Why I Oughta...

A few days ago, I posted a couple of photos showing some of the latest cut flower arrangements from our garden .  They featured a variety of dahlias and some other perennials for foliage/accent flowers.  Right now, the Mystery Fox (dark red) and Wizard of Oz (pink) are in bloom.  Wizard of Oz is considered a Pompon Dahlia while Zundert Mystery Fox is a Ball Dahlia .   There's (of course) some Garden Ghost Artemisia and Butterscotch Amsonia/Arkansas Bluestar for foliage.   This arrangement is in a Smuckers jelly jar - not a thrifted vase.   Earlier this month, I also showed how I had stored Sarah Bernhardt peonies in the fridge for eight weeks and brought them back to life .  Here, below, are a couple of photos showing the arrangement of these pink peonies along with a couple other things like Limelight Hydrangeas, Blue Fortune Agastache and a spray of Japanese Ghost Fern. These peonies are in a thrifted vase. #18 on my personal to-do/tas...

The most-recent set of cut flower arrangements include a round-up of what is coming into bloom in late July.  This post is going up in early August, but these vases were built in late July.  The first one features some dark red (almost maroon) Mystery Fox dahlia blooms, Oklahoma Salmon Zinnias , Limelight Hydrangeas, Polka dot plant foligae and some upright stalks of Garden Ghost Artemesia.     The second one includes a couple of Wizard of Oz Ball dahlias , some Pablo Gallery Border Dahlias , a bunch of Disneyland Roses and some (of my current go-to accent pieces) like the white Polka Dot plant foliage and sprigs of the white Garden Ghost Artemesia .   Both are in thrifted vases.  My focus at the Goodwill is on small vases that will fit in a cupholder of the car and are priced at 99 cents.  Like shooting fish in a barrel.  

Back earlier this Summer, I planted a small quart-sized plug of Eucalyptus Pulverulenta (Silver Dollar Eucalyptus...or "Florist Eucalyptus" as an accent plant in one of the containers on our back patio.  I found it at the orange Big Box store nursery amongst the other 'accent plants' like Sweet Potato Vine, Spikes and Asparagus Ferns.    Below is a photo from May when I stuck it in the container along with the Crazytunia (purple one) from The Growing Place: Here, below, is the container that it came in - from Vigoro (which...I think is Home Depot's 'house brand', right?). I don't seem to have posted about this when I planted it, but I think that's because I wasn't sure how this would do.  That container chewed through a few things - killing off some spillers/fillers like this Icicles plant .  Perhaps it was a soil or water problem, but whatever it was...this Eucalyptus has overcome them.  So, too, has the green Medusa Sweet Potato vine ...

The annual return of these red, sharp-pointed tips are a welcome sing of Spring.  These are (below) a couple of clumps of peonies that are emerging in the beds (kitchen curved) in our backyard.  They're emerging later than last year - here's same peonies about a month earlier in 2024 .   Note the Milorganite in the photo below.  I hand-spread a full 40-pound bag of Milroganite recently on all the beds ahead of the application of mulch.  I've had mixed results with peonies in our current garden.  First, starting them in the way back - too much shade.  And, subsequently moving them over the years.   They are Nat's favorite flower and her first love.  (She wrote a blog called 'i heart peonies'.) So, growing them is important.  But, finding the right home to make that happen has taken years.  These two peonies are younger than the one out front - IB2DWs.  That one produced the MOST flowers and really popped-off last year ...

Zinnia seeds are the theme this week - with another set introduced here on the blog.  Yesterday, I showed a couple photos of a larger-format-bloom Zinnia:  The State Fair Zinnia .  Today, is another new (to me) cut flower.  When you look at the rack of seed packets, you see a lot of the same/similar colors:  pinks, yellows, reds, oranges, peaches.  But, then there's a Zinnia seed packet that stood out.  It is this one below, named Envy.  Seed packet front/back of Envy Zinnia Seeds that we picked up: These are GREEN flowers. Borderline Chartreuse.  That's certainly unique.  Especially for Zinnias (at least for me).   From the Burpee site : Green Zinnias in your garden make a dramatic display that words can only partially describe. The 3" double and semi-double blooms look as sensational in the garden as they do in the vase. Try them in fresh arrangements with white, deep blue or pink flowers. Can be sown directly in the garden...

Last year, I direct sowed a couple packets of Zinnia seeds in both the sideyard cut flower bed and in the vertical garden (Greenstalk) and they produced a good number of cut flowers for bouquets.  I used the variety named "Cut and Come Again" and they lived up to their name.    They produced a variety of colors - pinks, reds and more .    That (direct sow) experience has lead me to think that I *might* be able to do even MORE with Zinnias this year.  I'm going to try even more packets this growing season and I picked up some new (to me) varieties this past weekend.   The first one of the bunch is below - named "State Fair Zinnias" - they're larger than the ones I grew last season. Below is the front/back of the seed packet from Burpee: From Burpee's site : This one is a sure winner. State Fair Mix has jumbo 5" flowers, a wide range of colors and tall, robust plants. Colors include red, yellow, orange, purple, pink, white and bicolors. Disease res...

Yesterday, I posted a photo of my tallest Nicotiana Jasmine in bloom that was direct-sown in our sideyard flower garden .  I mentioned that those seeds came from Nat's Mom and that she grows Nicotiana every growing season.  That wasn't the only packet of seeds she shared:  she gave one of the kids a packet of "Evening Morning Glory" - Moonflower.  I didn't post about it, but I also direct-sowed a few of these seeds.  They're BIG.  Like cherry-pit-size.  I tucked them into the bed and forgot about them. Moonflower - or Evening Morning Glories are a vine and have big blooms.  But, they're ephemeral.   The Observant Gardener has a post up titled "Be Patient With Moonflowers" that overviews this flowering (annual vine) and the features.  Here's a couple of blurbs : One of the most exotic plants that I have ever grown is the mysterious and stunning moonflower. This is not an easy plant to germinate, but it is worth the effort.... ...A u...

The road from direct sowing Nicotiana Jasmine seeds in a new 'cut flower' bed to seeing actual plants has been long and winding.  In May, I scattered a few packets of seeds.  And, then sat back and admired my seedlings .  But...it turns out... they weren't seedlings .  It was full of WEEDS.  TONS OF THEM.  All the way up to my head in height.  I got busy ripping those out and trying to leave the small, emerging Nicotiana plants in place.  Three weeks later...I'm showing the very first flowers have emerged.   These things are *supposed* to reseed, so here's hoping that this plant grows and throws down a lot of seeds.

A month or so ago, I scattered a couple of seed packages of Nicotiana Jasmine in the new cut flower bed on the southside of our house.  Nicotiana seeds are TEENY TINY.  Like, REALLY teeny tiny.  You can't really place the seeds, rather...you have to scatter them.   So...that's what I did:  scattered them in the new cut flower bed.  I also tossed in some Zinnia seeds.  Here's a look back at the bed before I planted anything, but soon added some Dahlias, too .   These Nicotiana alata grandiflora - Jasmine Tobacco - were in seed packets that had a 2022 date on them, so I wasn't sure if they were viable.  Below is the seed packet: Looking back at my Google Photos archive, I see that I put these seeds down on May 21st.  Exactly one month ago.  What does the bed look like today?   See below: Those are direct-sown seeds of Nicotiana Jasmine in just four weeks.  Some of them are almost up to my waist.  They're ...