december?
Yes : ) but we must order before they are out of stock ; )
Oooohh, I'm sooo tempted. I have such a weakness for fall bulbs!
Yesterday was another good day of seedling planting. Italian white sunflowers, Thai basil, cleome, cosmos, Kiss me over the garden gate, baby blue eyes, and the last of the alyssum all in the ground! Oh, and tithonias and marigolds too! Dark clouds are hanging over, so if anything else is getting in today I better get with it.
Tuink, looking forward to pics of your garden! Will take time to drool over them after the rain starts :-)
wind, I hear ya on the weeding! I know it gets better with each passing year, but right now fighting the weeds among the self sown seedlings in such a PAIN! I need those babies to hurry up and get big enough for me to mulch (which I guess they would if the temps would stay warm). Grass and weeds sure don't mind the temps!
wind, that white lace flower looks almost like the wild carrot that comes up, wish I could do a photo :) One of these days!
Sorry I missed out on birthdays and ann. been kind of busy trying to get these beds in shape, I finally got to spray some weed killer only for it to sprinkle on it before I got done yesterday, it wasn't much so I just hope it works! Finaly got the weed eating done and the grass cut, I was spraying out front yesterday and dad said by by grass lol He doesn't make any sense most of the time so I was floored when he said that lol
I got a new kitty to add to my chores around here lol Wrong time of the year for a new kitty and I'm trying to keep him in the house for a couple of weeks so he knows where he lives at, I haven't had a cat since I was 5 or six yrs. old lol He is so cute! He's a sleep on my lap right now but I'm getting ready to do the rounds on my plants so not sure how that is going to work out lol His mom lives over here and I have to carry her around cause she gets under my feet all of the time now I will have two of them to carry around, I'm going to have to make a sling to carry them in so I can get something done lol
Veronica, I'm getting ready to plant a few plants of the apricot foxglove in my shade garden that gets part sun, mostly afternoon sun, I've had it down there before and it did good.
Fairy, I'm so glad your honey got a job, now you can buy more in your coops lol
Lebug, I hear you about the sling, if my little one wasn't so heavy I'd have her in one so I could do stuff, for longer than her naptime. : )
I've been trying to harden stuff off, and their has been so many dandelion seeds floating around town that it looks like it's been snowing- lol. Now all my seedlings have dandelion sprouts in them >:O I have to go pluck them all out!
I hate those dandelion seeds lol You plant a seedling out and before you know it you have a big one right in the middle of your plant, I've been dealing with mine for a while, last year I didn't hardly have any dandelions in the yard this year it's practically covered in them, those and violets.
I got three kew blews planted yesterday Wha Hoooo!!! I can't wait to see those full grown I'm just hoping they don't lean to the sun lol And an annual that has a long name, can't find it on my spreadsheet must have forgotten to write it down lol Mostly yesterday I moved a few plants and pulled weeds and still have more weeds! lol I don't like trying to figure out where plants are suppose to go in a bed but I sure like to grow them LOL I never would have thought that macedonia reds would selfseed like they do but I love the flower! They were all over that bed, I thought I lost a pink one but I think it selfsowed :) It's so hard to tell the weeds from the selfsowed ones, I don't usuall have selfsowers that much but this bed went crazy this year. I'm planting my salvias today and going to try and find the right spot for my castor beans and sow them.
Is it just me or has there been an abundance of self sown plants come up this spring. I have petunias that I just scooped up with a flat shovel and am using them as I need them. My pink snaps from last year reseeded quite a bit. Hope it is still pink when if blooms. But the biggest and bestest reseeder award goes to DRUMROLL Please...... Maple tree
I have never in my life seen as many as has sprouted this year. Saw this good hint in a garden magazine recently Take some peat or other pots That you have filled with soil along when weeding and if there are some volunteers that you want or need plant them there and baby them until you can plant them out. Now if I can just remember this next year as I am about to tire of this constant gardening. lol Still have lots of weeds but have taken today off. Do you all mulch or not so you will have volunteers next year? I seem to remember a post on DG somewhere that said lots of you are afraid of mulch. What did this person mean? lol
I think people are afraid of mulch because of the critters like voles, I know I have more if I mulch but I'm giving in this year it's either voles/violets and weeds! I'll take the mulch and plant some castor bean and see if that helps :) I know it's good for moles but wondering about the voles.
I had a lot reseed this year too, usually I don't have much luck with that but I think everything reseeded this year, I even found an odd coral bell in with my fern this year :)
Suzy I got two snaps in my sight seeing mix, I'm glad cause by the time I found my seeds it was kind of late to plant them so all I have going are the ones you gave me, I got two out of the sight seeing mix, they have to be snaps.
I just laid mulch-8 bags today while edging out my front beds and planting co-op babies!!
Meredith & Gemini-GET YOUR BEHINDS OVER THERE!!! There is some really neat stuff for good prices!!:)
BTW-I found this today that I was pretty sure you all might be interested in!!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/852631/
Lots of self sown seedlings here too. I'm seeing lots of cleome, petunias, nicotianas, verbena bonariensis, Virginia bluebells, and even some balloon flower. Maples are driving me nuts too. Last year, the only good thing about the April freeze was that it zapped the maple blooms, so I got a break from them, but I think they're making up for it this year.
Mulching is so tough with self seeders, but after last years drought I'm doing it anyway. I wait and do it after everything is up and big enough to mulch around (which is about now here). Light materials that decompose quickly work well and by fall provides a nice medium for the seeds. I'm using mostly grass clippings in those beds. I've also been using a bagged manure/compost blend from Lowes (1.69 a bag, sold by volume, not weight, which is nice because they don't fill it with sand to make it heavier), and it makes a nice top dressing/mulch. When I lived in the woods I used a lot of mulched leaves, which was my favorite. It seemed to promote self sown seedlings. I think the main thing is not to mulch in fall or early spring when it prevents them from coming up (like it does weed seeds). I would stay away from big, chunky wood mulches- I think something that has mostly composted by the time the seeds are germinating the next year works best. Oh, and if you use grass clippings, make sure the mowed grass hasn't gone to seed or you'll be in for a nightmare next year (same if theres a lot of dandelion seeds in there).
Fairy, you sure are a good enabler, LOL! You KNOW how tempted I already am, and I'm trying to be so good! There are a few things I really want, especially that yellow/pink daff. Staying strong for the moment, but these moments often pass, LOL.
Ha! I have tons of volunteers every year and that's on top of the mulch and on top of the gardner's cloth (weed cloth). If they've a notion to self-seed they're going to do it despite the boundaries. And the roots never seem to have a problem either. The tougher ones like amaranthus will just dig through the mulch and the cloth to get what they need and some of the others will just root shallower. I do agree though that I've had a bigger variety this year. I've got tunias out the wazoo and am finding snaps in places that they've never been planted before.
I'm happy to say that I'm down to about 8 flats (18 of you count the coleus cuttings) and a dozen WS containers left to plant. I've told the neighbor that I have a lot of plants that are hers for the taking BUT she has to plant them soon ... as in NOW. I'm starting to lose some of them and am looking to adopt them out to good homes.
Just an FYI because I know most of you don't have enough plants right now. Bluestone is having their 1/2 price sale now till the 1st of June.
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/index.html
Becareful La, that's how I get into trouble with my plants, I start giving them away so they can get transplanted then when I start planting what I have kept I always wish I had kept one or two out of a jug lol I had like 50 seedlings of the yellow star columbine and only planted about four then by the end of the summer I was wishing I had kept about four more lol
Hope everyone has a nice, safe holiday 8^)
hi all, trying to get some of our gazillion seedlings planted out or transplanted...the chipmunks and birds are digging in the pots and driving me crazy!!!
does anyone know if the Helenium Wild Sunflower seeds from rachierabbit are this: Elecampagne, Alant, Elfwort, Elf Dock, Scabwort, Wild Sunflower, Elecampane ?
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/115927/
and if it is, does it really need to be planted in moist soil? the spot where I was planning on planting it is not really moist
thanks
~Diana
Also, LeBug I dug up one of the Cherokee bean seeds (from Margaran) that I had planted back on 3/20 and sure enough...no germination...so I scarified the seed and replanted it. I'll let you know if it works :) The seeds are large and bright red it was easy to dig out and find the seed.
Who said you couldn't grow poppies in FL? (I think it's a poppy, lol ) I don't know who gave me these, but I love them. The flowers and the foliage are soooo pretty. Does anyone know what kind they are?
~Lucy
Lucy, that's a pretty little plant but have no idea what kind they are, I don't even know what mine are that I've had for years lol
Wind, If you want those beans to germinate you need to scratch them with a nail file, I did and soaked them in H202 and they germinated in 24 hrs. That's what I did with the ones I found from last year, hmmm I wonder if Suzy's germinated I sent her, oh Suzy........are you otta town? :)
Here's what I planted in the sprinkles today :)
caladium bulbs from last year in the ground this year (just a few today)
mimulis
2 arrowhead elephant ears and three regular bulbs, I have a black toro in a pot that I need to get in the ground too but it has three leaves on it and I'm afraid the rain will pound it down tonite we're suppose to get some good storms tonite.
doesn't sound like much but I had to pull weeds and at one point it was raining hard!
I like that plant Lucy, especially the foliage :) I'm curious too to find out what it is.
LeBug, I can't scratch the one with a nail file now, I already snipped the tip of it with a nail clipper and replanted it :) but I can do it that way with the other 2 I still have to dig up. Thanks for the tips, I'll let you know what happens. My elephant ears got ruined the way I stored them, so I won't have any this year. We store our roots and tubers in peat moss in boxes. They got dried out in our basement because I forgot to cover the box with a plastic trash bag!
Luckily all our dahlia tubers were ok because one box was covered and one was underneath and sealed pretty good. Our cannas got shriveled a bit too, but hopefully will grow ~ all the labels got mixed up too ~ planted them all yesterday. We had a snail vine root in storage too but it looked pretty dry and no sign of life to it. I planted it anyway just to see if it may grow.
got some ws babies in the ground today: English Wall Flowers and Tropical Milk Weed.
Ya all want a good chuckle today???? remember them Tithonia that I had thought had stretched and was gonan be goners. Well, guess what. They not Tithonias. They Sunflowers. LOL
I think my brain is sun fried. : )
Wind, I think it is some kind of hybrid California Poppy. And you remember my mystery plant from the last #11 thread...well. while I was looking up that poppy, I saw a poppy plant that had foliage just like the mystery plant. So it may be a poppy of a different kind, also.
I did plant some poppies. : ) We will see when the mystery plant blooms. : )
~Lucy
starlight1153, I hope you still have some Tithonias and they all aren't sunflowers LOL Sun Fried Brain lol You need to share some of your sun all we have are clouds and more rain to come :) But I needed that chuckle, thanks lol
Wind if you nicked them they should be fine, same thing isn't it :)
I have been pulling and pulling weeds to the point my back doesn't want to straighten up lol I am soo sick of weeds the mulch will be very welcomed this year!!!
Oh Lucy, I hope that is a poppy, I have a yellow plant that were in some penstemon seeds, kink of cool looking, when I get my camera to working you all will have to id it for me I forgot wich penstemon jug it came out of or I could ask that person, I have about five different jugs of penstemon lol
Does any one know what this is?
Meredith79, I'm a dud when it comes to trying to id plants from a picture. But I gotta say, the foliage in your picture looks so much like Lucy's and her's is Eschscholzia californica I believe. I'm growing some California Poppies and my leaves look alot like that.
Deborah
I had it tagged as Coreopsis lanceleota, but it looks nothing like pictures I've seen of that plant. So I wanted to be sure before I plant it in the wrong spot. Maybe I should put it on the ID forum.
I do have some lacy foliaged Coreopsis. Some of my leaves are more longated tho. Id forum always gets a quick and accurate response. Please report back. My curiosity is up on this one! LOL
Thanks Pamsue, I just love it. If I keep the spent blooms picked off this kind, will it keep blooming? And is it perennial, or annual?
At some point, I want to save some seeds. : )
~Lucy
Lucy, yep, thats definitely a California Poppy, and a gorgeous one! They're an annual, but they should do well in your climate, and reseed reliably I'd think.
Meridith, that looks like some kind of Tansy to me.
That's what I thought too, I had a tansy that was free from an order 2 years ago and I forgot about it in it's pot. Well the thing just rooted itself right through the drainage holes, and I just pulled it up and moved it. Right after that I thought this looks an awful lot like tickseed. Then I realized that tickseed doesn't look like that, at least not in the pics I've seen of it. 8(
Anybody some ice cubes they can spare. I'll even settle for a cool drink of water. Boy I sweating to death, big time. Still 90 degrees outside. I hope the rain don't miss us tommorrow cuz if it does, I either gonan give up gardening or move to a rainy state. Poor plants and a daily watering ain't helping them much.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaay back somewhere in the begining of our swap journey, somebody had said that they wanted some Pineapple Salvia. I had said that when they got big enough, I would send them one. Well, before I put a bunch, up on the marketplace, I wanted to make sure I had enough forever it was that had asked me back then.
They get much bigger and they ain't gonan fit into a box. They was going alogn fine and then too many cold frosts and way way below freezing temps had knocked them back down, but they ready now. So whoever it was, I promised to send to, holler at me. There ain't no ay I going back through all them posts. I dizzy enough on my own day to day and looking at them wil really make me crazy. LOL
And nope don't have any tithonia. : ( They didn't make it. To late to start some no I think, but definately gonan have them for next year. : )
