Going back to the blog for keeping garden notes

I moved the grow lights from the greenhouse to the utility room to start a few seeds.  I bought from Park Seeds again this year and for those that I can get the variety I want locally, I'll buy from C&C in Winnsboro.  Planted yesterday:

Butterfly Weed (Asciepias Gay Butterflies) 20 seeds, 0212, Germany
Ornamental Pepper, Black Pearl Hybrid, 10 seeds, 3953, USA
Organic Pepper Early Jalapeno, 25 seeds, 5856, Isreal (Certified by DPI,Clemson U.) On AgriLife list
Pepper Big Bertha Ps Hybrid, 15 seeds, 5644, USA On AgriLife list.
Salvia Flaire, 24 of 50 seeds, 1799, USA
Cleome 

Some May flowers from the yard

The top two are new for us this year - Oak Leaf Hydranga and Rain Lily. The others are Lime Mound Spirea, Amaryllis, and Stella D'Or Day Lily.

I've built them -

Now will they come? We've got three bluebird houses now, waiting for occupants.

Chris Wiesinger, Notes from Wood County Master Gardeners Class on Southern Bulbs

Spring bloomers
Twin Sisters, Narcissus x medioluteus, $10.00/5, plt 9/1-11/25, blm late-April, 1/2 day sun
Byzantine Gladiolus , Gladiolus byzanthus, $12.00/1 - magenta, plt 9/1-11/25, blm mid-April, 1/2 day winter sun, stalks don't need support
Johnson's Amaryllis, bloom April

Fall bloomers

Oxblood Lily Rhodophiala bifida, $9.00/1, plt 9/1-11/15, blm 9/15 +/- two weeks, PS-FS
Red Spider Lily $9.00 / 2 - surprise lily, idea-plant at base of tree with day lilys
Squamigera or "Naked Lady" (like a spider lily)
Aurea - Gold
Sternbergia Lutea or "Autumn Daffodil" yellow, Bible Lily of the Valley

Winter bloomers

Paperwhites bloom January
Italicus bloom January
Grand Primo,, Narcissus tazetta Grand Primo, $4.99/3, plt 9/1-11/25, blm Feb-Mar, PS
Lent Lily, Narcissus pseudonarcissus, $10.00/3, plt 9/1-11/25, blm Mar, 1/2 day winter sun
Camparnelle, Narcissus x odorus, $10.00/5, plt 9/1-11/25, blm mid-Mar, 1/2 day winter sun
Jonquil, Narcissus jonquilla, $10.00/7, plt 9/1-11/25, blm Mar. 1/2 day winter sun
Texas Star, Narcissus x intermedius, $10.00/5, plt 9-1/11-15, blm Mar, 1/2 day winter sun
Golden Dawn, Narcissus tazetta Golden Dawn, $4.99/3, plt 9/1-11/25, blm Mar, FS (winter)
Snowflake, leucojum aestivum, $4.99/3, plant 9/1-11/25, bloom Feb, PS-FS

Summer bloomers

Crocosmia
Pink Rain Lily - Zephyranthes labufarosea, $10.00/3, plt-any, blms 4-6 times May to Fall, PS
Zephyrantines candida - bog conditions
Prairie Sunset

The mini-greenhouse

The ballast in flourescent light in the garden room has burned out and, at the end of February, I've now put the seedlings outside in the mini-greenhouse. It has a little heater and stays at about 62 degrees at night and it gets much warmer during the day. It's only been a couple days but the seedlings seem to like it.

As of End of January

We bought a Gerber Daisy last year. It's done well and we like it lot. I broke off four bits of the plant to try to start some new ones and three of those are doing very well. One has even bloomed.

So far, this is the lone Zinnia from the seeds we saved from last year. (It's too early to start these now but I planted a few to test the viability of our seeds.) Am also testing some leek seeds, esperanza seeds That we saved. Although too early, I've planted a few Cilantro and Bell Pepper seeds that we bought, with the plan to grow them long enough inside to transplant to the garden.

I am starting some of the "plant indoors 6-10 weeks before last frost" seeds - Salvia, Sanpdragon, and Shasta Daisy.

The Chocolate Coleus seeds that we saved from last year are very tiny. Just a few have sprouted. If these survive, these plants will be 3-4 feet tall later in the summer.

The Esparanza seeds that we saved from last year did not sprout. I have some that stayed on the plant longer and will try those. Today or tomorrow I'll plant two varieties of Heuchera (Coral Bells). I'm waiting for the right time to plant other seeds we've bought - Black-Eyed Susan, Blanketflower (perennials) and Zinnias.

Here's the 2009 "Greenhouse"

I did consider building an inexpensive 8x10 greenhouse from PVC pipe and plastic film but decided not to do that. For now, we've borrowed the nook to start some seeds and to try a little propagation from cuttings. There's also a small work area there. The seeds we're starting first are Shasta Daisy, Salvia, Esperenza, and two kinds of Coleus. We divided the Gerber Daisy we had last year and now have four plants and there are a variety of small quantity efforts at stem cuttings - both here and in our mini-greenhouse (2'x3') outside.

2009 is here

The first planting was 100 plants of 1015 Onions on 1/15. Fertilizer was tilled in before planting. Adding about a lb. lime (should have been done before planting) a week later.
These are on the south side of the shop.

Some Later Plantings

More on the Pond Garden

I've been neglecting this blog for quite a while and I did want it as a record of the garden this year so I'll put some more photo's on it now. We finally got some nice lily's in the pond this year.

Esperanza

The yellow flower above is an esperanza. We've harvested some seeds and we want to do more of these in 2009!

Butterflys

The butterfly population was way down this year but we did catch this Tiger Swallowtail on a Cora Vinca

Hydranga and Lily

From the Vegetable Garden

Calla Lily & Gerber Daisy

The "Pond Garden"

We'll work on the pond next week, adding more rocks and more plants - eventually looking something like the edited photo below.

New Blooms in the Garden

Around the Yard in Early May

The "Rose Garden"

The "Springy Chair Garden"

The "Springy Chairs"

This is a shade garden, named for the two chairs from mom and dad, where we sometimes sit for coffee, snacks, or both, or for no special reason at all. It offers a nice view of the rest of the back yard, provides shade, and is the best place for enjoying the cooling breeze on a warm day.

It's been an evolutionary garden where we try new shade plants and the number of different plants in it totals about 14 or 15. The main stars are: several varieties of Hostas, Wood Ferns, a Holly Fern, Japanese Painted Ferns, Liriope, English Ivy, Dwarf Mondo, , and - for color - Dianthus and Coleus. Seasonal players are Crocus,

Jonquils, and Caladiums, and a Boston Fern. There's a Walkers Low, a couple Diascus, a Spike,and several others.