Pear Tree Pruning + Zinnias, Strawflower, Coleus and Herbs sown…

It’s the first of June, but it’s seems like it’s winter or early spring. In fact, it was raining for a bit this morning, but luckily it stopped by the afternoon.

Dead Pear Branches

I did major pruning on our four pear trees. I noticed that there were a lot of dead branches, so I pruned anything that was dead. I didn’t get everything, and I may leave one of the tall branches in the middle Bosc Pear since I noticed that that where our neighborhood hummingbird loves to perch and sing. I still have more to prune, but it was getting late and I was getting tired.

Dwarf Border Sunflower Potted Up

Before going in, I planted the 5 Dwarf Border Sunflower plants into a 5 gallon container. I’ll move this to the front later this week.

Zinnias and Strawflower Sown

I also sowed Zinnia ‘Whirligig’ Folia, Zinnia (Fall 2005) Folia and Tall Double Strawflowers Folia.

Inside, I sowed 8 kinds of Coleus from seeds I saved:
Coleus (Unknown Burgundy G2-2006/2011) Folia
Coleus (Dapple Apple G2-2006/2011) Folia
Coleus (Sedona G2-2006/2011) Folia
Coleus (Amora G2-2005/2011) Folia
Coleus (Kong Green G2-2005/2011) Folia
Coleus (Kong Salmon Pink G2-2010/2011) Folia
Coleus (Dark Star G2-2005/2011) Folia
Coleus (Splash G2-2006/2011) Folia

Coleus and Herbs Sown

I also sowed some herbs:
Basil ‘Hybrid Thai Lemon’ Folia
Basil ‘Lettuce Leaf’ Folia
Basil (Sweet, Chia brand) Folia
Perilla frustescens (Shi-so) ‘Vietnamese, Tia To’ Folia

Sowing Coleus at Work + Orchid (from Kathryn) has new growth…

I brought in some gardening supplies to work so I can start sowing some Coleus seeds.

Garden Supply at Work Sown Coleus

I made my own mix using used peat pellets (from peat pellets with seeds that didn’t grow), a little bit of potting soil and perlite.

I sowed:
– Coleus (Dappled Apple G2 2010)
– Coleus (Oompah G2 2010)
– Coleus (Splash G2 2010)
– Coleus (Sedona G2 2010)
– Coleus (Kong Scarlet G2 2010)
– Coleus (Trailing Rose G2 2010)

I just noticed that my Orchid (from Kathryn) has fresh new roots and growth coming out. Looks like it’s starting to recover…

First Seedling of the Year!

I just checked the Jiffy-7 Mini-Greenhouse that I planted on Tuesday and I was surprised to see some seedlings coming up! Already! Just after 4 days!… Both peat pellets of the Coleus ‘Dappled Apple?’ have sprouted. I’m so proud of them… hehe… and to think these were collected from plants I grew last year!

The Mama Plant
Dappled Apple?

This plant was actually labelled ‘Wild Lime’, but it didn’t look like another ‘Wild Lime’ I had. It didn’t even look like the photo on the label. I think it is actually ‘Dapple Apple’ and will call it ‘Dappled Apple?’ until someone corrects me.

Earlier This Week…

Sunday Jan. 29, 2006

I was able to take some photos of the garden. I just haven’t downloaded them to my computer.

I potted the Yellow Crocus that my brother didn’t plant into two small rectangle pots that I found laying in the corner of the garden. I also potted the Giraffe Dahlia and the Yellow Peruvian Daffodils that I purchased the previous weekend into one gallon pots.

Tuesday Jan. 31, 2006

Five potted Coleus cutting (3 Kong Scarlet, 1 Pat Martin and 1 Velvet Lime) graduated from the Coleus Aquarium and are now in their new home at work to over-winter.

I purchased a Jiffy-7 Mini-Greenhouse with 12 Jiffy-7 Pellets, for $1.88 just to try it out since I never used it. I planted 2 pellets each of these seeds:

– Tomato ‘Brandywine OTV’
– Tomato ‘Great White’
– Eggplant ‘Scarlet Chinese’
– Coleus ‘Dappled Apple?’ (Collected from last year)
– Columbine ‘William Guinness’
– Carex sp.? (An ornamental grass that I collected)

I also bought a pack of small ZipLock-type bags to organize all the seeds I’ve collected, especially the Coleus seeds and Ornamental Grasses that where here and there.

The Jiffy pellet were convenient, but seemed small, but I may move the seedlings to bigger pots if they grow too big and not ready to go outside.

Wednesday Feb. 1, 2006

I bought three more Mini-Greenhouse as gifts; one for my coworker Purr and two for Michael’s birthday.

I also bought a few seeds packets:

– Columbine ‘Barlow Mix’ (Aquilegia vulgaris)
– Zinnia ‘Candy Cane Mix’ (Zinnia elegans)
– Zinnia ‘Envy’ (Zinnia elegans)
– Nicotiana ‘Peace Pipe’ (Nicotiana sylvestris)
– Blue Fescue (Festuca ovina glauca)