The dahlia tubers are growing like crazy and I don’t have the room on my windowsill for them anymore. Just a couple of weeks ago the 3 pots furthest in the picture had barely anything coming up from the tubers, but wow, how fast they grow and start to take over the house ! I potted up the six spider dahlias just last week, so not much to show from them yet. My plan as of right now is to plant these in the garden around May 15th, so in about 3 weeks time. It should be safe by then even though we were hovering around the freezing mark and experienced wet snow Monday night. Here’s to hoping May brings warmer, gardening weather.

These seedlings are petunia easy wave neon rose. I had also tried petunia shock wave ivory, but I only got one seed to germinate and it then died on me. The far left pot has phlox drummondii ‘chanal’ with another pot of these seedlings not pictured. I started them not that long ago and can’t wait to see them flower. This phlox, which is an annual, is supposed to be low-growing and a rose colour. The flowers even look like miniature roses, so this one will be interesting to see.

Dahlias in the clay pots and in the peat pellets. In the yellow pots are dianthus ‘grenadin white’ and ‘grenadin pink’.

So far so good, though I have lost some of the dahlia seedlings as they were neglected a bit, but I’m not too upset by it. I think I will stick to just sowing zinnia seeds since I do them straight in the garden when the soil is warm enough. I most likely took on too much seeds for a beginner to keep up with, and having no room didn’t help. I didn’t enjoy growing plants from seed as much as I thought I would and couldn’t find enough time in the day to baby the seedlings, water, make sure they had enough warmth and light… The failed germination was most likely my fault. I had variegated barbarea that didn’t germinate [they are in the jiffy peat pellets along the right side by the dianthus] and white astra that did nothing. If I decide on seeds again I should probably look into putting up a greenhouse first. I think getting enough light and warmth is key to starting most seeds.

Apr 18

windowsill geraniums

I woke up this morning to frost. The pansies slumped over with crystalized frost covering most of their blooms. Even though it is still quite cold they seem to be bouncing back in the sunlight. Maybe tonight I should move the pots to the garage to keep them for getting hit with frost again. Some leaves that were opening up on the hydrangeas look to have been bitten by the frost. Tomorrow is supposed to be a much warmer day, but that’s it. Just that one day and then several days of cold and rain. My daughter’s seventh birthday party is on the weekend and it’s supposed to be chilly with pop up showers. Lovely. April is shaping up to be much colder than March, and all I want to do is plant the dahlia tubers that are getting crazy out of control. After experiencing frost last night I realize that, yes, it really is too early to get out in the garden and plant.

Geraniums have always reminded me of hibiscus flowers.
I started a few geraniums last month and they are beginning to bloom. I also have two white geraniums, but only one flower has opened on one plant. The other buds on that stem died before getting a chance to open. The other stem seems to have perfect little buds that will open soon.

Apr 4

what is this ?

Another cymbidium orchid in a lovely burnt orange colour !

Both cymbidium orchids enjoying a bit of sun.

I am loving these plants.

Mar 29

for the love of orchids

My new found fondness for orchids had me picking up a lone phalaenopsis at a nursery sale. To be honest, I never liked phalaenopsis orchids. Actually, I never liked orchids, period. The look of the flower just never appealed to me. That was until I bought a cymbidium orchid that I posted about a couple of months ago. I was attracted to the foliage of this kind the most which has a stunning cascade effect and the leaves just seem to keep growing. A nice orchid to have even when its not in bloom.

So, seeing this lonely orchid in among some of the more unusual species orchids, with its gorgeous white moth-like flowers and yellow and red markings, I just had to bring this orchid home. White flowers have a certain elegance to me whether they are house plants or plants in the garden, I think white is gorgeous.
I have set the plant on the landing at the top of the stairs under the skylight. It’s a bright location, but with no direct sunlight on the orchid. The right amount of light seems to make the blooms glisten. I think I now have a new love for orchids.

These seem to be the more popular variety of all the orchids for houseplants. Their thick leaves are so graceful and their long, arching sprays of large blooms add a bit of character to a room.

The cymbidium orchid is just foliage now and I’m wondering if I will ever be able to get it to bloom again. I’m not sure if it needs some rest before blooming again, cooler temps, warmer temps, more fertilizing/watering, none at all or something else I’m unaware of, but I hope I’ll get to see those beautiful blooms again. Same with my new phalaenopsis. I love that these blooms are supposed to stay for weeks on end, but I have no clue how long it has already been in bloom when I bought it. The bud at the end has just opened up so maybe the others were just days ahead. It would be a shame if my orchids never bloomed again. Time to read up on caring for orchids, I think.

Mar 22

succulents

Yesterday I received some succulents that I had ordered in February. I have never had succulents before so this is new to me, but I think they arrived looking wonderful. I had attended a class on terrarium making last summer at a nursery, but it wasn’t until 2 months ago that I really fell in love with these interesting plants. My whole plan was to make up a fancy terrarium. I couldn’t find a decent glass bowl at the department store, so I decided just to pot them up, at least for now. I found some nice glass terrariums online that I might order. Can these plants be moved around so much or will they get too stressed ? I’m not sure. I’m glad the order came with a care sheet, it helps a lot being new to succulents.

The two in the first photo are Echeveria haagi tolimaensis and Echeveria Harry Watson. The second photo has Echeveria Perle von Numberg, Anacampseros rufescens and Senecio mandraliscae.

Soil used for the succulents.

All potted up ! I’m very happy with the way they look. Valley Succulents has a large and unique collection of plants to choose from that I may just have to make another order and use those for the terrarium.
And, my daughter can’t stop feeling the plants, she likes the softness.