Why I Oughta...

2025 will continue to be a season of cut flowers (hopefully) with the dahlia tubers that I bought and were gifted to me.  Those dahlias are what carried me through all of 2024, but I also had some setbacks with my other 'cut flowers':  the Disneyland Roses.  I lost two that I planted in 2023 and the three that I've had historically suffered from various stresses.   But, I'm getting back into the game with two more - from the same elf that has gifted us all the previous five:  Nat's Mom. Here, below, is the order form showing two more will be shipped in Spring.  These arrive as bareroot plants, so I'll get them in the ground as soon as they arrive to give them the best shot in 2025.  Planning out the planting location(s) of all the tubers and these two new Roses will be a fun project this Winter - filed under 2025 to-do/2025 planning.  

I planted a full packet of Nicotiana Jasmine seeds - direct sown - in a new bed on the southside of my house this Summer.  The seeds came from Nat's Mom; who grows Nicotiana in a couple of varieties each year.  The seeds are tiny specs and they don't need to be buried very deep.  So...I sprinkled them, put a little bit of soil on top and walked away.  What happened next was, well, surprising.  After planting the seeds, I quickly saw a huge number of seedlings pop up .  "Great!", I thought.   Weeks went on and the seedlings kept getting taller.  But...something was off.  The foliage was NOT matching the other Nicotiana that I had in the garden.   After looking at it for a couple of days, I realized I didn't have Nicotiana Jasmine.  I had a HUGE MESS OF POKEWEED .  I chopped, yanked and pulled every bit of it.  And discovered that I had - after all - a couple of Nicotiana Jasmine seedlings buried in the mess....