A Greenhouse Workday

What's a gardener to do on a warm and rainy day in February? Garden in the greenhouse of course! It is here I can enjoy blooms and still get my hands dirty while keeping out of the weather. The amaryllis in my garden are always wintered over in the greenhouse. By the time they bloom it is usually time to bring them outside for some sun. This 'Apple Blossom' is getting close!

Found treasures from the property help to brighten the inside of the greenhouse when it is so dreary outside.

'Diamond Frost' blooms like a champ when moved to a greenhouse for the winter. Last spring I actually had some of this handy euphorbia come back when I left it outside. I hope it does so again, but just in case these plants are on standby.

'Pineapple Sage' is so beloved by the honeybees I move it inside to winter over as well. It blooms almost all of the time.

My real mission in the greenhouse was to plant up some pseudo terrariums. I planted a few of these last summer and I must say they have done fairly well in the house. They are shiny, airy, green, clean, and easy to care for. I decided to plant a few more. I find my glass containers at Goodwill for great prices.

Then I use activated charcoal on the bottom of the glass to help keep down odors since the glass jars I use don't have drainage holes. I then place a coffee filter on top of the charcoal to keep the next layer separated from the charcoal. The next layer is sand. Sand helps to provide good drainage and gives excess water a place to go. The top layer is a light potting mix such as the Miracle Gro Cactus, Palm, and Citrus mix that I prefer. I then plant a tropical plant inside the jars and cover the soil with sphagnum moss. I find diffenbachias and peperonias work really well in the jars. Not all plants will do well. Then again, you do have to water them and I am not always good at that so that could be a problem. Hmmmmm

The final result is an eclectic collection of house plants all sell contained.

While I was in the greenhouse I got pretty ambitious and decided to plant some seeds. The above 'Oven Roasted' Brussels sprouts were planted early last month. They are resting outside to get hardened off for planting in the garden. Brussels sprouts are cool season crops so I start them really early. It seems that more and more the big box stores are not carrying cool season starts; so starting seeds at home ensures I have a supply to plant out in the vegetable garden.

This was the final result of planting. I planted: 

San Marzano Tomatoes
Napoletano Basil
Pineapple Tomatoes
Cherokee Purple Tomatoes
Italian Marconi Golden Peppers (Sweet)
Grand Bell Peppers (Mix)
Mexican Sunflowers
Marigolds

I have heat mats under the seed pots. This handy thermometer helps to maintain the heat at a steady 69 degrees. Once the seeds germinate and begin to grow I will turn off the heat mats.

A trick I learned years ago in order to prevent damping off is to sprinkle a layer of milled sphagnum moss over the newly planted seed beds. The milled sphagnum moss helps to keep the soil surface dry and prevent the damping off fungi from taking a hold and killing the new seedlings. Of course, be sure to start with sterilized seed starter or mix your own like I do.


One last plant from the greenhouse is a white lantana blooming up a storm.....

on this greenhouse working day....in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Amsonia Seedheads and Money Plant Seedheads

Amsonia Hubrichtii seedheads on the plant.

It looks like it will be a good year for self seeders such as Amsonia hubrichtii and other self seeders like Lunaria annua, aka Money Plant.

Lunaria annua with river oats in the background (those seeds won't be ready for another month or so)

Other plants I have been collecting seeds from include: 'Pesche's' marigolds, columbine, Love in a Mist, larkspur, rose campion, and cleome. I will be saving some seed for seed swaps and for sowing in the garden in the fall. 

I can't tell you how happy I am about self seeders!

in the garden...

Are you collecting some seeds too?

Don't forget to check out my little dog on the sidebar. He will sit, play with a ball and follow the mouse icon around for you. Boy, the things that can amuse....at least they do me! 

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Seeds of Change

I was watching one of those morning shows recently when the anchor mentioned Seeds of Change. It seems Seeds of Change was giving away 100 million seeds for a charge of-are you ready? A mere $4.99! That got my attention so I logged on and checked out the give a way. It seems I got in right at the right time because when I checked to see if they were still giving away these heirloom seeds I found that they are not. They have given away 100 million seeds already so they have stopped the program. My credit card was charged for $4.99 but then the charge was removed. I thought huh? Well all of a sudden this huge envelope arrived in the mail with all of these wonderful seeds! I plan to give most of the seeds away to garden friends but thought I'd share them with you. I am sorry I'm a bit too late for the seed give a way to benefit you all but perhaps the organization will do the same thing next year?  

I normally don't post about things until I've had a chance to check out the product and business personally; hence the lateness of this post because the seeds just arrived. They are all packaged in environmentally friendly packages and there is a nice variety. These seeds are certified organic. What a treat. Check the company out and see if this they are something you might have an interest in....


in the garden....


Tomorrow is my oldest son's birthday. While he does not normally check out this blog or spend time on the computer, I wish to wish him a very Happy Birthday!

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Moon Flower & Red Cousins

By SKEETEROne morning I looked out into my Georgia Garden and spotted something glowing on the swing Arbor.
Zooming in, I could see huge white flowers! Oh my, what do I have here?

Big beautiful Moon Flowers! I saw these on someone else's blog recently and could not help but agree with them on how the center resembles a Starfish! Sorry for not remembering who mentioned that but you know who you are.
Here is a bud ready to pop open in the evening hours.
The leaf of Moon flower is large as is the bloom.
I planted these from seed packets so I have the name. She is Evening Glory; Ipomoea. When I purchased these seeds, I thought I was getting the same flower that once adorned my garden thanks to Tina passing along some seeds.
The Moon Flower that Tina has in her Tiger Gardens is Datura. Click HERE to see that beauty. Funny thing; When I picked up the packet of seeds, I thought I was getting the same flower that Tina has. How surprised to find out I have a vine climbing Moon Flower! Looking on the seed packet, I see it says "Night Blooming Vine" at the bottom. Well, Duh, on my part for not paying closer attention.
She is a beauty as she opens up in the evening but with all moon flowers, they do not last long. Just look at how large this bloom is compared to my hand!
By mid morning, the beautiful blooms have succumb to a blob of white nothing. Sigh, so pretty but for such a short time...
Where the blooms were once, I now see these things.
I can only assume these are seed pods. I sure hope so as I have enjoyed this flower and would enjoy it to reseed for next year!
When the Moon Flower is gone for the day, the Cardinal Climber is blooming to keep me happy.
This flower has been keeping the butterflies, bees and hummingbirds so happy this summer.
Look how differently this bloom looks then the one above it. Hum, lets do some research here shall we? Ahhhhh, this is not Cardinal Climber but Cypress Vine instead! Thank you Nina for the seeds! I have been seeing the Cardinal bloom for a while now and wondered why the Cypress has not bloomed. Well, well, it may have been blooming all along. I just have not noticed it as the blooms are so similar from a distance.

After a bit of researching on the computer I found this info.

Cardinal Climber:

Family-Convolvulaceae,

Genus-Ipomoea,

Species-Sloteri.

Cypress Vine:

Family-Convolvulaceae,

Genus-Ipomoea,

Species-Quamoclit.

Also the Moon Flower is Genus-Ipomoea. Ah ha, so these flowers are cousins! Learn something new everyday! The Climber and Cypress have been blooming like crazy and dropping old blooms daily! The ground by the swing is covered with them.
I also spotted this Scarlet Runner Bean blooming. It bloomed earlier in the summer but not for long. I was surprised to see this one blooming now. My seed packet says this one is edible but I will not munch on it and I don't see any bean pods anyway.
When that Grapevine covered tree fell (Click HERE to see) in our yard this past winter, I had a vision in my mind. I took that Wild Grapevine and turned it into an Arbor for this swing. (click HERE to see) That vision was continued with seed planting all around the base of the Swing Arbor. It is not often a vision in the head actually turns out as you plan but in this case, I am ever so happy with the results! I love that MOON FLOWER & RED COUSINS, In the Garden...

Note: Thank you Tina and Nina for the seeds to encourage me to try more seeds this season. Also thank you to all commenter's chatting with me. It has been a trying year for me in the garden as well in life. I will be Missing In Action for a bit. See ya when I return to the blog!

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,In the Garden

Cleome

By SKEETER
Yippee, we had 2 and 1/2 inches of rain fall in my Georgia Garden from Sunday to Monday! I am so happy about that and also the fact we were able to get all the trees cut to the ground before the rain damped our plans. Not one limb hit the house so it was a most successful weekend. Now the Clean up begins, Sigh...

Look what popped up in my Triangle Planter full of Perwinkle. Cleome and I actually grew them from seed! Seed passed along to me from Tina and Nina. I put the seed into the ground and up came the Cleome! I am so happy as I rarely have luck with seed planting but this year has been the year for me. I have had a little luck with seed.
I say a "little luck" as some of the seed planted produced beautiful flowers for me while others did nothing. I counted my empty seed packets and have a total of 34 paper containers.


Of those 34 packets of seeds planted, I see results from only about 12 packets of seeds! That does not seem like good odds to me. I have said before, I don't have much luck with seed planting. I don't really know what I do wrong but something for sure.

I did have luck with the Cleome this year though. This one above is planted in the Semi-Formal Flower Garden. She was so tall and heavy that she fell over. But falling over did not hamper her blooms.
She continues to grow today and provide me color in the garden when most color is missing this year. I have been an absentee gardener where this garden is concerned. I must do better by her next year. I have said this twice now on the Blog so I MUST keep to my word next planting season. Here this plant was when standing tall. I don't know why I never snapped a picture of her from a long view but she once stood tall as you can see with the yellow Susan in the background. I spotted those seed pods (bean type) as soon as they started to grow and have been keeping my eye on them.
As they started to pop open, I begin to collect the seeds.
Oh my, have I collected the seeds on this beauty! I will scatter these seeds all over my gardens next spring in hopes of having them surround me. I just love these beauties! Thank you so much Tina and Nina for bringing CLEOME, In the Garden...


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,In the Garden

Seeds

By SkeeterThis year has not been a typical year in my Georgia Garden. I decided that in the years past, I was spending too much money on plants with some not returning the following year. Time to budget, so what's a gardener to do? Well, turn to seeds instead of purchased potted plants from a garden center. Excuse the blurry picture but the camera lens tends to fog over on these humid summer days!
The Grapevine Project (Click HERE to see) on the swing has done exactly what I had in mind when creating this little project. Okay, I had the idea and The Saint carried out the construction of the arbor. We do make a good team!
I did nothing more then poke some seeds into the ground beside the swing and just look!
I never have much luck with seed planting and I was thinking with their slow beginning, that these seeds were a flop as well. Once the Temperatures climbed, so did the vines as they really started taking off up the grapevine. The first picture was snapped on July 27 while the above was snapped yesterday, on August, 16. Yes, it is now growing like a weed! Zooming in, you can see the pretty red blooms she is finally showing me. This is Cardinal Climber from purchased seed.Here you see Cypress Vine from seeds passed along from Nina's garden. You may recall Nina as one of the original 7 commenter's in the beginning of "In the Garden" Blog. I visited Nina's garden last summer (Click HERE to see) and was captivated with the Hummingbirds buzzing all over her beautiful Cypress Vine. She informed me that the vine reseeds and she offered seeds for my Georgia Garden! How excited I was to receive those seeds and to plant them!One bit of warning though, they do grab a hold of anything in their sight to include unsuspecting Wind Chimes! I must check on the Cypress Vine every few days to make sure she is climbing where I prefer her to climb.
The Cardinal is starting to shine for me and hopefully the Cypress with its red blooms will be soon to show as well.
Zooming into the area below the swing, we find some pink and yellow pretties. Not sure what they are as this is an issue when planting seeds and not placing markers. I can only imagine how many seedlings I have pulled in other areas as those seeds never produced for me. Or did they?
I planted Morning Glory, 4 O'Clocks, Sweet Pea, Cypress Vine, Scarlet Runner bean, Cardinal Climber and Chinese Lantern below the swing on both side. The Cardinal Climber, Cypress Vine and Scarlet Bean are the only things I have been able to identify as things growing from seeds. I thought I had snapped a picture of the Scarlet Bean but I could not find one on file. It was a late spring bloomer for me which I enjoyed, although, it did not bloom profusely. Tina and Nina both gave me some of the above seeds as well as me purchasing some. I am wondering if the above picture is of Morning Glory? The morning glory I am familiar with are climbers and these are not but these bloom in the morning then close up by noon not to be seen again until the following morning! Looking at my empty seed packets, I also planted Moonflower but thinking it was the Jimsonweed type Datura that Tina has talked about in the past being white and large blooms. (Click HERE to see) Could this plant above in colors of yellow and pink be Moonflower?
Here you see the plant in the afternoon with blooms closed up and gone for the day. Also, you can see the Cardinal Climber grabbing onto this plant. Could this mystery plant be something else from seeds Tina or Nina passed along to me. What you think ladies, do you have this beauty in your gardens?
Zooming in to the Tipsy Pots, we see some color as well. Again, the humidity got to the camera lens. Geesh, I will be glad when the humidity is gone but on the other hand, once the humidity is gone, the flowers will be soon to follow. Sigh...
The top pot is home to Purslane. I have mixed feelings about this plant as she only blooms in the morning then closes up for the day. Like the mystery plants in the ground beside her! I prefer blooms that last all day long for my enjoyment as well as the bees, hummers and butterflies but Purslane finds its way into my garden occasionally.
This little beauties name escapes the brain at the moment but she sure is pretty calling the second pot home.
The third pot is home to Red Heart Hens & Chicks. I decided that not all the pots need to have a trailing plant. This Hen loves this spot and has been thriving all summer long. She is shaded a bit from the western sun and does not require as much water as the other two plants above. The bottom pot has a trailing green plant that touches the ground but very difficult to see as it is covered by all the vines and my Mystery Plant. (All the Tipsy Pot plants were purchased instead of grown from seed) I should be more diligent about marking where I plant SEEDS, In the Garden...

Note: A great big Thank You to Tina and Nina for passing along seeds for me to enjoy in my garden. I will show you more on Thursday...

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,In the Garden