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!

Free Comic Book Day 2010

***Shameless Promotion Warning***

...of spouse's business!

How many times do you hear "free" nowadays for real, without a catch? Well, this Saturday, May first, Monarch Comics in Toledo http://www.monarchcardsandcomics.com/

(4400 Heatherdowns) will actually have FREE comic books available to everyone! Comic shops across the country will be participating in Free Comic Book Day http://www.freecomicbookday.com/, but it is up to the individual dealers to add any exceptions/stipulations, like "free with $_.00 purchase", but there's none of that at Monarch! There are many FREE comics available, many different titles, and not 3 page pamphlets - these are real comics (and i think they even throw into the mix some of their extra backstock issues, but don't hold me to that), and FREE to anyone who stops in!

Where will I be? At an annual plant and perennial swap far from there! lol After 28 years, i know better than to get in the way!!!

Stop in May 1 and tell 'em I sent you!

RANT ~ Hardy, My A**!

Went to a well known, local department/general store yesterday. It's a family run business that started out as a general store catering primarily to farmers. It's much bigger now, and despite my impending rant, i still feel that it's a well run, upstanding company, therefore i'm not naming names! i'm sure if you live in my area, you'll figure out where i mean.

Anyway, they have a fairly large plant/garden area, and is always one of the stops in my "Spring Hunt For Plants I Don't Have Yet" trek. Now, this isn't the only place i have seen this happen, but was a little disappointed that this store, the one i have known most of my life, is now carrying perennials that are NOT hardy in my area! *(A perennial is a plant that should live thru the winter - outdoors - and continue to grow for many seasons)* Not just borderline - a full 2 or 3 zones off from ours! Now, i live and breathe plants, so i know to check the tags before i fall in love with a particular cultivar, but most folks just want a nice plant, and will assume that if a local store is carrying this plant that says "Perennial", that of course, it would mean it's a perennial HERE, in zone 5, not (as the tag reads) in zone 7 (which is GEORGIA, not Ohio!).They do have a 1 year guarantee on perennials, but i don't know if they would honor that or just say, "Well, it's not hardy here, so the guarantee doesn't apply". i have a feeling they WOULD honor it, so then what? - then they lose money, guaranteeing plants that had no chance to begin with!

And it may not be the store's fault at all - are the buyers for the store given the correct information, or are they just told the plants are "perennials"? As i said, this is not the only place i've seen this happen, but i'd like to know where the fault lies....

***Oh, i have tried many plants not considered to be hardy here to try and stretch my luck, but that is MY decision, backed with the knowledge that it very well could die! As Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery likes to say, " I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself...at least three times!" (by the way, Tony, I'm still waiting for my Tetrapanax "Steroidal Giant" to try to kill!). By the way, i would love to work there - after reading their catalog, i'm convinced everyone there is mentally unbalanced (i'd fit right in)! Here's their website ***

But i digress... no, the plant tags attached to these plants i refer to do NOT lie - they ARE perennial - almost ALL plants are perennial somewhere, if the situation is right. i get tired of watching "House Hunters" when the hunt is in the tropics, and my tiny houseplants (here) are 20 foot outdoor giants THERE! Saw one home and garden show a while back, the homeowners had a problem with a 25 ft. Bird of Paradise plant (no..colony)(no.. TREE!) that was taking over their front yard - they actually had to bring in heavy equipment to dig it out! LOL - that's what they get for living in Paradise - serves 'em right!

But, please, if you're new to gardening or not, pay attention to those plant tags - know what hardiness zone you're in and match it up to the plant tag info (note: if you're in zone 5, plants hardy to zone 3 or 2, etc. are fine - that just means the plant is good in even colder areas than yours, and should do great).

This is a fairly simple map, but you can Google for more detailed ones online.

True Blue, Baby, I Love You....

  

i think i speak for the great majority of gardeners when i say that we are constantly looking for blue flowers. Real clear blue - not purple, not bluish purple, not violet - BLUE. Unfortunately, there aren't many fitting that classification!

                    Grape Hyacinths(Muscari "Valerie Finnis ")

When you read many plant catalogs, they will describe ALL the Grape Hyacinths as a "Clear Blue!" color, but i don't understand it - they are very definitely PURPLE! Just like in the photo below (and even looking all over the 'net for this picture, almost all varieties were shown - as blue). Valerie Finnis is the only one i've found that REALLY is blue.

There are two blue flowered plants i have not yet succeeded with - one is the Himalayan Blue Poppy (Meconopsis), which really wants the cool, moist summers of the Pacific Northwest, and the Corydalis 'Blue Panda', also another one that doesn't like our hot summers - but I'll keep trying!

Glory of The Snow (Chionodoxa )

The first blue of the year (actually, the Scilla {below} blooms when the Crocus bloom, but the flowers are so tiny and delicate that it's easy to nearly overlook them) 

 

The tiny stripes on the above blossoms are a subdued baby blue

 

Pulmonaria (I think it's "Blue Ensign" - unfortunately, i lost the tag) blooming right now - even though the buds are pink, the open flowers are EXTREMELY blue!

...And one more.... the pretty blue forget me not-like flowers of the Brunneras....

Happy Earth Day!

i'm sure this is not big news to you all - it's all over the place! - but today is the 40th celebration of Earth Day!

 Here's my Earth Day message: You don't have to recycle, and compost, and drive a hybrid, and garden organic, and use rechargeable batteries, and reuse 'gray' water, and use flourescent lightbulbs,and plant a tree, and conserve energy and gasolene usage all at the same time - just do SOME of those things! That's the problem. Some of us are really trying, but many more don't do ANYTHING! And the scariest part is, a lot of people don't care! Well, they should- especially if they've had children - they may not care, but their descendants might, don't you think?! If every one of us would just do whatever they could towards conservation, it could really make a difference. And if you're reading my blog, it's more likely than not that you already feel the same way, so today, i think we should all find one or more of those "uncaring" folks and try (tactfully) to convince them a little that, like it or not, we're in this together!
Peace!