Plants On The Ground ....

OK, i couldn't resist! Actually, i guess the correct title should be "Plants IN The Ground", but, whatever!

i had a small revelation yesterday - i realized i hardly ever plant plants the "normal" way anymore; that is, planting the seeds directly in the ground, keeping them watered, and having them sprout right where they need to be! i have started plants from seed for years, but indoors, to transplant at the proper time. OR (file this under "lazy") - i just buy plants!

So i never get the fun little thrill anymore of seeing those first few seedlings breaking out of the ground, which actually was one of my favorite memories at the very beginning of my gardening life. i had almost forgotten that feeling....so this year, i planted a row of early spring veggies - 2 kinds of spinach, 4 types of lettuce, white, purple, and black radishes, as well as carrots that are supposed to be a mix of 4 colors! That was two days ago, and i am impatiently looking at that patch every day, and watering it (using a watering can, the old fashioned way, so i can feel more connected with the earth).

i have lost touch with my garden somewhat in the past few years, partly because of a job change, which gives me much less vacation time than i used to have, along with my garden sculpture business that takes up most of the REST of my time! i'm not complaining about either situation, but still i'm not giving my treasured plants the attention they need!


The tomato plants, which used to reach 3-4 feet tall, have ended up in the past two years as scrawny,weed choked, foot tall things that had a half dozen small fruits on them at the most! i just lose track - BUT i am now making a middle of the year resolution to give the veggie garden some TLC this year - i'll update you about this later!

First Seed Swap Of 2010 - How It Turned Out

Why do i swap seeds? Partly because i like to get something for relatively nothing - yes, i do a little work to prepare, but i'm still not handing anyone money for what i get. It's also partly for something to do during the "worst" time of the winter; that is - when it's STILL winter, but you want it to be Spring so badly that it's almost a physical pain.

But a day like today reminds me of why i really do it. It's certainly not wanting to crowd into a roomful of people and having to wait several minutes at times just to MOVE 3 feet! It's because of what kind of people they ARE - gardeners! Almost everyone had the same look in their eyes - here we all are(the day after a snowstorm), surrounded by seed packets, seedlings, plants, plant paraphernalia, and although we do know a new season is very near, an event like this reinforces that promise. Did anyone complain about being crowded? No. Everyone was pleasant, considerate and smiling. We were all given paper grocery bags, and as we collected packets, bags or cups of what we wanted and put them into our bags, several of us could be heard commenting that we felt like we were collecting goodies at Halloween!

Didn't take my camera, but this looks close to our swap - just add about 50 more people into this picture!

Because this, 20 days before the first day of Spring, was a happy day for all of us!

Some of my "take" today, laying in a large cast Tobacco leaf i just finished. That package of black radish seed touts, "Popular Snack With Beer and Dips" - although i got nothing against beer, radishes sure wouldn't be my first choice as an accompaniment! i now have seeds of Resurrection Lily, "Rose" and "Cherokee Purple" tomatoes, an "experimental" variety of snap bean, and "Rattlesnake Master" Eryngium. Plus quite a few red Canna rhizomes that i promised i would get for my friend Diana, who is still recovering from cancer treatment, and, as a result, probably hasn't got the best of immune systems and i'm sure wouldn't have wanted to get into a crowd like that!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like.....MARCH?!

i love my job! I'm wrong most of the time, and i'm still well paid. i can make errors weekly, even daily, and nobody cares! Oh, wait, that's not me - that's our weather forecasters! (Although it COULD describe my General Manager at work....but i digress..).

 i've been looking forward to the seed swap tomorrow, so three days ago they were telling us we would get about an inch of snow today and it would be partly sunny tomorrow. Well, it ain't working out QUITE the way they predicted - it has snowed 4-5 inches today alone, and it's showing no signs of stopping! Then the weather folks are getting sneaky lately - they won't say, "This storm may generate 6-8 inches of snow". No, NOW they tell us, "It should snow 1-2 inches.....today. THEN 2-3 inches.....overnight. THEN 1-2 inches.....tomorrow morning"! If you're not listening very closely you'll end up VERY surprised!

At least the days are longer - the landscape lights are starting to come on before it gets dark!

i was shoveling this evening with a Robin complaining to me from the crabapple tree - didn't i just mention Robins coming in just before a big storm? Don't worry - a little snowstorm won't stop ME from a seed swap! Maybe it will deter all but us diehard gardeners...

First Seed Swap Of 2010

As i've whined about before, our area does not host many seed/plant swaps. BUT, there are a few, and this one is a good one! Held in previous years (this is the 6th annual) at the Toledo Botanical Garden at their Conference Center, it has grown enough that it has outgrown the space, and we seed swappers would wait, packed in tight corridors like

livestock (mooooo?) just to have the chance to push and squeeze past other seed hungry citizens to glance at the varied packages of seeds or bulbs or baby Kalanchoes (those would be mine!) and possibly find a little treasure or two. So this year i was happy to find out that they

have expanded quite a bit, and moved the swap to a new location! The Ward Pavilion is very nice - i have been there in the past during their Xmas Craft Bazaar with my cement leaves. Maybe we'll have breathing room this time!

If you are in the Toledo area, stop by! i have copied the particulars below. But, as i have said before, you really should BRING SOMETHING TO SWAP! They will let you pick up some seeds if you don't, but i really think that's inappropriate and inconsiderate! We swappers collect our

own seeds, package them up, write or print up instructions, and transport them there - that's a lot of work! Plus the folks at the Gardens also collect and compile thousands of packets of seeds for our planting pleasure, and volunteers put in a lot of time to coordinate this swap. Even if you're a newbie, there's no reason you can't go to your local hardware or dollar store and grab a few packets of flower or veggie seeds to bring. It's only fair!

One small disclaimer - i am not speaking for the Botanical Gardens - my opinion (about bringing something to swap if you're going to participate) is mine alone. The Gardens advertise this as totally free, i just feel, as someone who has been in a lot of seed and plant swaps, that, really, if you go to a swap, it's not a giveaway - it's a swap!

So here's the poop:

(Please note, the Seed Swap will be held at the Ward Pavilion, Wildwood Metropark and the workshops will be held at Toledo Botanical Garden)

Seed Swap

Saturday, February 27, 2010

12:00 - 3:00 PM

Wildwood Metropark

Ward Pavilion

5100 W. Central Ave.

Toledo, OH 43615

Free and open to the public!

Diversify your garden by exchanging seeds and learning new skills! No

matter your gardening ability, you’ll enjoy the chance to interact with other gardeners, while swapping favorite seeds.

Live entertainment by the Root Cellar String Band and activities for kids!

Workshops

Saturday, February 27, 2010

at Toledo Botanical Garden

10:00 - 11:30AM From Plant to Plate: Easy, Tasty Vegetables to Grow

(TBG Conference Center)

10:00 - 11:30AM All About Gourds (Children’s Ed Building)

10:00 - 11:30AM Bugs & Birds in the Garden (TBG Conference Center)

1:30 - 3:00PM A Creative Approach to Herbal Gardening (Children’s Ed

Building)

1:30 - 3:00PM Troubleshooting Your Vegetable Garden (TBG Conference

Center)

1:30 - 3:00PM Container Gardening (TBG Conference Center)

3:30 - 5:00PM Preserving the Harvest (Children’s Ed Building)

3:30 - 5:00PM Gourmet Vegetables for Fun & Profit (TBG Conference

Center)

3:30 - 5:00PM Raising Chickens (TBG Conference Center)

***

The Search For The Elusive Himalayan Blue Poppy

(Photo blatantly stolen from Katina Choovanski's Blog)

Found a Meconopsis ( the sky blue Himalayan Poppy) today at a local farm market and greenhouse - this is an "average" farm market most of the year, albeit a nice one, but in May, it transforms into a "collector's heaven"! Rows and rows of unusual, if not downright RARE plants for my area, and a lot of new (and expensive) varieties of Hostas. i make one trip there a year (any more often and i'd be living in poverty- all my money would be theirs!) i have never seen a Meconopsis for sale before around here- but there's a good reason....Yes, the tag DOES say "hardy to zone 5" - and that is where i live, in zone 5b. Unfortunately, MY zone 5 is not the same as "THAT" zone 5! The plant needs a cool, moist environment to thrive (the Pacific Northwest), and our summers get too hot and too dry. With that in mind, did i pass it up? Nope. You never know, we may have a cool, damp summer this year....maybe...:o}

i'll take any advice and/or growing tips anyone passes my way!

i had found seed for it before, and had very little luck germinating it. i did manage to get one feeble little plant going, it didn't make it. Another year, one started in it's pot, and, to my amazement, it was growing like a weed! I pampered that thing for weeks, until i realized that, unfortunately, it WAS a weed! Oops.

"White Feather" Hosta amongst the crabapple petals

So this was a strong looking little plant, and it will be my last try to see one of the blooms in living color! So, in the ground it goes, with some water holding crystals in the soil and in part shade, and i'll let you know what happens. Along with my new "White Feather" Hosta, my "Summer Glow" Tamarisk, and a couple more little treasures, it was a very fulfilling trip!

.

Grow Your Own!

The seedlings are growing - here's Skeeter keeping guard on them, just in case there's a ferocious plant - eating mouse loose in the house! i used to start hundreds of seeds under lights every Spring, especially when we had a basement and i had more room. i was always a little worried that my neighbors would see the lights on half the night with all those plants and call the police! i assure you, though, there was never any "hemp" involved (although there may have been a stray Opium poppy or two in there!) But now with my leaf casting business taking up more of my time, (and i've gotten older), i tend to want "instant gratification" - or a lot closer to it! i'm not as willing to wait several years for a seed to grow into a landscape - sized plant! These days, i pretty much just grow Castor Beans, heirloom tomatoes, Moonflower vines, and some annuals that are hard to find around here.

'