Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Gardening Day one!

I took the plunge in Gardening today. Well, more like I got my toes wet, fingers to be exact. I decided that I wanted to plant flowers and so I did it. Wish me luck on this endeavor! :)

I had wanted to plan out when to plant them so that they would all bloom at the same time, but my husband urged me to just plant them all since I got a big enough starter kit. This is just my tester year after all. What could hurt? So I will be posting up here each week to let you know how Gardening is going and what I have done in that area. If you have any advice or recommendation just post a comment.

Today: March 30, 2016

What I did?

Using a starter kit that has premeasured soil (good and healthy mineral rich stuff) I placed 2 or 3  seed about a quarter way down and covered them. Follow the directions on the starter kit you have for adding water. After planting and marking each row of flowers so I know what the heck they are I covered them and placed them inside my house where they will stay until little greens start showing.

What kind of Flowers:

Milky Way White Morning Glory SeedsMorning Glories Milky White and Heavenly Blue



Vines grow 10 to 20 feet in a season. Morning Glories have dark, heart-shaped leaves and produce breath-taking trumpet flowers up to 3 inches in diameter. Morning Glories don’t like to be well fed. If they are, they will grow huge and lush vines, but won’t flower. Is it past the Summer Solstice date of June 21st ? Morning Glories are “short day” plants, meaning that they will only set flowers when the days are shorter than 12 hours. As summer continues past the Solstice (the longest day of the year), the days shorten and nights lengthen, eventually triggering blooms. Depending on your geographical location, some gardeners will not see blooms until late July, August, or even early September in temperate areas.









Zinnia (Giant Violet Queen)

"Zinnias are very, very, very easy to grow, but they must have full sun which means at least 6 hours each day. Plant zinnias after the danger of frost is over.  Broadcast the seed over an area of freshly turned soil and then rake the seed into the soil or rake a small layer of soil over the seed. My favorite way to plant zinnia seed is to make little holes in the soil with my finger (no more than ½ inch deep) about 6 inches apart.  I drop a single seed in each hole and close the hole by pressing the soil around it.  I always water after I have planted my seed.  I find that 6-8 inches between the large zinnia plants produces strong healthy plants and large blossoms.  Sometimes this is enough distance so that air circulation around the individual plants keeps the powdery mildew at a minimum.  I am not aware of a zinnia variety that is not susceptible to powdery mildew.  A slow release fertilizer, 5-10-5, is all you need to feed zinnias well."




Blue Bachelor Button

Also known as cornflower, bachelor's button "Blue Boy," (Centaurea cyanus "Blue Boy"), is a hardy, drought-tolerant wildflower, valued for its intense, sky-blue blooms. Bachelor's button "Blue Boy" requires little maintenance and thrives in poor, dry soil, including sand or clay. Plant seeds directly in the garden after the last frost in early spring. In frost-free climates, plant the seeds in autumn for spring blooming. Although the plant is an annual, it usually reseeds itself for a repeat appearance year after year.



Sunflower (Mammoth Russian)

And last but not least is the beautiful Sunflower. I've always loved them for their brightness and size so of course it would be on my must grow list. And I'm not kidding I'm starting a "Must Grow" List.

Thank you for reading, again, if you have any tips or suggestions just post a comment. :)

-Happy Growing
-Bee



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