Gardening Week 5

Week 3 end

The Morning Glories in a matter of ten days have sky rocketed! We had been gone for a wedding and when we come back these little guys weren't so little anymore! The leaves are larger, the vines are climbing to the top of the small wire I did place up for them to grab onto.

These plants don't require too much care to grow, just keep the soil well hydrated and a little miracle grow once a month seems to do the trick. And sun. Lots of sun. We have two different sections of Morning Glories one patch in direct sunlight and the other in partial sunlight and the direct sunlight one is growing faster. So they love sun. :)

Did you know that Morning Glories could grow an average of fifteen feet in one season? I'm gong to have to build something higher for them to climb up that rests against the porch. We are trying to control the direction the Morning Glories go and right now they are so tall they want to reach across the screen and block our vision of the lovely pond. Time to get crafty.

Week 5 beginning

Look at those things go! the second flower plant you see there with the more pointed leaves are my Zinnias. They too seem to be doing well and growing several more inches up. I was glad to see them still alive after the cat decided to dig a few up. It's amazing that the cat is evil and my dog hasn't destroyed anything, So odd. I guess you never know until it happens what the out come is going to be. And now that I have said all of that watch the dog decide to play in my Garden....

These tall little creatures are my sunflowers! They are well over a foot tall and are getting taller. They love the sunlight so plant them were they can get direct light for most of the day. Beside them is a slightly plant and those are my two little pepper plants. I didn't grow them from seeds but my dad gave them to me already pretty big. My only concern was how they would transplant but they seem to be doing very well. Beside them are my radishes! The leaves are big and the radishes are growing. My husband has been keeping a close eye on them and can't wait to pull them.

Radishes

For all of those that didn't know Radishes are good for Spring, Summer, and Fall. So if you love radishes then they are pretty easy to continuously get. My husband loves them so I might be growing more when these are all done, but we shall see.

Another plant that is doing amazingly well are these. They are known as Brugmansia, or Angle's Trumpet. This flower loves moist soil and half sunlight. I have to be honest I was trying to kill the thing. This is a very scary plant for me because it is so toxic but it is thriving. I plan on placing them in larger containers within the next month that way they have more room to grow. Thankfully my animals have no interest in these plants, yet. So I am feeling much better about growing them. I am actually getting a little excited to see how long I can grow them for and what they will look like in my yard.

These are some of my plants which are doing very well, I did have a few cuttings of roses I tossed and I go into the planter and pull all weeds every morning. I water during the day as the soil dries depending upon the plant. As I continue to garden and learn new things I will share my experiences with you. Me failures and accomplishments both, because we can not learn without a few mess ups.

Thank you for reading,

-Brenda

Beginner Gardner meets a Pro

Call it what you will, luck or a gift from above, but days after I started my flower seedlings I decided that I wanted to go to Lowes and look for some more flowers along with ideas for the future and I met the nicest lady. She was an older woman in her 60s (who has been ding this for 40 plus years) and she took me around Lowes feeding me so much information I thought my head was going to explode. Lucky for me my head stayed exactly where it was and I walked away with so much more knowledge then I had half an hour before and on top of that a new friend.

The woman kindly gave me her number and offered me cuttings she had of several different plants. I thanked her and two days later, after making four planter boxes filled with fertilizer and top soil I called her and scheduled a day to go and see her. We talked for an hour over the phone like we were best friends. It was refreshing.

Quote: “Gardeners help each other out.”

Going over to her house was amazing. There were so many hidden surprises all across the yard and it wasn’t a large yard it was just tightly packed. I mean, she used anything and everything to put plants in. From wheel burrows to a swimming pool, and a dead tree to a satellite dish! It was pretty impressive and inspiring for any Gardener in the making but a little intimidating. I could see where it could get out of hand or take over someone’s life. So once we left I did have to do a little soul searching, which I am still in the process of. How much of my life do I want to dedicate to being a gardener alongside all of the other works? What should I do so that I don’t get overwhelmed? These issues are things everyone has to deal with and that’s where I am.

But getting back to her house! Ivies, roses, some trees, wildflowers, lilies, Aloe plants and a cousin plant I can’t remember, along with so many more. My head was sky high and dizzy. Thankfully my husband was with me writing down a lot of names to these plants so that I could look them up later, which I have started since I finished planting them all.

When we left there Monday, April 4th, I knew I would have a lot of work ahead of me and I would be extremely sore. And I was right. With over two dozen rose cuttings, a dozen trumpet flower cuttings, endless amount of ivies (4 different kinds), a Cannon Flower, Four O’Clocks, Purple Jews, four mystery plants (forgot what she called them), and a few other plants I have been very VERY busy. And I am Really sore. :D But super happy about what I have done.

I have also planted all of the Morning Glories against my porch because the seedlings had grown to almost 4 inches in height. When they started to come up I opened the container they were in and placed them in the shade, bringing them in at night. I did this until the sprouts were nearly four inches and then I planted them in a row about three to four inches apart. I wasn’t sure about the spacing, but this is a trial run.

Quote from my husband: “Gardening (as with life) is all about making mistakes and finding out what works best for you.”

So after two long days I got everything planted in pots and planter boxes since we are surrounded by clay. I am a little nervous but very excited. For the next several days I will be doing research about each of the plants and try to learn as much as I can about the proper way to care for them. Every plant is different. Some like full sunlight or partial sunlight, a lot of water or just enough to moisten the soil. So much to learn. . .

But I’m very happy to have met my new found Gardening friend and hope that something grows. After all of our (mum, husband, and I) hard work it would be sad to not have anything survive. So here’s to my first month of growing (raises a can of Root beer). Cheers.

I will post more about the amazing array of plants I was given in a different post.

-Bee (I am feeling very blessed)

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:

Morning 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.

http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-Morning-Glories

Zinnia (Giant Violet Queen)

https://myfolia.com/plants/373-common-zinnia-zinnia-elegans/varieties/8471-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."

Quote from: https://www.landrethseeds.com/newsletters/Volume%202/Issue%20V%20-%20The%20Zinnia/

Blue Bachelor Button

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/grow-bachelors-button-blue-boys-43170.html

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.

http://www.planetnatural.com/growing-bachelor-buttons/

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