Dreaming of Violas, Snapdragons and Iceland Poppies

When the weather is hot and sunny, I like to think about the winter garden, just as we dream of warm gardens in the dead of winter.

Early Spring in my garden, 2007

When I first came to Southwest Georgia, I passed a veterinarian's office in Cairo. There was a glorious planting near the street of white Snapdragons, blue Pansies and Iceland Poppies in shades of orange, yellow and cream. One of the Plant Ladies had worked her magic there.

I never quite achieved the glorious garden I saw there but I've had some stunning pansies, some sweet Iceland poppies and spiky snapdragons; they just never turned out in the same bed.

Plant Ladies were among my role models for planting in a hot and humid climate. When I used to spend time over there, I had opportunity to see Astilbes die under the shade of Crape myrtles in front of the hospital entrance and judge just how long a Delphinium lasts before it is toast.  A Plant Lady introduced me to Pentas. It was mid-winter and the tops were dead but I could tell it was something I had to plant. 

Small-flowered Pansies and Violas are more impressive than the Giant Pansies. A great host of small blossoms are more impressive than 2 or 3 big blooms.

All photos are from previous years here.

 Violas have a constant stream of flowers. If one is damaged by the weather another soon opens. They're more resistant to cold because of their alpine species heritage.

Dark colors can make an impact when wisely chosen and carefully sited.

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I gave up the darkest Violas because I thought they looked like black holes from a distance.

Of all the pansies I've planted, I liked these best.

I wonder if their name is written somewhere?

Next month is time to start Violas, Snaps and Iceland Poppies from seed in moderate climates.  My plans do not apply to areas that get snow and continuous hard freezes. If I don't get seed planted I may wait until January to buy flats of plants during a warm spell. If I happen across any Snapdragons this fall, cuttings of Antirrhinum are easy. 

Meanwhile, I cut back Verbena bonairensis that flopped all over the front lawn and saved a bowl of seeds. Before I was done, a butterfly was nectaring on the short stems with blooms that I left. Tithonia and Lantana are plentiful now , so I felt comfortable with cutting away some Verbena on a Stick.

Verbena on a Stick back in May.

Peeks at Strobilanthes, Epiphyllum oxypetalum and Ferns

 

 Epiphyllum corner. Night Blooming Cereuses wait here for Spring. There are four big plants crowded up together here. Come spring, I'll trim the ugly leaves and move the pots outside to shade.

Bird's Nest Fern was not happy in the house in an east window.

Here under a shelf, it has put on new leaves. It needs frequent

scruitiny for scale or mealy bugs, which appeared last year.

My new ceramic cache pots with Pentas plants in each.

Pentas are waiting for warm weather, they are not fond of

winter in a cool greenhouse, but these have blossoms.

 

I thought of a use for the red pots I passed up and will look

for them when next I'm in town.

Persian Shield has commenced winter bloom. One of my favorite plants,

I started rooting a piece of Purple Heart in each pot for even more purple.

Happy little pot of violas outside the greenhouse, plants from saved seed started last fall. .

 

 

Bloom Day in the Greenhouse January 2013

There are too many blooms to show outside to mix them with the indoor plants, so Greenhouse blossoms are here. Outdoor blooms are on Seedscatterer blogs on Wordpress and on Blogspot.

Begonias in red and white

 

 

Benfica's second bloom, just in time.

 

Pineapple sage on the left, Rusellia on the right.

 

 

Ike inspects Salvia elegans.

 

Christmas Cacctuses are fading fast.

 

 

Just outside the greenhouse are violas

 

 

... and Pansies.

 

Happy Bloom Day!

 

Bloom Day is hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens. Visit there for links to other gardens around the world celebrating Bloom Day.

 

 

My Camellia Blooms are Here.

 

My other outside Blooms are Here.

 

 

In with the New in the Greenhouse

Pinterest users post the most incredible photos of small greenhouses and potting sheds with comments like 'Someday' or 'Dream in the Garden.' I want my greenhouse to be photo-worthy too but there are some obstacles to styling the way one sees in photos.


Here's my potting bench when it was almost brand-new.



Here's the potting bench in 2011. The old medicine cabinet on the end had to move because it got too much moisture from the fogger installed  this year.

There has to be a clear space on the right for the cat to jump up to follow a catwalk that takes him to his special spots on the end wall.

On the opposite wall, the electrical panel had to be protected from possible drips during a rain. A piece of plastic guttering did the job but was not pleasing to the eye. Neither is the plastic shield that protects the timer from the sun but both are practical.



Yesterday when I was doing some winter pruning, I cut wild grapevine out of an azalea bed where it  tried to take over. I doubled the longest pieces and wound the shorter pieces around them.

 

Garland is fastened with some salvaged copper wire.

 

My pictures do not do the garland justice. It does a quite passable job of drawing attention to itself rather than the gutter.

 

During Christmas, I saw several mantels decorated with grapevine and various trinkets.

By Valentine's Day I'm hopeful of additional decors.

 

The Christmas Cactuses all bloomed: yellow and peach have new buds opening. Hyacinths have little green tips that promise blooms in coming weeks.

 

Viola seedlings have blooms.

Seedlings and cuttings are not always photogenic.

I delight in each one, regardless.

Belinda's Dream

Roses in December, from a cutting.

 

Welcome, 2013.

 

 

Sharing on Flaunt Your Flowers on Ferilizer Friday at Tootsie Time. Do join us!

A Last Look in the Greenhouse, 2012

This will be the last peek into the greenhouse for 2012. Christmas flowers turned out differently than I had envisioned.

'Nymph' Amaryllis still has not bloomed, so it moved into the house to see if consistently warmer temps will encourage it. It has a second fat bud trying to catch the tardy one. 'Benfica' which bloomed so magnificently is fading as a second scape rushes to fill in.

Bird of Paradise foliage and fern underplanted gives the

tropical look that I love. Schlumbergera on the back wall

are fading fast. Last to bloom was a peach color, which

we'll see in a moment.

Freezing temps last night and predicted for

tonight sent my seedling veggies inside.

Spinach, carrots and lettuces.

 

Sweet William seedlings will go outside soon. The awkward

cuttings are Brugmansias and behind them, small

cuttings of Gardenias for a hedge when summer

arrives. They grow fast once planted out.

Under the bench is a huge Epiphyllum oxypetalum

peeking out. They have to be tucked somewhere

for winter protection and don't seem to mind where.

Graptophyllum and Rusellia make good companions.

The Firecracker Fern has bloomed since I brought it in.

Pentas cuttings and more Epiphyllums are behind.

 

Pineapple Sage adds more red blooms. Red is

the January color in here until hyacinths

bloom in blue and peach.

If you look closely you can see a green tomato.

Container vegetables are new this winter in

the greenhouse.

 

The last Christmas Cactus to bloom and buds

remain. We had blossoms in pink, scarlet,

white, yellow and peach.

 

I bought this Staghorn in a tiny pot last January.

More red: a Begonia that seeded itself into the floor last fall. I dug it

and planted in a pot. Surrounded by Bromeliads, it seems happy.

Viola seedlings I potted up seem happy, too in a turquoise strawberry pot.

 

I had hope for at least green leaves for Christmas

if not blooming hyacinths. They finally have

green tips. My new Tillandsia arches above.

 

A last look at the seedling Begonia and some Bromeliads.

 

 

I want to have a seating area and a tea table and more accoutrements to make my greenhouse look like those on Pinterest that are so pretty and interesting. Somehow bits of cuttings and little seedlings and emerging bulbs just take up all the room.

 

The cat demands his space and the dog really needs room to turn around to leave rather than backing out like she did today when seedling containers temporarily blocked the path. Nights will be above freezing after tonight and we can clear the path. When heaters are not needed at night, I can move them out of the way as well.

 

Tonight's low is predicted 32 degrees F. The next few nights will be above freezing. On freezing nights I have 2 electric heaters set on low.

 

 

Happy New Year from the Greenhouse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where Does the Time Go?

Where does the time go? I marvel at people who get so much done in a day.

It is hard to pull weeds while doing Constructive Staring, or pot up seedlings while dreaming of next spring's blossoms.

 Juanita in the Spring -- Daffodil bulbs to plant next month.

 In the North, you should be out planting now.

I spend too much time reading the blogs of others and trying out new ideas, like deciding which font looks like typewriter.

Viola seedlings

White Sweet William seedlings -- I think

every 3-year old seed sprouted.

Violas left and center; Sweet William right

 

I used two year old seeds, or maybe they were from 2009. In case they didn't germinate well I planted them very thickly. Fortunately I saved back some viola seeds because the dog chased the cat and my violas upended onto the greenhouse floor before the seeds sprouted. I replanted. Orange violas are slow to sprout. Blue violas are a little thicker and the mixed seeds which will probably revert to 'Johnny-jump-ups' are thick, thick.

 

Christmas cacti are forming buds, like tiny baby teeth.

These are cuttings in my grapevine ball experimental sphere.

They were the first to have noticeable buds.

 

I like to set containers on pebble trays to increase  humidity. These sit on dollar store baking pans. I'm going to try the little  trays made to resemble silverplate that are in the bridal section. 

 

 

Constant scrutiny is necessary for healthy plants.

Notice the dead leaf?

The dying leaf was harboring a little worm. Caterpillars are

desirable when they hatch out butterflies. Not so when it's a

destructive moth. Large greenhouses spray; I patrol and pick off.

 

I chased a Sphinx moth out of the greenhouse the other night, hovering over my Pentas

cuttings. There are plenty of Pentas outside for her to lay eggs.

Seedscatterers must be vigilant to catch seeds at just the right time. I found this Pride of Barbados

pod just as it was cracking open to reveal the seeds. Otherwise they twist open, the seeds fall to the

ground and in this climate never grow a plant. Seeds are not not picky about the containers for gathering: ice cream tub, paper cup, tin can, flower pot, paper bag, cardboard box.

 

Next month I'll be scattering seeds, mostly spring annuals like Larkspur and Poppies that lie on the ground through cold months and sprout in late winter. Farther north, spring annuals are scattered in September or early spring. Tropical seeds like Esperanza and Pride of Barbados  I will sow in a warm environment for transplant after frost is over. Tithonia, Datura and other summer bloomers usually reseed, but I gather seeds for scattering in new spots in early spring.

 

There are daylilies to divide and replant and many other tasks waiting. I spent much of this week creatively staring where the new paths go in the Upper Garden. The luxury of wide grass paths requires much time spent in edging and digging out where I let grass crawl into beds during the worst of  summer heat. 

 

When I was planning areas that will revert to grass, I pointed out to He-Who-Mows a large flowering Pomegranate that will be sacrificed. "Just dig around it and we'll lift it and I'll dig a new hole with machinery and reset it," he said. Sigh. No more rooted pieces and seedlings were brought to his attention. I can't keep up.  

 

Meanwhile, I'm reading Deborah Silver, Tara Dillard, Sandra Jonas, Martha Tate and Tim Martin, daily seeing where I could use a garden staff to execute all the lovely ideas I gather from them. Most of them are just a winter heat zone north of me. I skip over when they go on about peonies and such.

 

Okay, so Deborah is not in the South. She advocates Boxwood. I'm glad she likes them in a natural state as well as clipped. I have some that are seven feet tall, a virtual wall of Boxwood, near others that surround a huge mass of Wisteria that I hack at all summer.

 

When my Ship comes in, I'm going to call Tara to bring a crew.

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