Some of my spring flowers

This time of year is so exciting. It seems like every time I go outside there is something new blooming. Plants I had forgotten about popping up all over the place. Everything is so fresh looking and green. I guess you all of this by looking in your garden.
Here are some of the plants that are blooming now. I don't know all of the names but I will try and give you as much information as I can.

This first one is grape hyacinth. I discovered while searching on the net that in some regins in Greese and Italy the bulbs are pickeled and eaten. Interesting!!

This plant is a creeping phlox. I guess there are two kinds of creeping phlox because the next picture down is what I have thought of as creeping phlox. This one has flower spikes that are about 6 inces tall and the plant sends out shoots during the summer. Where as the phlox in the next picture grows more in a mound and the flowers are just on the top of the folage.

This is one of the daffadils I have blooming right now. Not sure what it is called but I bought it in the last couple of years. There are so many different bulbs to choose from now. It is hard to choose what to buy.
Can't tell you what this one is. But it puts on a show in the early spring. Pretty yellow blooms on a low mound of folage. Maybe 3 inches tall but strickingly beautiful.

This flower is what I would call and old fashion daffadil. The reason I say old fashion is that it is one I remember blooming when I was a kid. At the time I thought it was boring but now that I am older I appricate it's simple beauty.
This is the flower of the blood root plant. I am not sure I knew it had a flower but last year I took some plants from the woods at my mothers. Should be a great plant for in the shade under the trees.

This might not look like a flower but it is. It is the flower of the splurge plant. That is about all I know about the plant. I have had the plant for several years and it does travel but is easy to control. During the summer the folage turns a pleasing purplish green. Goes well with all the other plants and helps fill in the gaps.

Seedling Update

Last summer I had bought some ornamental pepper plants and when they went to seed I figured they would be easy to start indoors this spring. Little did I know that every seed that I planted would sprout. This first picture are the plants from just one of the containers I planted and that is after I had transplanted about twenty seedlings a couple weeks before. Rather than throw them all out I thought that I would plant 3 or 4 in these 6 inch square pots.




These are the ones that didn't make the cut. I felt a little guilty about getting rid of these but there was no way I could keep them all. I already have more than I have room for in the garden.









This next picture I was trying to show the difference in the plant size between the two different pot I used. I was at the store and saw some peat pots and thought they would be a good thing to use. I'm not sure how many came in the bag but they didn't go far. Then I found in the closet some plastic cups we had left over from one of our parties. To make a long story short I ones in the plastic cups grew better than the ones in the peat pots. Why you may ask? Well my thoughts are that the peat pots dry out faster which causes the plant to grow slower. After I thought about this for a while I remembered as a kid I planted in peat pots and the plants never did well. The peat pots never broke down in the soil. I guess you live and learn.

This was little friend that I found crawling around an the plants and thought I would share it with you.

Seed update

It has been several weeks and most of the seeds have sprouted. The butterfly weed seeds are the only ones that have not sprouted. I think they were a couple of years old so it doesn't surprise me. I think I sowed the pepper seeds a little to thick. It is time to get them planted in bigger pots.
I bought some peat pots at Lowes but quickly ran out. Lots of little plants to transplant. Looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me. I also bought some marigold seeds to plant soon. Hope its not too late to start them.

Seeds planted

A couple of weeks ago I got out the grow lights. Actually I went out and bought new fixtures and bulbs. I had read an article in Horticulture magazine about what lights to use as grow lights. The article suggested using a cool or warm white foresent bulb with a full spectrum bulb. So that is what I bought was two cool white light bulbs and two full spectum light bulbs. I put my airplane plant babies from last fall and some herb seedlings under the light. They all seem to be doing much better now than when they were in the window.

Today I had a holiday from work for presidents day. This gave me some extra time to plant up some seeds I had saved from last year and the year before. I planted up several containers with 2 kinds of orimental peppers, double yellow Datura, white columbine and white pasque flower. We will see how it goes.

Things I treasure......

I guess I am what some would call a pack rat and others may say sentimental. But I will let you make up your mind about me after you finish reading this post. Now let me explain. I like to have items, things or junk that remind me of a places or someone. Here are some examples of the small things that I have kept. There are a couple of drinking glasses from Red Lobster where I went with a date many years ago. The bottle cap to a bottle of beer from the last time I saw someone who I was very smitten over. Then there are all the cards I have ever received for birthdays, Christmas and just because someone was thinking of me. And let's not forget the countless pictures that fill up a 20 gallon plus rubbermaid tote.

Then there are the ones that have extreme sentimental value. Here are the pictues of them and why I value them so much. They aren't in any particular order and this isn't all of them.

These are a couple of toys that I believe my Father played with as a child. One is a box of dominos and the other is Pluto, a Disney toy. It feels good to look at these and remember my father. He has been gone just about 12 years now.

Then there is this 3 tiered table. My great grandfather made it. The legs I was told was made out of old broom handles and the molding on each shelf was from a doctors office that use to be in Holstein, Missouri. I was also told that he made 3 different tables but I'm not sure where the others are.

This is a clock that I have to remember my great Uncle John and Aunt Mandy. They were the nicest couple I ever meet. Aunt Mandy always said that she wanted to dance with me at my wedding. I am sad to say that never happened.

Here is a quilt my mother made and gave to me. She calls it Touch of Blue. The stiching is called candle wicking. It is hard to tell by the picture but there is alot of detail in this quilt. I believe she made it sometime in the 1980's. I have it draped on the back of a chair that belonged to her mother.




Here is an art glass bowl Scott and I bought on our first trip to San Francisco. We wanted something to remember such a wonderful trip and what a great time we had.

This last two are prints that we gave each other on our 40th birthdays. The first one is a Pacso print that one I gave scott. It is number and signed by Pacso granddaughter or so we were told. The 2nd one is a print form the 1800's that Scott gave me. We had found it in a junk store for $50 and I thought that was too much to spend on it. He went the next day and bought it without me knowing. It was a great surprise. It was also nice to find the same print online for sale for $500. It is worth 100 times that to me now.

These are just a few of my treasuries that hold special meaning for me. Thanks for taking the time to read

Should I keep it or........

I have this decision to make every year around now. Keep the poinsetta or let it become compost for the garden in the spring? Here is what I have done in the past. Put them in the basement where they only get watered once a week. This way only the strong survive. If they survive I put them out with all the other house plants for the summer. As long as they grow and look healthy I say to myself "I am going to try and get them to bloom for Christmas". I think this because my mother does this almost every year and has moderate success. Well the summer comes and goes and fall arrives and getting the light set up with a timer to give the poinsettia the correct amount of light is the last thing on my mind. So I let the poinsettia freeze and add it to the compost pile.
So how so you really keep it and have it bloom? Mom brings the poinsettia in the house in September and puts it under a grow light with a timer so it gets 12 hours of light a day. She just keeps it watered and it does ok. The red leaves don't get very big but she enjoys it, so that is all that matters. I have read online at one place the poinsettia needs 12 hours light another says 14 hours. One site said to cut the stems off about the height you want it and let sprout out and the new leaves will turn red.
If anyone has kept the poinsettia over the summer and has had luck with getting it to rebloom feel free to post your secrets. I guess I will see if this one survives and if it does see what next fall brings.

What is a gardener to do.....

I was talking with a fellow gardener recently and she mentioned that this time of year is hard for her. She could really explain why it was hard for her other than she was in a funk. I too find this time of year more difficult when it comes to my moods. It is also harder to come up with ideal to blog about. I still have been reading my favorite blogs off and on but for me there is less to blog about. I could post pictures of snow or bear trees and I am sure you don't want to see the piles of dog poo frozen in the yard. Which reminds me need to get that picked up. Do I have any volunteers? Thought not!


Anyway back to this funk I am in. This happens every year and around now is when I notice it. I really think it starts in the fall when the garden starts it's decline to winter. It just take until now for it to fully set in since the holiday keep me busy in other ways. So my question to all of you in blog land is what are your secrets to less the effect of the funk, that is if you get in that mood?


Here are a couple of things I do that helps a little but nothing can replace the sun and working in the yard.


Read all the garden magazines from the summer months the I have just stacked up in a pile.

Set unrealistic goals for what I want to do next summer from looking at all the wonderful things in the magazines.


Make wish lists from all the seed catalogs that are starting to come in the mail.

Order seed that I will never get around to planting. Hope I am not the only one that does this one.

Go to my favorite websites and see what they show is new for this year.

Mark on the calendar when the garden shows are and make plans to go.

Schedule vacation time now so I am sure to gets the days off I want to work in the garden.

Have the Doctor up the meds or as Scott call them the anti bastard pills (he is so loving)

Make phone call to catch up with old friends and family that I don't get to see that much in the summer because I am working in the garden.

If you would have any other ideals please let me know.