What's Blooming? 7.17.22

 Salpiglossis.  I've never grown this before.

Statice.  I've never grown these before.

Rudbeckias.  I grew these from seeds, starting mid-winter.  They are just beginning to bloom.

Lilies.  

Tigridia.  This has survived multiple transformations of the kitchen garden over the years, and continues to bloom each year.

Crocosmia. These are perfectly adapted to the climate here.  The survive, thrive, and are brilliant with absolutely no care.

Part of meditation garden so far.  It's Sunday so no construction activity, which is nice.  Blooming has just begun, but there are lots of butterflies, pollinating insects, even dragonflies visiting.  These little videos are kind of low quality.  It's much nicer in person.

Some Annual Flowers, Update. 6.4.22

 The carnations are growing nicely.  These may be perennial in warmer or drier winters.  I don't know about here.  I think they would benefit from some warm, sunny weather.

Statice.  During chillier weather the leaves were all red.  The newer leaves are green.  They need some warm, sunny weather to get growing.

African Marigold,  I started these last week or so.  These will be big and tall.

French Marigolds.  These were from saved seeds.  I don't know why germination was so sparse.  I just now sowed a second tray with a different batch of saved seeds.

Salpiglossis.  I have never grown them before and don't know what to expect.  The seed packet flowers were very nice.

Thunbergia.  I wonder if I should have started them a month ago.  They are African plants, and I waited hoping for warmer conditions.  Germination was described in some websites as difficult.  I think about 1/3 of these germinated.  Also called "Black Eyed Susan Vine".

The sweet peas don't look like much yet.  I don't know if they will come out of it.

Yesterday and today I sowed cosmos, zinnias, various marigolds, cleome, outside.

Cosmos I sowed in containers.  Germination wasn't great, might be old seeds.  The ones I sowed outside are home saved from last year, a d sometimes they come up volunteer, so there might be more of those.

Ditto for cleome.  I don't want a lot, but re-sowed seeds in the cells with no growth so far.

Four O'Clocks, not pictured.  I'll have to do that later.  They are growing by leaps and bounds.

Meditation Garden. 5.9.22

 Here are some photos of the meditation garden, also called the deer park garden because deer cone through here.  zit's sort of the blue season there, mostly Camassia and a few Hiacinthoides.

In addition to the fig trees that were already there, off the top of my head here are some of the established plants that I moved there over the past few months -

About a dozen big Camassia clumps.

Several clumps of Hyacinthoides

2 clumps of Crocosmia "Lucifer"

Several divisions of Horseradish.

4 divisions of rhubarb.

A half dozen large rosemary plants, but I think only 2 or 3 are surviving.

About a dozen sage plants.

About a dozen lavender bushes

Three Itoh peonies

Three clumps of Leucojum (large snowdrops).

About 5 daylilies (Transplanted two today).

Several divisions of lamb's ears.

A big helleborus.

A dozen sedums.

About a dozen forsythias that I started, closer to the fence, eventually for more privacy.

I'm sure I've forgotten some things.

Of new perennial starts from seeds, I've planted several six packs of Rudbeckias, two six packs of Coreopsis, a six pack of Gallardia, A six pack of Ratibida, six packs of common milkweed, tropical milkweed, four O'Clocks, echinacea, carnations, and some statice (I think the statice will be annual, maybe the carnations too).   I'm sure I've forgotten some things there too.

This summer I'd like to dig up some batches of spring bulbs that are abandoned around the yard, and plant those too.

I still have some room for summer annuals, which will be zinnias, lots of  marigolds, cosmos, cleome.  I out up the beginning of a privacy trellis for Morning Glories, which I already planted and growing, and sweetpeas which are already growing.

The common themes for everything, are drought tolerance, not appetizing to deer, adapted to this climate, and something to attract lots of bees and other pollinators.  I already know the established plants that I moved fit those criteria, because they are from this yard and grow happily here already.  if deer do eat something, I wont mind and I wont add to my efforts to protect it.  As for watering, I might do some minimally to get things established, but all of the established plants already proved themselves during the past dry seasons anyway.

Carnation Update. 2.9.22

 Like statice, I've never grown carnations before.  (Actually I might have but I don't remember and it wasn't here).  After losing the first batch, I didn't know if it was the timing, the pitting soil, or the cool weather.  So I planted a few more six packs of seeds.  I think the ones that did the best were the ones I planted in the larger silicone six-packs, but all did OK.

On April 8, I planted the first batch in one of the large containers in the container planter I built.  I kept the others indoors at night, outdoors during the day, until recently.  Here is how the first ones look today.

The irrigation lines should be hooked up in a week or two.    I think these are growing pretty nicely.  Last week I planted the second batch in another container, but outside the deer fence as a test.  Plus I didn't know where else to put it.  I also planted a couple in the ground in the meditation garden.  Today, I planted the rest of them in the ground there too.

I hope the early planting will give some nice flowers.  I read somewhere that deer wont eat them.  I don't know if the need a lot of water.  I think they might be fairly dry tolerant.  It's fun trying these plants that I haven't grown before.

Statice Status Report 😀. 5.9.22

 The statice plants that I set out in the large container bed on April 8, are looking pretty good.    Not growing by leaps and bounds, but they are growing and looking sturdy.  The red color had at first is more green-ish now.  The tubing is for irrigation lines I will install soon.

 The statice seedlings that I held back from planting outdoors in April, because I didn't know if it was too early, are a little smaller and the leaves have a more red - ish tint.  Kind of maroon, sort of.  They have been sitting in the vegetable bed for a week or two, pending being planted.  I planted them outdoors today.

  It's interesting, they look a lot like dandelions or similar weeds.  Also, they have a red taproot.

These are interesting plants.  I bet that taproot will give them good drought tolerance.   It's a good thing I didn't wait longer to plant them.   I planted four in a large container, and three in the ground in the meditation garden.  

Seedling Travel Cart. 4.29.22

 Most of the seedlings are still too tender, and the nights too unpredictable, to leave them outside or plant them.The sunroom gets too hot during the day, to leave them there, plus they need the outdoor conditions and sun, when it happens, to grow healthy.

So, I bring them in at night, and back out during the day.

Those are mostly tomatoes, chilis, eggplants, basil, and a few others.  The geraniums on the bench, to the right of the rack, have stayed outside for a week or two.  They are ready to plant in the ground or permanent containers, now.

I think the statice, four o'clocks, and remaining carnations can stay outside permanently.  Unless we get a frost.  I want to plant them in their long -term locations within the next week.  Also some Chinese cabbages, celery, and kale.

Planting Carnation and Statice Starts Outdoors. 4.8.22

 I've never grown carnations or statice here, so I don't know what works.  Carnations seem kind of uncertain.  The ones that I up-potted have survived but are not thriving.

I decided to plant out the first batch that I started in silicone six-packs.  These are looking pretty good.  They have spent a number of full days outdoors, so I'm not concerned about sunburn.  Chill might be a problem.  I kept the other sixpack for more TLC and for comparison.

I also planted the first six pack of statice seedlings.  They are odd looking plants, sort of like dandelions with leprosy.

Flower Seedling Plants. 4.3.22

 The flower seedling and cutting starts are doing pretty good. 

These are carnations, statice, bloodflower, milkweed, late started coreopsis, ratibida (Mexican hat flower), later started oregano, and later started thyme.

These are mostly geraniums.  The more lush ones are mostly starts from cuttings last fall.  The puny looking ones were starts from this winter.

The big planter / container box is done, and the containers are 1/3 full of soil.  When they are full, two of the ten will get flowers (carnations and statice), two will get Serrano peppers, and four will get bush beans.  Im not sure about the remaining two, maybe shallots in one and a bush tomato in the other.

Statice Status. Seedlings. 3.21.22

 Statice seedlings are growing their first sets of true leaves.  So far, so good.

Depending on how fast the seedlings grow, I might skip the up-potting stage and plant them directly outside in May.  Also, I might put half in the deer park and half in the new big planter box.   Then I can test for deer resistance and have some on reserve if Bambi takes to eating Statice salad LOL.

Statice Seedlings. 3.12.22

I wondered if these would be difficult to germinate. They supposedly need to be on the soil surface, with just a dusting of soil of seed starting medium. I put them on the warming mat and covered with a plastic sheet. They were showing signs of life in four days.

Some internet references state that Statice germinates in one to three weeks. Maybe the warming mat sped them up. If these grow well, I want to plant half in the "deer park" as a test of deer resistance, and half in the big vegetable planter.