Massive Seed Sowing Sunday…

This weekend, we had beautiful summer-like weather with highs reaching 78°F (normal average is 63°F). Looks like we are going to have an early spring (which is what I think Mr. Groundhog told us). I remember last year, I couldn’t plant outside until May because he had rain everyday in April.

Sowing Seed

It’s funny seeing myself plant seeds… Does anyone else sit down cross-legged with slippers and short on and work on the ground like that? I think I need a potting table…

I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and start planting seeds… and I did some massive seed sowing:

Lemon Cucumber
Cosmos ‘Picotee’
Cosmos ‘Sensation Mixed Colors’
Orange Cosmos from treebreeze (Thank you for these! :)
Sunflower ‘Summer Sun’ (Ox-Eye) (Heliopsis Scabra)
Agrostemma ‘Ocean Pearl’
Strawflower (Helichrysum) Tall Double Mixed Colors
Nasturtium ‘Jewel Mixed Colors’
Zinnia ‘Envy’
Zinnia ‘Candy Cane Mix’
Zinnia ‘Dahlia Flowered Mixed Colors’
Zinnia ‘Giant Cactus Mixed Colors’
Zinnia ‘Thumbelina’
Lamb’s Ears (I think they are Lamb’s Ears) seeds that I collect from San Anselmo

Spider Fancy Spider House?
Spiders, Spiders, Spiders: As I was filling the 6-pack cell pots with soil, I found a Spider living in between them. I released it so it can find a new home. My Mom then noticed a Spider that had made a home in our of our decorative bird house. Then when I was sowing the seeds, I notice hundreds of tiny baby spiders around the 6-packs, so I tried to disperse them around the garden to make new homes.

Peanuts: I also took the Peanut outdoors and repotted it (again) into a larger container (its permanent home) filled with potting soil and a lot of perlite to make the soil really loose.

Garden progress:

Recent blooms: Spring Starflower, Rananculus

Spring Starflower Ranunculus

About to bloom: the very first Columbine, Pears, Apples, Clematis, Wisteria

Emerging growth: Forsythia leaves, Taro

More Gardening (Yesterday)

Sunday, July 9, 2006

I was able to catch up on some repotting today. I repotted the Arguta Kiwi (female), White Genoa Fig, Forsythia and some Taros into larger one gallon containers.

Potted Forsythia   Potted Kiwi, Fig and Taro

I also repotted my Pink Echeveria, and discovered that the grower didn’t even remove the plastic basket it was originally grown in. I had to cut the basket into pieces so I wouldn’t damage its roots and the baby plants. Here’s the before and after photos.

Pink Echeveria   Pink Echeveria

Here’s a photo of the vegetable bed I been working on.

Vegetable Bed with Trellises

And finally, as I was done with most of my gardening chores, I got a bag a potato chips and Calli kept chasing me around the garden trying to get some. I gave her a few, but ened up giving her some doggie snacks. Here she is one the other side of the vegetable bed.

Calli Wants Potato Chips

Late Night Planting (Again)…

I woke up in the middle of the night… or should I say very early morning… and left like planting.

I planted four more Taro sprouts I found, along with two Ginger sprouts. Hopefully, the Ginger will grow and not die like the previous ones.

I also cut the Forsythia right below where the roots have formed and replanted them, this time giving them more space and only putting two in each pot.

A few of my cuttings have these ugly looking white/beige bugs that kinda looks like tiny little long oval dinner rolls. They have a white web thing surrounding them. I tried to hand pick them, but I don’t think I can get all of them. Some are about 1/8 of an inch, but many are just 1/16 of a inch or smaller.

Weekend Gardening (A Little Bit of Everything)

Friday the first really nice day that we had in a while. It was actually warm and there was no rain… so I took out all the cuttings and seedlings from my room and placed them outside in the front porch. Everybody OUT!!! Unfortunately, it was chilly again on Saturday and Sunday, so they didn’t get to come back out.

Everybody OUT!!!

We have several plants blooming outside, including our first Roses. I several photos of the Rose blooms, unfortunately, I forgot to turn the macro setting and almost all those photos came out blurry. Here are some of my Mom’s White Bank Rose and Clematis in our back patio.

First Rose Blooms of the Year   Clematis Blooms

On Friday, my Mom and I went to Costco, and they were selling Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Cupreum’)… Hmmm? Everywhere I go, it seems that seeds start breaking off. Knowing me, I had to save them.

Purple Fountain Grass Photo

Blooming Japanese Giant + Forsythia Cuttings

Although it was not as warm today as yesterday, I took some of my plants outside to start hardening them off and get them under some natural light.

I noticed that one of the Coleus that I just received (Coleus ‘Japanese Giant’) is already starting to bloom. Something tells me that I’ll have to keep a watchful eye on this plant so it doesn’t flower until the end of the season.

Japanese Giant Already Blooming

I took cuttings from Forsythia branches that one of my coworker had, dipped the cuts in rooting hormone, and placed it in 50/50 potting soil & perlite. I then used clear drinking cups to act as mini greenhouses.

Forsythia Cuttings

Hopefully in a few year, I’ll have blooms like this.