Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #14

Hello gang.... sorry have been very busy and not home much.... but this morning, despite the rain ... i snapped a shot from my back door of the plants that have grown from seed .... this is what i've been working on the past 4 yrs or so.... it would be a huge bed of teasel and lace, amongst other weeds if i haven't been cleaning it....

It is slowly getting there, but this year it looks great!!

Terese
*who's been MIA for months

ps -- we came from here
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/867750/

here's the image.... forgot i used Suzy's Swap "Pig" as the image for the last mssg.

OH and Suzy -- those red marigold seeds you gave me... they are gorgeous!!
you gave me "Disco red" and "Mars"

Terese-beautiful!!

I am going topost my ?? from the last thread here too...

Tuink-that does look like it, but none of my violets made it and only 2 pansies made it-I have had some just popping up though-presents from the birds maybe:)

So the seed pods on violets are not w/ the flowers, but below the leaves??

Your flowers are looking good, Tcs. : )

Suzy, you better quit being so busy, and get in here. We wanna see your flowers. : )

Here are a few things that came out of the swap. : )
~Lucy

pretty pretty Lucy!! something like that is what i'm trying to achieve .... now i have to go pull a lot of weeds, but it's way too muddy, and i really need a mulch-like walk way.

all my stuff is still super puny....the only thing flowering is mimilus, but torenia is close and I think my dianthus have finally adjusted-they were scraggly when I planted them and are now more clump like:)

All I did with that bed was get a load of pine mulch and dump it in the yard. I spread it out and it killed most of the grass. Then I just started planting my little plants in it, and the took off. Of course, it has been warm here for quiet some time, so I kinda had a head start on some of you gals.
~Lucy

tcs? Who in the heck is tcs LOL Long time no hear girl :) Glad you are still around and watching us lol Your flwers are looking very pretty!

Lucy my flame vine is up to three feet now and doing great and the skullcap has the prettiest flowers on it! I just love them, I'm just hoping I catch some seed from it lol Those are so hard to get, I lost my skullcap this year but I started another one that came up in a pot by it's self thank goodness but it isn't blooming yet.

I like your flowerbed and that arbor looks nice too, what is the vine on it?

Fairy, my Berry Exciting is blooming :) I just transplanted them to 5" tall pots a few weeks ago still haven't decided just where to put them, I've decided what bed though I already planted some Lemon Zest and the golden toadlilies (guilty pleasure?) there at least I think that's what they are, you should see this bed it's really looking nice, I have all kinds of plants in it like the Chocolate Ruffles is going there and I have other coral bells planted there already, elephant ears, a black taro, mimulus that's doing great, hosta and coleus from the swap, there are lots of other plants in it and I just made it bigger so a lot more are going in :)

Fairy, did you plant your violets and pansies in the full sun? I know they say to on the package but I find that if I plant them around or at the bottom of plants where they get some shade they do better, mine are still blooming so far, they tried to quit a while back then just came back and bloomed again :)

My plants aren't growing too fast in this heat either, I'll be happy if they just survive lol The dark purple

Seandor, I didn't really have much of a choice with the mommy cat she kind of chose me so I just do what needs to be done but I do really like her :) She's like my little rottweiler, if I tell a dog to get out of the yard she takes off after it before I can even get all of the words out lol I did have to put a bell on her to keep her from bringing me too many presents on the front porch, I did that this week too. I didn't even feed the finches this year because of her and I miss them but this way I might get some sunflower seeds this year and a few more other seeds lol

My violets and such are in the front bed where they get about 2 hrs. morning and late afternoon sun and shade the rest-the ones you sent me are fine and the couple pasies I transplanted are fine, but I love violets and the only ones I have are wild ones

Here is another wild one that is a little bit different form the normal shades of purple:)

Lea, on the arbor behind the flowers, way back there, are 3 kinds of grapes I started last year. 2 of them have grapes on, and they are fixing to turn ripe. Behind those are a couple of banana trees. : )

The tallest bush on the lefthand side of the picture is a blueberry bush. It use to be a nothing plant out there for years, till I put that mulch there. Now it wants to make blueberries. Birds got them before I did, tho. : )
~Lucy

I sent you the purple pecotie didn't I? those are violets aren't they? Voilets/Pansies are the same to me lol

It's almost 100 out! I go out look at my plants stick some in water take some out and come right back in lol I used to love this heat when I was younger couldn't wait for it but now...lol

Seandor I think I sent the Husker's Red in the swap, maybe someone else sent in some too, I have a few that self seeded that I want to transplant into pots and get them in another garden, I just love the foliage on these! I need some cool weather I have a lot of work to do yet lol Do your brugs bloom the first year or do you have to take them in for the winter? That's why I don't grow them myself they don't have enough time to bloom here and I haven't enough light in the house to keep them in here. A friend from SC on here sent me a good sized cutting one year and that thing got 6' tall and still never got a bloom on it at the end of the summer! Too much work for no blooms for me :)

I was going to say above then got side tracked lol My dark purple Osteopspermum, I think they are going to lavendar the third time around flowering? Has anyone had this happen? Maybe I have one of my lavendar ones planted beside it but I didn't think I planted any lavendar out front, maybe I did and just forgot. It's even too hot to collect seeds today :)

tcs, do you want some lovage seeds for your herb garden this year or anyone else, I'm not going to collect them if no one wants them :) At the end of the summer monarchs lay eggs on them, they have here for the last three years. They are in the carrot family soon as they start to fall, the stems I just cut them and they are coming out at the bottom or you can stake them mine get like 7' tall at least, I've never tried them for cooking yet, it's suppose to be like celery for soups and such, Wind you might want to try some of them :) Just let me know the seed heads are starting to form.

Yummm grapes, yeah, I have strawberry plants and raspberry but I never get them before the birds do lol I think the bunnies get more of the strawberries and the kids that cross the field all of the time, but they have my permission lol At least you are feeding the wildlife Lucy lol

Yep, I feed alot of wildlife here, and this week, I am feeding someone's lil black chicken. She needs to go back home tho, she is scratching all my leaves away from my plants. She seems lost.

Funny thing, the other day I was weeding and I disturbed this medium sized black snake. Well, I jumped back a few feet cause it scared me,and undoubtly I scared that chicken out of a bush. She flew over my head, and I thought the snake had got me. I was half way back to the house before I realized it was the chicken. LOL : )

Never a dull moment around here. : )

This message was edited Jul 19, 2008 4:34 PM

Lea-you sent me light purple ones and a red one and a orange one:)

Does anyone know what this is-is it a weed?? I kinda like it-has an interesting shape to it:)

Fairy ... it's sorta blurry... but is it is thick grass type of plant? if so... WEED.

I posted a question about it last year.... stuff is hard to get rid of. Lemme see if i can find my link to the post so you can see what it may be.

I had/have it growing by one of my roses, and now it's in the yard and my neighbor also has it.

and you'd think just pulling it would do... NOPE .... when i was digging around that one rose bush, i noticed this grass thing actually has a bulb-ous root, seed thing....

brb........

OH yes... now i recall the lil flowery thing on it.... YUP, that's it
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/755326/

Terese

**edited to add link

This message was edited Jul 19, 2008 4:36 PM

The one in the back kind of looks like foxglove, I have some seedlings here, is the front one the same thing? Which plant are you talking about :)

Lucy, lol I never think of Florida having chickens, I know they do, I've had realitives that grow them there, they're gone now but it just sounds funny to have chickens in Fl. for some reason to me :) I always think of the beaches that I never get to see anymore :)

>>tcs, do you want some lovage seeds for your herb garden

lea -- if it's good for monarchs, i'll try some... but no reason to shoot me some seeds this year... same'em for the seed swap, and i'll just do them next year. I just dont have the time or even any place to put them.
I'm spending most of my summer in Wisc, which is great, but i miss my garden ... at least my neighbor is enjoying all the pretty colorful blooms. She told me yesterday that she put a table and chair out in the lil gazebo out back, so she can sit and look at my flowers. At least someone is enjoying them.... but -- i'm also turning her onto WS and planting by seeds.
[just someone remind me of the seed swap.... i'm sure i will forget]

Terese

UGH!!! I am never going to get rid ot it-it is all coming up tomorrow before it spreads more!! I only have 1 this tall the rest are bout 6" so maybe I can stop thiose ones!!

Thanks terese!!

just make sure you dig down to get all the root. if you just pull it, it may come back. i have gotten rid of most of what was in the rose bush... but it's popping up in other places now. Good luck.

I have my dandeline (sp?) tool thingie-I hope that gets it!!

Lea, if you go across the back flowers, you will see a Red hot poker that isn't blooming sorta in the middle, then to the left of it is a Lady in Red salvia, then to the left of that is the blueberry. There is horsemint and yellow zinnias kinda beside and in front of the blueberry also.

Fairy, those look like the grassy weed that has a bulb if it is the more you pull it without the digging the bulb the more it multiplies, dig down a bit and see if it has a bulb kind of like the wild onion.

Monarchs don't phlock to the lovage tcs, I think it's just a last resort at the end of the season, I never have that many on it, if you have too many seeds now you don't need this one :)

I love your flowers Lucy 8)

I had pulled one a while back and remeber thinging maybe I had planted it because of the root structure-not all weird and weak like a weed....I think I have accidentally pulled plants thinking they were weeds as things I had didn't come up this year and I had them last year and I know they are perennial-that's what happens w/ tunnel vision for weeds!!LOL

Everyone's pictures are very inspiring. Good work troops! I vow to get more pictures taken myself next week so that I can show you how my own garden is growing. Alas I have no silver bells or cockle shells (but I do often feel like a maid, whether I'm pretty and all in a row or not!)

Fairy your thug is indeed a nutsedge and I hate to tell you this but you're going to have a time getting rid of it...especially if it's growing around something you want to save. I too posted a picture of it on the ID forum last year where I was warned that it was going to be a bear to get it out. And they were right. Someone suggested I pour boiling water over the area after I'd pulled them up, but like LeBug suggested it just kept multiplying. I've been hitting it hard with a strong Round-Up solution this year and am finally starting to get it under control. Sorry I don't have more encouraging words, but I just wanted to let you know that it's a tough one to get rid of.

Seandor you should be very proud the terrace gardens, you have accomplished so much in one short year. It looks incredible! Knowing that your hard work was appreciated by the Civic Association has got to feel great, eh? Did the twining snapdragon come from seed? You have a few things that I'm really hoping you (or someone) will offer seeds from this fall and that is one of them. That salmon geranium was from seed? Wow. I would definitely like to give those a try next year as well as the blue torenia (or are they purple? I do have some dark purple, but the ones in your picture look quite blue.) I'd also like to put my name in the hat for some Husker's Red if anyone gets seed from that again this year. And the lime nicotiana. And the black prince snaps. LOL @ me. When I was planting like madwoman this spring I swore I would cut back next year, and here I am already making out a wish list. But your pictures are so gorgeous it's hard to resist!

Oh, and my balloon flowers have also been slow growers and I've got to agree with your "what a pain" statement on the silver mist. I only managed to get 2 of them to maturity and mine are not nearly as full as yours. (And if I remember correctly I started mine earlier than you too.) If you have the same amaranth that I've got, and I think you do, you needn't worry about replanting them. I am not exagerating. If just one of them tassles you will have hundreds of them next year, and the year after that they will number in the thousands. I tolerate them because they are so beautiful and downright showy, but I have never seen ANYTHING reseed like those babies. I generally try to weed out all but about a dozen of them each year as they will really run amuk if you don't keep them under control.

Lucy, what a perfect cottage garden! I wonder how many other great pictures I've missed in the threads whilst I was a slave to planting out.

LeBug, Last year I had four brugs . . . . as soon as the evening temperatures dipped below 40 degrees I brought them inside and allowed them to go dormant. I bought three on sale from Parks and one was given to me. I started bringing them out of dormancy in March and placed them outside in May. The three from Parks are blooming now, I am still waiting on the larger white one (which was not moved outside until June).

Now, the ones I grew from seed are remarkably healthy, and I was happy to find homes for so many, but they will not bloom until their stems form a "Y" I have not grown these before, so I will try to remember to let you know when they finally do have blossoms.

The white one last year had the most amazing scent. We had it on the front verandah and the fragrance was wonderful.

If I pollinate the blossoms - would any one want any seeds? These were very easy to start.

Hazzard's Greenhouse is having a sale on annual geranium plants - including ivy geranium. They are going for 95 cents each (probably quite small)

I have bought seeds from this company and have been pleased, but never plants, but I thought some might like to know.

Here is the link - just type in "geranium"

http://www.hazzardsgreenhouse.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SRCH&Store_Code=HG

>>I'd also like to put my name in the hat for some Husker's Red if anyone gets seed from that again this year

This was the first year mine bloomed and I LOVED them. I'm assuming it will be easy to collect seeds, as i have TONS of little pods, hopefully drying. What a stunning plant, and too bad you have to wait a full year for the blooms.

I will do my best to collect as many as i can this fall for the swaps this winter.

somewhere in here [Daves] i have a image of my Huskers Red with white yarrow ... it was very pretty.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=5084755

**edited to add the link to the image

This message was edited Jul 20, 2008 10:14 AM

here's some more... i really like this shot.

Oh Terese-pretty!!!

So I pulled those thingies and I think I only got about 1/2 w/ the nuts-the nuts are small still though-like pea size on the ones I did get:( I pulled every one I found!!

here is some of the lower growing plants

tcs, you and I plant alot alike. But, I think you do a better job. : )
~Lucy

Lucy -- about half of that is thrown seeds, then the other half is WS seeds, half from last year, the rest from this year.

It's quite a large area ... slow work in progress ... the area in the images above is about 4-5 yrs worth of work ... clearing weeds, turning soil and planting... but it's getting there.

It does make my neighbor envious, so hopefully she will kick it into high gear this fall and get working on her half.

this year is stunning.... can't wait for following years when there isn't as much work to do.

Terese I really like the purple and orange photo. Your "thrown seed" really landed beautifully!

I've had a surprise seedling that I finally IDd today but I have no idea where it came from. It was labeled "Tucson Lantana" from some seed I snatched myself while on vacation. It was the only one that germinated so I babied and babied that little thing all through the winter and spring. Within a few weeks of planting out I was aware that it was growing much faster than I would have expected and soon-after I realized it was a datura. I thought I'd only had 2 dats germinate but there must have been 3 and somehow I mixed up a label (although I was sure I hadn't. Ha!) This one seemed to be different though. It was growing faster and bigger than the 2 out front and it's literally covered with much larger buds. I mean they are huge! Today I saw that it definitely IS different. One of the buds has started to open and instead of the lilac daturas I have out front this one is white! Now I know I didn't start any white datura seeds, LOL. I didn't even HAVE any white datura seeds. Now where the heck did that thing come from and who took my Tucson Lantana?

LOL at any rate I think it's going to be gorgeous and I can't wait to see it in full bloom. BTW do they only bloom in the evening? I've never grown datura before and wondered why I kept missing the blooms. I went outside one night last week and oh my what a glorious sight!

Funny you should mention Datura.

I have both White and Lav & White seeds.... last year i attempted to germinate them via WS, and nothing.

this year i had a noID that i was thinking was a weed and had it ID'd as Datura. I have yet to see it bloom, since i've been out of town most of the last month... so it will be interesting to see what it is.. but it's a Datura.

i agree with Lala, your "thrown seed" really landed beautifully. : ) When I just throw them, I can't tell what is weeds and what is flowers. LOL Do you just let them all grow together, and then get in there and weed?

i'm getting pretty good at telling weeds from plants.

Though i just pulled a 'cluster' of plants assuming they were weeds... then it dawned on me that i had tossed a bunch of seeds in that area, didnt mark it .... so i left one, i'll photograph it when it gets a bit bigger and take it to the ID forum to see what it is.

I'd be fairly miffed with myself if i just pulled 20 plants that were not weeds... but -- live and learn.

also -- if it is an area that i know i have tossed seeds... i do let them get big enough so i can figure out what they are.

I'm gonna try that, and see if I can tell. I'll start small, tho. lol : )

I also started small.... 3 yrs ago it was a few packets of wild flower mix.
then last year, after I found Daves, i got into winter sowing ... so i had A LOT more plants

so this being my 3rd year, i'm getting to know all the local weeds -- not necessarily WHAT they are, but just that they are not wanted.

one of the ones you really have to wait on is ragweed ... in the smaller stages, it looks so much like a marigold, and some Cosmos are similar too.

AND some weeds actually have pretty flowers... so i let them bloom, then yank them before they go to seed.

That's true, I have a few weeds that I don't know what they are but they have pretty lavender blooms. I left them growing this year, but pulled all but one last week. I don't care if a few of them come back next year. DH said, "That's a weed", I told him I didn't care, it was a pretty weed. lol

it's been said... One man's weed is another man's perennial.

last year i could not believe my eyes when i saw someone ask for Queen Anns Lace seeds... I was like.... heck, i can't get rid of them.... that and Golden Rod.