Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, March 16

Happy Saturday! Has everybody adjusted to Daylight Savings Time? Taking advantage of those evening gardening hours? Above, a great photo of Clivia from Neal in Israel. I love it.

It's time for many of us to shop for plants:

What's on your plant shopping list?

Edible Gardening/Putting Things By

By-Tor with more inspiration:

Eight pints of Honeycrisp applesauce. Same as what I made for the LA County Fair but slightly less sweet.

The apples were 88c a pound which is cheap so about 80c a jar.

Looks wonderful.

Art

Puttering

Something to think about:

Adventure

Featuring wildflowers today:

Wildflower Season coming up in Texas

Wildflower Views

Each Spring, Texas' gently rolling flatlands explode into color. Some of the most stunning views in the state are of magnificent vistas and roadsides covered in blankets of our signature bluebonnets, as well as Indian paintbrushes and black-eyed Susans.

Wildflower Season

You can chase down some peak-season beauty across the plains of this region from about mid-March to mid-April. Exact bloom locations are somewhat of a surprise from year to year, but there are tried-and-true places to catch local color. Luckily, Texans tend to be obsessed with them, so you can find reported sightings on maps, apps and with local visitors' bureaus.

Here's a repeat photo from last year, from a friend in Texas:

You can also grow Texas Bluebonnets at home. It's a little more complicated to grow the Indian Paintbrush you see growing wild in Texas, as we noted back in June of 2018.

Last week, Don in Kansas had an interesting note on the Modern Language Association horning in on botanical nomenclaturer. The plant name-changers have been going wild in the past few decades, and not just in the realm of political correctness.

2018

Wildflowers in the Wild and in the Garden

Cumberland Astro has some friends in Texas who are interested in Indian Paint Brush and Indian Blanket. One of these is an easy summer garden flower. The other is not so easy, and may be better in a wild setting, unless you are doing a meadow or something, because it is a hemiparasite. But it brings up an interesting topic: changes in botanical names.

As a result of developments in the science of genetics, a few decades ago, the Figwort Family, formerly very large, was decimated. Most of its members were moved to other families. Even snapdragons, formerly considered to be models for the family. That is because genetic evidence was more powerful than similarities in plant structure. Changes in botanical names continue at a slower pace today. They remain disconcerting to gardeners. Don't get me started on "Chrysanthemum".

But still, botanical names are less confusing than common names. Especially of wildflowers, as Cumberland Astro has noted. I think the Indian Paintbrushes pretty much retained their genus and species names when they switched families.

Indian Paintbrush

Here is a photo of Scarlet Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja coccinea, one kind of Indian Paintbrush for which seed is offered. It is an Eastern species, though there are many more species in the West. It is apparently pollinated primarily by the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

At the link above, you can also find instructions for the adventure of planting Indian Paintbrush with its host plants. And there are historical notes on Native American and medicinal uses. There is also some discussion of a similarly hemiparasitic plant, Owls Clover, which can sometimes be found near me. And a nice photo. I love seeing this plant in vacant fields.

And there is also a photo of Indian Blanket, which is easy to grow (and which you may be able to start now if you missed planting in fall, even if you are in Texas). Its fancy hybrid Gaillardia relatives are also easy to grow, and you may find plants in nurseries.

Garden hybrids are mostly called 'Gaillardia x grandiflora'. I like 'Arizona Apricot' and the red solid color ones.

The Huntington Library and Gardens is featuring several California natives on their current blog page including native buckwheats:

A couple of the 125 species:

California Buckwheat with a Honey-Tailed Striped Sweat Bee and San Miguel Island Buckwheat:

Roger's Red Grape, a hybrid of the Pacific Grape (Vitis californica) and a European grape. The leaves turn red in fall.

California poppy.

There are more photos and plant information at the link above, with some garden design tips.

Always a great place to visit if you get a chance.

Gardens of The Horde

Arizona Redbud

Redbud is just about to bust out for its first year ever, it didn't have blooms last year, just the leaves - Nan in AZ

Love it!

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, the address is:

ktinthegarden at g mail dot com

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Week in Review

What has changed since last week's thread? March 9, Saturday Gardening Thread - Spring Ahead

Any thoughts or questions?

I closed the comments on this post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Beautiful pictures! Lots of blooming flowers in my neck of the woods.

Posted by: Moonbeam at March 16, 2024 01:37 PM (clG5m)

2 Good afternoon Greenthumbs
I have Daffodils
Also fixed one of my wheelbarrows today getting a new tire.

Posted by: Skip at March 16, 2024 01:44 PM (fwDg9)

3 hiya

Posted by: JT at March 16, 2024 01:47 PM (T4tVD)

4 Also fixed one of my wheelbarrows today getting a new tire.
Posted by: Skip at March 16, 2024 01:44 PM (fwDg9)

Ya didn't throw the old tire in the ocean, right ?

Posted by: JT at March 16, 2024 01:50 PM (T4tVD)

5 Just starting to see some flowers come up in my neck of the woods.

The ability of plants to sense the seasons and react to them has always amazed me...

Posted by: 18-1 at March 16, 2024 01:51 PM (ibTVg)

6 Bad news on the plant front here. The largest saguaro we have has a 'rot' started. I'm attacking it with a hatchet and hope to chop all the rot out and let the cactus form a 'scab' over the wound. If that fails it'll fall on a large metal trellis (crushing it), a very large ocotillo (crushing it) or on an open area. I'll bet you can guess which area we hope it falls on if we can't save it.

Better news: We're going camping to see if we can spot some desert wildflowers. We have been in a consistent pattern of sunny days followed by rain storms (thank you El Nino) so I'm crossing my fingers for a good show.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 16, 2024 01:51 PM (daume)

7 Mailing away for sets in my little veggie garden. I don't really start from seeds and by the time our nurseries get them it is late in the growing season due to the climate zone. Growers wont ship bulk in fear of a hard frost anomaly. I can however order what I want online..
Our little Garden State of NJ is known for Jersey Tomatoes. My first year I planted was four years ago since I lived in FL for 30 plus years, I went looking for seed packets that read Jersey Tomatoes. I never found them. I did research and discovered the Cambells Soup (with the HQ in my home town partnered with Rutgers University in the 60's to revive an older variety of tomato and developed a tomato at Rutgers North Campus in Ramapo NJ. So my Jersey tomatoes are actually started with Ramapo seeds.. Live and learn..

Posted by: I'm Gumby Damn It! at March 16, 2024 01:52 PM (djLbh)

8 >>Also fixed one of my wheelbarrows today getting a new tire.
Posted by: Skip at March 16, 2024 01:44 PM (fwDg9)

Ya didn't throw the old tire in the ocean, right ?
Posted by: JT at March 16, 2024 01:50 PM (T4tVD)
———-
Send it to Haiti, they seem to like burning tires.

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at March 16, 2024 01:53 PM (hZbnZ)

9 Oh, and less I forget: Thanks for the Gardening Thread KT! The pictures are great and your commentary is always appreciated as well.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 16, 2024 01:53 PM (daume)

10 lso fixed one of my wheelbarrows today getting a new tire.
Posted by: Skip at March 16, 2024 01:44 PM (fwDg9)

Tractor Supply is great for this.

Posted by: I'm Gumby Damn It! at March 16, 2024 01:54 PM (djLbh)

11 Good afternoon garden lovers.
I have a pot of crocuses(crocusi?) with a single yellow daffodil in the middle on my little terrace. It's not much but I am very proud of it. lol
I have an azalea in absolutely terrible shape, leaves almost completely covered in white spots, but it is covered in buds. I have tried every remedy listed on the internet and nothing seems to kill whatever disease it seems to have. Going to take a picture and send it to KT to see if any of you have any ideas. I 'm going to at least wait and see if it sucessfully blossoms. Funny thing is I have another, different color. almost next to it that is just fine.

Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 16, 2024 01:56 PM (t/2Uw)

12 I haven't tossed the tire anywhere yet.
A new tube was around $27 and tire and tube on a new rim $35. Hardly beat the work changing it at that cost.
I have 3 wheelbarrows and a cart. They all get used

Posted by: Skip at March 16, 2024 01:58 PM (fwDg9)

13 I keep finding strange things growing in the garden that I didn't put there. Last year, it was musk okra, which has a beautiful, pale-yellow hibiscus-like flower. Also a blackberry bush, and a variety of Rudbeckia I had never seen before. Most likely "planted" by the birds, I imagine.

Posted by: Paco at March 16, 2024 02:00 PM (njExo)

14 I have tried a variety of on-line nurseries for smaller plants, and find that Bluestone Perennials is usually the best. Their plants are high quality, well-packed during shipping, and come in coconut coir planters that can be planted directly into the ground. For the last month or so, they've been running half-price sales on various plants of interest to me, and I've ordered lots, to be delivered in April.

Give them a look.

https://www.bluestoneperennials.com/

Posted by: Archimedes at March 16, 2024 02:03 PM (CsUN+)

15 I have 3 wheelbarrows and a cart. They all get used
Posted by: Skip at March 16, 2024 01:58 PM (fwDg9)

Jeepers !

Posted by: JT at March 16, 2024 02:04 PM (T4tVD)

16 Good afternoon garden lovers.
I have a pot of crocuses(crocusi?) with a single yellow daffodil in the middle on my little terrace. It's not much but I am very proud of it. lol

I have a patch of tulips, crocus, and other early bloomers in my yard, or more accurately, I had. Some critter made a feast of them before they could bloom. Sometimes, a pot on the terrace is the best solution.

Posted by: Archimedes at March 16, 2024 02:04 PM (CsUN+)

17 My clematis is coming on gangbusters - tons of flower buds. We're expecting sub-30 temps Monday night. It's 76 right now.

I won't cover them, as I would if they were already flowering.

We bought a mini petunia last year that stayed green all winter, and it now has a handful of dark red flowers on it. Looks great nestled next to a rock.

Today I'll sort seeds and start herbs and a few perennials. I don't want to get ahead of myself the way I did last year.

Posted by: Miley, okravangelist at March 16, 2024 02:06 PM (w6EFb)

18
I had less then stellar results from some old seeds, and it's getting closer to planting season so I broke down and bought some seeds today at a local hardware store. I remember .99 seeds, and 1.99 seeds, but today they all started at 2.99.

I asked my wife what the last three to a package of zucchini she bought at Aldi's and it was over 2.99 so I guess I'll do okay. I'll probably net at least 60 fresh zucchini over the course of the summer which equals about $60.00 of food for $3.00 of seed. So, I'll quit my bitchin'. Nevermind.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at March 16, 2024 02:07 PM (RKVpM)

19 I'm reaping the rewards of a hectic planting season last year. I put in about 30 hellebores, 20 pulmonaria, and a bunch of other stuff. It already looks great.

The ability to plan for, and invest in, the future is a real asset. We seem to be losing it, though.

Posted by: Archimedes at March 16, 2024 02:09 PM (CsUN+)

20 @11 Posted by: sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 16, 2024 01:56 PM (t/2Uw)
————
Just a WAG, but the white spots could be mealy bugs or aphids.

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at March 16, 2024 02:11 PM (hZbnZ)

21 That shopper in the cartoon is me.

And I love the bird painting

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 16, 2024 02:18 PM (HKabF)

22 Hiya VMom !

Posted by: JT at March 16, 2024 02:20 PM (T4tVD)

23 One of my favorite times of the year. There are stands of daffodils all over the area and they seem to be especially vibrant this year. We've been lucky to have so much bright sunlight this week and the daffodils are like spots of burnished gold in people's yards. Glorious.

This week and next are about the peak for the flowering trees in the neighborhood. Clouds of white, pink, and lavender that shine like luminous clouds when the sun hits them right.

Anywhere I look there is beauty. I love it.

Posted by: JTB at March 16, 2024 02:24 PM (zudum)

24 The sickly African violet is still putting out tiny new leaves. My rhubarb is growing and the Alba rose I planted is putting outnew leaves. And my irises have come back up. Still a bunch of stuff that may have died.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at March 16, 2024 02:24 PM (yeEu9)

25 Hi JT!

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 16, 2024 02:27 PM (HKabF)

26 Hi JT!
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion



;

Posted by: JT at March 16, 2024 02:28 PM (T4tVD)

27 What's a nice easy purple annual to plunk into a flower bed?
KTY loves purple

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 16, 2024 02:30 PM (HKabF)

28 By-Tor's apple sauce looks wonderful and probably tastes better. Mrs. JTB makes a simple apple topping, similar to sauce but chunkier. Simple and uses only the natural sweetness of the apples. Healthy and delicious on oatmeal, yogurt, ice cream, or just by itself.

Posted by: JTB at March 16, 2024 02:30 PM (zudum)

29 Greetings friends in boxes with green thumbs!

The back yard renovation is in full swing. Grading and sod and a 12x12x10 cedar pergola are in work on one side and it will have a transition to the other side where it will have a Sonoran desert feel with a water fall into the embiggened pond.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at March 16, 2024 02:32 PM (YRsIm)

30 For all the flowering right now, the pollen isn't too bad. Yet. I'm taking a spoonful of locally produced honey every morning to keep any hay fever to a minimum. Considering how much I like honey, this is not a sacrifice.

Posted by: JTB at March 16, 2024 02:34 PM (zudum)

31 Rufus, it is nothing obvious except for tiny black spots on the back of the leaves. I have looked up azalea diseases on line, located what I thought it is, and tried multiple remedies but nothing has worked. The leaves are almost bronze now. But the plant seems healthy and covered in buds. Last year there were so many flowers, it looked entirely red. It will be a pain if I have to replace it as the planters are tall, very heavy and deep and I'll need to junk all the soil.
I'll look up what I have already tried. It was last summer/fall and I am 29. 😏

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 16, 2024 02:38 PM (t/2Uw)

32 Have to go meet up with the grandkids. I'll check back later.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 16, 2024 02:40 PM (t/2Uw)

33 Have to go meet up with the grandkids. I'll check back later.
Posted by: Sharon

I suspect this is not as much of chore as you make it sound!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 16, 2024 02:43 PM (daume)

34 The apple sauce from By-Tor reminds me that the 4-H still has a lot of exhibits at the local county fair. The fair also has a lot of home products for display and competition. Considering how much of the county has changed from farming to housing (I hate when that happens), I'm pleased to see how vibrant the 4-H remains. It's the only part of the county fair I care about.

Posted by: JTB at March 16, 2024 02:45 PM (zudum)

35 Bye-the-way K.T., before I forget. Thank you for hate always beautiful gardening thread.

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at March 16, 2024 02:48 PM (hZbnZ)

36 I just planted Hydrangea in my large outdoor planters . I probably wasted $35 but according to the above cartoon I’ll have them for at least 6 weeks.

Posted by: polynikes at March 16, 2024 02:48 PM (MNhXM)

37 Actually sitting outside and reading, a Hawk keeping me company

Posted by: Skip at March 16, 2024 02:49 PM (fwDg9)

38 I really should buy a small forsythia for the yard. (Or steal a few cuttings when no one is looking.) I know it can take over the yard but it's easy enough to control. I especially like to cut a few branches in winter, put them in a vase on the table and watch the leaves start to emerge. It's such a simple yet pretty thing to observe.

Posted by: JTB at March 16, 2024 02:50 PM (zudum)

39 KT, thanks for another gardening thread. It's a spot of beauty and information every Saturday.

I wasn't around for the thread before the gardening thread in time to comment but that Calvin and Hobbes cartoon is wonderful (and sadly appropriate).

Posted by: JTB at March 16, 2024 02:56 PM (zudum)

40 Beautiful blooms, tasty-looking applesauce. Mmmmmm.

Posted by: Eromero at March 16, 2024 02:56 PM (o2ZRX)

41 Bluebonnet season is definitely on the early side this year in Texas. We had fall rains, a mild winter, and now some more rain, all optimal conditions for bluebonnets. We've got a nice big patch in our front yard that I'm hoping to use as a background for a dog photo.

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at March 16, 2024 02:58 PM (FEVMW)

42 I was wracking forsythia, it's getting way to big, back row is inches in diameter

Posted by: Skip at March 16, 2024 02:58 PM (fwDg9)

43 I wasn't around for the thread before the gardening thread in time to comment but that Calvin and Hobbes cartoon is wonderful (and sadly appropriate).
Posted by: JTB at March 16, 2024 02:56 PM (zudum)

Calvin and Hobbes is a treasure. I have all of Watterson’s books. I wish he wouldn’t have retired.

Posted by: polynikes at March 16, 2024 02:58 PM (MNhXM)

44 ***for “the”, not hate** I’m just losing it some days.

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at March 16, 2024 02:59 PM (hZbnZ)

45 for “the”, not hate** I’m just losing it some days.
Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at March 16, 2024 02:59 PM (hZbnZ)

Don’t blame yourself when you can blame autocorrect.

Posted by: polynikes at March 16, 2024 03:00 PM (MNhXM)

46 I've tried planting tomatoes here several years in a row, Even when the got up in height when they started getting buds on them the ants would kill them

Posted by: vic at March 16, 2024 03:01 PM (A5THL)

47 I think the forsynthia survived. I bought a lilac at Tractor Supply and that is leafing out. I have got to give in and hire help setting up the raised beds.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at March 16, 2024 03:01 PM (yeEu9)

48
the ants would kill them

Posted by: vic at March 16, 2024 03:01 PM

Ever tried the ant bait boxes you can buy at Home Depot or Lowes? They steal the bait, go back to their nest and share the reward... and everyone dies.

Damn ants are a Biden level invasion force in my kitchen every spring. By summer they are history. But back again the following spring. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at March 16, 2024 03:11 PM (RKVpM)

49 I have all of Watterson’s books. I wish he wouldn’t have retired.
Posted by: polynikes

He has a new book. It's not Calvin & Hobbes. It's rather dark.

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 16, 2024 03:11 PM (TirNb)

50 Along with the early bluebonnets we've also got early hummingbirds in central Texas. Come on spring!

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at March 16, 2024 03:17 PM (FEVMW)

51 Windy out thar.

Posted by: JT at March 16, 2024 03:20 PM (T4tVD)

52 Spring is so weird here in the mountains (Colorado Rockies). I get to look at this site where people have fully formed flower blooms....then I look outside my window and see a 4' pile of snow.

But I guess there is a 6" strip of bare (wet) earth between the road and giant snowpile, and there are a few crocuses trying to pop up in that stretch. So maybe I'll have some flowers in a week or so...

Posted by: Castle Guy at March 16, 2024 03:22 PM (Lhaco)

53 Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey

Are you from Malmsey or are you already fortified with wine?
From the net: Malmsey is a robust wine that is *snip* a rich smooth and very gently warming and wonderful experience.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 16, 2024 03:23 PM (ijJwM)

54 have all of Watterson’s books. I wish he wouldn’t have retired.
Posted by: polynikes

He has a new book. It's not Calvin & Hobbes. It's rather dark.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 16, 2024 03:11 PM (TirNb)

I will have to check it out just to see. Sounds like he had a break down if I had to guess.

Posted by: polynikes at March 16, 2024 03:24 PM (MNhXM)

55 Just read a bit about Watterson. Change my guess. He just grew tired and wanted a change.

Posted by: polynikes at March 16, 2024 03:29 PM (MNhXM)

56 WE HAZ A PET NOOD

Posted by: Skip at March 16, 2024 03:36 PM (fwDg9)

57 Still sitting outside, have to stay in sun, and little breeze blowing

Posted by: Skip at March 16, 2024 03:37 PM (fwDg9)

58 I'm mostly clearing stuff away. This year I'm going to plant some marigolds around my fenced garden to try and make it more difficult for rodents to tunnel under. So I'm beginning to scrap the top layer sod off to prepare the planting bed. The overwintered garlic is coming up. I need to spray fruit trees if I can get a low wind day.

Posted by: Black JEM at March 16, 2024 03:44 PM (UVyKP)

59 We got rain in the Valley of the Sun and that means all the plants are having sex, and the bees are on mandatory overtime. And I sneeze. I will try JTB's honey treatment. My honey is from south of what was once the border, but perhaps it will work.

I need to cut back the bougainvillea, and the Mexican Bird of Paradise. The former can be cut back to a stump, and two years later it's a riot again.

People really get attached to their saguaro cacti. They are long-lived and huge, eventually. Some fell down last fall, due to too much watering according to one expert and too much heat according to another. A mature, 18 foot tall one can weigh 4000 pounds.

When they transplant them they brace them with wooden supports that look like the landing legs on a SpaceX booster.

Posted by: Gordon at March 16, 2024 03:54 PM (2XwTC)

60 AZ deplorable moron at March 16, 2024 01:51 PM

Can you put a stake and rope on your cactus to encourage it to fall in a certain direction (just in case)?

Posted by: KT at March 16, 2024 03:54 PM (rrtZS)

61 AZ Deplorable

The nic was based on Shakespeare's description of how Richard III killed the Duke of Clarence--drowned in a Rondelet of Malmsey. (Didn't happen of course, like most of the defamation of Richard.)

The rest is a play on the Art Vandelay joke from Seinfeld.

Kind of tortured evolution but I am sticking with it.

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at March 16, 2024 03:59 PM (FEVMW)

62 Vmom, if you're looking for fairly deep purple flowers, petunias or calibrachoas are good. There are spreading and upright petunias. There are some nice verbenas, too.

For cooler or shadier positions, try browallia or lobelia.

For cool season, pansies and violas are great.

Posted by: KT at March 16, 2024 04:08 PM (rrtZS)

63 Thanks KT!

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 16, 2024 04:16 PM (DpEcY)

64 Yesterday and today were the first really warm spring weather here, it is in the 70's the rest of the weekend.

I grafted plums and apples. The apples are for a winter red that I got wood from a farm on the highway, so I have no idea what it is, and the plums are from the corner of the lot that my old mechanic used to park his cars in, and I have no idea what sort of plum it is. I liked the fruit for both though.

I still have no real idea of what I am doing so I only get about 50% success rate, I may have to do classes or something.
Next year I have a bunch of seedlings I need to graft, and hopefully I will have someplace to plant them

Posted by: Kindltot at March 16, 2024 04:37 PM (D7oie)

65
Thanks, Kt for the threads.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at March 16, 2024 05:46 PM (RKVpM)

66 Just a 4-H shoutout, JTB! (#34) My favorite part of the Western Idaho Fair is the part with all the ribbons I win each year (in the Agriculture and Floral divisions). But since Husband and I are 4-H project leaders, we always take a walk through all the barns to see our students' other projects - usually sheep, alpaca, chicken, rabbit, and sometimes beef cows.

A busy week! We finished the fruit tree trimming. We started cutting down the wild rose hedge out back, which is always getting out of bounds - we'll kill it this year, then replace it with something that produces food next year. We continued cutting down Siberian Iris leaves, and I continue raking sycamore leaves to top up the trash.

I also finished digging all the old strawberries out of 2 beds - Husband carried soil to top them up, and bought the peat moss I needed to amend the soil. Now those beds are ready for transplanting in new plants once the irrigation comes on.
(part 1)

Posted by: Pat* at March 16, 2024 06:01 PM (EGzLc)

67 Part 2 from Boise area: indoors, 4 of 5 broccolini have sprouted, all the SunGolds and Super Beefsteaks, but none of the Roma and San Marzano. In the greenhouse, nothing - I've started opening its door whenever it's warm out and there's direct sun.

Friday, I loosened the soil in beds 1, 5, and 6. We set up a row of 10 cloth pots for potatoes. Saturday, I planted a row of peas 'Green Arrow' in bed 1. We planted 2 pots of Russet potatoes and 8 pots of Princess La Ratte fingerlings, all with some peat moss and a pinch of 5-10-10 fertilizer. I loosened beds 2, 3, and 4 - the surprise was a goose egg buried in bed 2 (off to the compost!).

Behind the kitchen, the crocus are past their best but still pretty - the hyacinths have just started extending their stems, and 2 are opening. The tulip leaves by the front sidewalk are up to 6 inches tall. The 2 small and 1 large day lily are showing sprouts. The daffodils in the new forsythia bed are showing tips, but only 2 of the ones in planter pots are. Out in the paddock, we have some Johnny Jump-Ups.
(done)

Posted by: Pat* at March 16, 2024 06:18 PM (EGzLc)

68 For a purple plant, I recommend coleus. Of course they come in numerous colors but there is a vivid purple variety I found three years ago. With this plant you don't have to wait for blooms because the leaves are spectacular. In the winter it freezes so I cut a few stems and keep them in water inside. They root all down the stem so it can be planted out in spring. Mine grew to the size of a generous balloon bouquet and was admired by all who came over, and it was easy to give cuttings as gifts. It remained insect-pest free, although it was planted in a spot protected from deer so I don't know if it is resistant to them.

Posted by: Mongerel at March 17, 2024 03:59 PM (0d0ON)

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