Why I Oughta...

Day four of Zinnia-mania - but now we move from beyond IB2DWs to the new cut flower bed that I carved out on the side of our house.   For 2024 plantings with Zinnias, I first  posted the details of some common orange Zinnias that I planted as bedding plants .  A day earlier, I planted a larger, further-along  Uproar Rose Zinnia  from the nursery.   Then, yesterday I planted a Zowie Yellow Flame Zinnia in the conifer garden IB2DWs .  I pinched off all the blooms on these to try to get them to grow a bit more bushier.   But, I'm also going full-on Zinnia Chaos Gardener with the new bed on the southside of the house .  I bought a couple of packets of Cut-and-Come-Again Zinnias and decided to direct sow them in the bed.  Did I evenly space them?  No, just kind-of scattered them.  Here's the bed recently planted - you can see anything but loam/dirt/mulch/compost/biosolids of course: I also put some in the Greenstalk tower.   But, that's not all.  Last Fall, I collected some Zin

I've said it before:  I'm a foliage gardener.  I'm most comfortable talking about, working on, planting foliage plants.  I'm also a shade gardener, so that's (kinda) why I'm a foliage gardener.  Last Fall, I began to address a significant garden deficit:  conifers .  Via CSCF. Conifers Should Come First .  Those conifers came in a flurry in the late Fall. But, so too, did something else:  flowers.  I planted some new (to me) perennial flowers: Midnight Masquerade Pentsemon , a Pow Wow Wildberry Echinacea and some May Night Salvias - all in the IB2DWs extended bed.  I also tucked in a pair of Stachys monieri Hummelos (Betony) on the other side of the driveway that has upright, purple flowers.   In my 2023 recap post , I included a mixed list of lessons learned/things to think about going forward and included on that list:  plant more flowers.   Get out of my comfort zone and think about adding flowers to a combo bed and cut garden.   I started the 2024 season

From their Grammy, the kids received these six packages of flower seeds as part of the effort to keep the kids occupied while being home during their social distancing period.  I showed recently that some of the Cut and Come Again Zinnias had germinated and mentioned that we didn't plant all the cells with Zinnias. That's where these seeds come in:  the kids are choosing from these six varieties to plant the balance of their little greenhouses. The six seed sets they are choosing from include: 1.  Butterfly Wildflower Mix - North American Mixture. 2.  Forget Me Not - Cynoglossum Blue. 3.  Shasta Daisy. 4.  Marigold Sparky Mixed Colors - Heirloom variety. 5.  Four O'Clock 'Fairy Trumpets' - Mirabilis longiflora. 6.  Night Phlox 'Midnight Candy' - Zaluzianskya capensis. The one that I'm most drawn to are the Four O'Clock 'Fairy Trumpets' from Select Seeds.  From their product page, they talk about the historical significance of

Just a few days ago, I posted some details that I've found in terms of the timing of when to sow flower seeds indoors in Northern Illinois (the answer....4-5 weeks before the last frost which usually takes place at the latest on April 30th. So...Right around April 1st). Today, we already have some Zinnias that have germinated.  Be still, my socially-distant heart. The kids took wooden plant markers and decorated their own little sections.  Here's one of them showing seven of eight cells have germinated:   Each of the kids planted at least eight (and up to 16) cells of two zinnia seeds each.  You can see that in many of the cells, both seedlings have emerged.  I'll thin them after the first true leaves appear. Here's another container showing six of eight cells germinated and a couple of cells to the left - still under the 'propped up' dome that have germinated, too. These are Zinnia "Cut and Come Again" mixed color flowers.    With

Social Distancing means that we can't go to the store for anything other than groceries, but it doesn't mean that I can't putter around in the garden.  For me, that means that this year, I'm going to try something new:  growing some annual flowers from seeds.  Normally, we buy a set of annuals - like Zinnias - for our front beds and plant them out front of the boxwoods.  This year - I came across a seed set online and grabbed it.  But, when to plant?  It seems that Menards always puts out their seeds right after Christmas.  But, that's too early for us. This piece from Gardener's Supply Company talks about when to start your seeds : they recommend different times for different varieties.  This piece from the Bump talks about sowing seeds indoors 4-5 weeks before the last frost in your zone .  For gardeners like me in the Western Suburbs of Chicago...when is that? According to MorningChores.com, our last frost is April 7th to 30th .  Let's use that date o

Last year in July, I planted a Crimson King Maple Tree in the back part of our yard.  I chronicled the planting here .  And then gave a late Fall check-in post here before it dropped its leaves for the year.   One of the things that I was struck by was the lack of seeds in the tree last year.  The good news is that right now, the tree is loaded with them!  Here's one of them, all green and ready to burst.  Helicopters as we say, right?  I'm thinking that the tree was prioritizing putting down roots last year and didn't have the energy to spare to produce seeds.  Isn't nature amazing?  This season, I didn't pay much attention to the tree and I think that's just fine.  I mean...most people pay NO attention whatsoever to all of their trees, so these trees figure out how to survive on their own.  Just by the eye test, I don't think this tree has grown much in terms of height, but it seems like it has gotten thicker and more full and definitely wider. 

Back in June, I planted two kinds of pumpkin seeds in the far reaches of our backyard from the packages you see above:  Big Moon and First Prize Hybrid.  I seem to have failed to post about the seeds or seedlings to date in the [ garden dairy ].  But, today, that changes.   For the past week or two, I've noticed A LOT of flowers and quite a bit of bee activity.  Like they were drunk on pollen after hanging out in the various yellow flowers that these vines have put out.  Turns out...they were busy bees.  (get it?!?) It seems that our pumpkin vines have started to fruit.  Here's a look at the tiniest of pumpkins that you've ever seen: I don't know which of the two varieties this one is.  But, the more pressing matter is the race against the clock.  We have just a month and a half until this thing needs to be on our front porch.  Will it get there in time?  I have these pumpkin pedestals on hand that I hope to put into place as this (and others) grow i

Like most every year in the past, I received a nice set of Sunflower seeds for my birthday.  This year, I received five different varieties including:  Carmel Hybrid, Velvet Queen, Italian White, Autumn Beauty Mix and Evening Sun (below).  I put these down in a the rear, south fence line amongst some natural areas.  I've posted a few times over the years.  The first time was in 2011 when I had our initial growth  in our backyard by our playground.  By 2013, I moved the location and planted them in the front of our old fence .  And had some good growth.  In 2014, I went, again, with a wide variety .  And in 2016, I received some seeds , but since we had already moved out, I don't remember if I ever planted these at Equation Boy/Man's house in Elmhurst.  I soaked these seeds for about 4 hours before planting them, so I'm hoping that they'll germinate quickly and we'll get some decent growth, knowing they take about three months (Mid/late August) for bloo

Back in March of this year, I posted a photo of a couple of Milkweed seed packets that we received from the Save our Monarchs Foundation that are appropriate for our 5B zone here out in the Chicago Suburbs.  I also had t his older packet of Milkweed seed that we received at a parade in 2016 that I never planted.  With Spring here and the back of our yard still a mess, I just decided to sow them directly in the ground and cross my fingers that we'll see some action on them as the weather warms up.  I put them in a staggered row with the two Foundation packets on the right and the parade packet on the left. I put the empty packet envelopes down in the soil and took this photo so I can go back there later this Summer, see if anything is happening with them and then know which type is which.  I'm hoping that a few of seedlings will emerge and we'll get a nice first year plant that can help the Monarchs this season.  I took the Bird and the KotBT out there and they helped

Earlier this Winter, the girls and I sent along a SASE and our little donation to the Save our Monarchs Foundation and a few weeks later, we received two packets of the seeds you see above.  We're going to give Milkweed a shot this Spring.  This isn't the first time I've posted about Milkweed seeds here on the blog.  Back two years ago, we scored some Milkweed seeds at a parade that I posted here .   By now, you know that the Monarch Butterfly population is in severe decline and milkweed seeds are one of the keys to their survival.  Planting Milkweed is something that we - as a family - can do to help the Monarchs.  Once the weather warms up, I'll work with the girls to find a sunny spot and plant the seeds and watch them (hopefully) sprout in the early Summer.  

At the Memorial Day Parade in Elmhurst over the weekend, I grabbed two packets of these Milkweed seeds.  Those of you who have been paying attention to the plight of the Monarch Butterfly know that they're in trouble and gardeners in Illinois can help by planting Milkweed.  (BTW, this isn't the first time I've covered butterflies on the blog.   Here's a post about our Butterfly project from back in 2013 .) Over the past few decades, Monarch populations have decreased by over 90%.  Yeah!  90%?!!?  And it is happening for two reasons:  weather and habitat.  We can't control the weather, but we CAN control the availability of the right habitat for these guys.  And the right habitat is all about Milkweed. That means that backyard gardeners need to start thinking about dedicating a space for cultivating Milkweed and thanks to the First Congressional United Church in Elmhurst ( who was giving out these seeds at the parade), I'm going to do just that!  But...now

Continuing the tradition of being gifted sunflower seeds for my birthday each Spring, these three above are the varieties that are sitting on my desk right now. Here's a look at last year's packet . Here's the post showing off all the different varieties I planted last year in 2014 . Here's the post showing off some of the 2013 sunflowers already growing . And... here's a post from 2011 showing off some of the blooming flowers . Every other year, I knew right where these were going to go, but now that we're living down the street in Equation Boy/Man's place, I'm not quite sure where to put these.  I'm thinking that it might make sense to put them on the back fenceline?  The packets say to wait until May to plant them, so we'll know soon enough and as long as the birds/squirrels don't get to the seeds, hopefully we'll see some photos of them standing up strong this summer.  

Here's the full photos (below) of the varieties that the girls and I planted this week right in front of our fence line on the south side of our house. It is a nice mix of some giant ones and some smaller, more colorful varieties. Here's a post on last year's sunflowers .   It looks like some of them re-seeded themselves as we had a few seedlings coming up in the same spot this year. And... here's a post from 2011 showing the annual sunflower planting .

Time to thin out the seedlings!  Thanks to the seed tape, the job shouldn't be that tough.

Along with the Sugar Pumpkins I put in the ground, I recently put down some seeds for these Boston Marrow 'pumpkins' (I use the term pumpkins here because that is technically what the package says, but....look at 'em.  They're totally gourds!) and these Green Hubbard Winter Squash.  The Boston Marrows came from Menards, but the Green Hubbards were part of a seed packet gift my mother-in-law gave to me called the Beekman 1802 Heirloom Garden .    They both have 100+ days until full maturity, and these babies are for eatin', so they'll be ripe right around the end of October/beginning of November.  Just in time for pies - and for (potentially) The Bird getting ready to eat some solid meals of puree'd squash.

Last year, my garden had some hits and misses - both in terms of placement/design and selection.  This year, I've decided to pare it back a bit and focus on the basics with fewer experiments.  One of those experiments is going to be carrots.  I've never grown them. I picked up this seed packet at Menards of Touchon Carrots that are described as one of the 'finest' carrots from France .  I'll plant the seeds in Mid-April and just 65 days later (right around July 1), we'll have (hopefully) a bumper crop of carrots.

In lieu of keeping a gardening journal on paper, you've probably noticed that I've been using this space as a running entry of what is working and what isn't with my seedling experiments.  With Nat's encouragement, I've mentioned that I've taken on some flower seed growing ( Amaranthus , Cosmos) including one of her favorites:  Zinnias. One of 3 varieties of Zinnias I've sown is called the Purple Prince.  I'll find time/space to show you the other two soon. After just a week and a half in the ground, the seeds have sprouted and seedling have begun to emerge.  None of those "Luminous Blooms" yet, but I'm now more hopeful and knowledgeable about how these things work.  Once again, I put too many seeds in each little compartment - not knowing that so many of them would emerge.  Will be such a shame to have to thin these guys out.

In addition to the Amaranthus seeds, I also planted a set of Cosmos called the Sensation Mix seeds.  These are billed as "superb cut flowers" and (unbelievably) list their height at four feet tall.  That can't be, right? I'd be VERY surprised if they achieved 4 feet tall, but they *are* clearly the tallest and most lively of all the flower seeds I planted.  That is them in the photo below.  See how much taller they are than everything else?  But four feet tall?

Yes...I can positively confirm that things just got weird at the Parrillo homestead:  I bought a mini greenhouse.  This kit came from Menards (where else?) and was just $19.00.  It certainly is NOT heavy-duty but will do the job for my seeds.  At some point, this will move outside and will help me harden-off the seedlings.  It currently is in our dining room - as the plants need southern exposure - but Nat can't stand the looks of it.  I'm thinking in thenot too distant future, when I go into the office, I'll find out that she's pushed it back into my office - far away from the eyes of our visitors. The greenhouse has 4 shelves each capable of holding 2 seedling trays.  I've begun to transplant some of the bigger seedlings from the trays into their own non-peat pots, which you can see on the left-hand side. I know I have a compulsive/obsessive personality and need a hobby or project to focus on, but this purchase and this actual post are confirmation of that.  I

  Things just went a little nuts over here at the Parrillo household.  I'm afraid I've become a seed-aholic and with Nat joining me at the store when I was there to pick out a few more vegetables, we've ended up bringing home a large number of flowering plant seeds including this one above: Amaranthus.  This is an heirloom variety, but some of the other ones are hybrid mixes which I'll document at some point. And the best part?  They're now in a greenhouse of sorts.  Yes.  A greenhouse.  (Don't tell Nat.)