I bought those white lily bulbs last year in spring. They were almost dried up and in bad shape. I planted them in the northeast corner of my front yard that gets very little direct sun. They came up really small last year but did not flower (I didn’t really expect them to). Imagine my delight when I went out to water today and saw all those white lilies bloomed! Guess they just needed a year to rejuvenate! Yay!
I wish I could really capture a good pic of the pink salvia. It’s in direct sun and hard to get a good shot of them. They are really beautiful. Started from seed. I think they are gonna bloom all summer, they keep getting more and more flower spikes.
The long sun hours and the increasing heat have pretty much done in my precious sweet peas. Gonna pull them out soon. Until next year my precious…
The white ones are really striking. I had my first day lily open fully today. It was perfect in every way. I wish they weren’t so short lived. I need to buy the different varieties so I can have them always blooming.
I love the details on that one in the upper left. the medium sized one with the freckles and pinstripe outline on the petals. Awesome.
If the salvias are similar to mine they’ll Peter out eventually on the flower spike just trim them back to the main foliage and they’ll give ya another flush of blooms
I had a feeling… Personally, I can’t stand the thing.
The crimson red ones are more my thing. But this is a legacy from my grandparents; he would strategically plant things where he knew she’d see them constantly. I think your dude might just be similar.
Pumpkin on a stick plant. Cuz you know I love to grow weird plants. It’s actually in the eggplant family. It’s got little flowers now and progressing into little tiny balls that will eventually look like mini pumpkins
The only time I’ve ever bought a red flower, bush, plant etc was for a gift. I’m not attracted to red blooms at all. You’ll only find a few in my garden. Like that new Yarrow. It was a mixed pack of seeds. Didn’t know which one I would get.
So remember how I tore out the last butterfly bush? Well got a new one. This time, I have a bigger and better spot. Actually stoked because I prefer this color to the last one’s darker purple
Also bought 2 new trailing succulents. One called trailing pickles and of course I snatched the last string of pearls they had as I can’t have too many of those. Also, 2 big buckets of white impatiens for the shade.
How come I can’t go to Home Depot and just leave with the one 11 dollar hose end sprayer I went in for? Why I have to leave 70 extra dollars later? I need an intervention. lol
I just caught up on the past couple of months of this thread, Meesh! Amazing and inspirational!
All the stuff you are growing from seeds is wicked! I have to admit I have been very lazy in the past, spending stupid amounts of money on seedlings. That’s all about to change, since I ordered a whole bunch of veggie and flower seeds from MIGardener (check him out on youtube!) and I am going to put lots of effort into growing stuff from seed from now on. I may even harvest some seeds to use in subsequent years. One thing I learned from MIGardener recently is that there are lots of crops that can be planted in August and still mature fine in more northern climates. I had no idea.
Some plants are a pain in the ass from seed. I try them all, but if they are too much or won’t start outside, I just buy starters. There is this really deep sense of satisfaction when the plant flowers or gets a veggie when you started it from seed, but it is a patience game for sure. Especially, perennials as they can take over a year sometimes to flower.
Do you start them in a tent and then take them out to harden them off, or are you pitching them directly into soil outside?
Another thing I found surprising is that some plants grow better when directly sown. Only what I have heard/read - not from experience.
Do you have any poppies growing in your garden? I can’t recall if I have seen any photos posted. That’s one annual that has no trouble at all seeding itself year after year in my garden. They are the real ones, too. Columbine as well. They grow like weeds but they are so beautiful - and such diverse colours.
Usually, I go off the seed package. Some are best sown directly, although I seem to do better with sunflowers when I start them in starters for some reason, but all my seeds are started directly in the sun. I have successfully started a few outdoors that are best started under lights, but some are pretty much impossible like impatiens for example. I’ve been able to start petunias outside although probably would be easier under lights.
I have yet to throw any regular poppies down. I do have some oriental ones that come from some sort of rhizome and not seed. They haven’t bloomed yet this year. I have only sown cosmos, pansies and nasturtiums once out there and I’ll never have to again lol Tons of volunteers. I direct sowed some forget me nots this year that supposedly come back on their own.
As far as columbines, they are the toughest seed to germ. They need stratification. Both @Tinytuttle and I were both unsuccessful getting columbine to sprout. Best to buy starters if you don’t want to lose your mind trying seed. lol
I’ve never tried columbine from seed. We had 2 small ones in our garden when we moved in to this house, and since then they have multiplied like crazy. Now we have white, purple, mauve, and two different colours of pink. Recently I found an orange one in the forest and brought it home. They spread like dill or oregano (which are also completely crazy in our gardens). They even grow in our patio cracks. All of this had me thinking columbine must be easy to grow from seed, so I am surprised to hear it is so difficult. I guess nature knows best how to grow plants!
If you want some poppy seeds, let me know. I’ll be harvesting a shitload of them this fall. BTW you got “throw down” right for these. Throw a handful at a garden in the fall and Bob’s yer uncle.
So I got the new butterfly bush and the new impatiens planted. When I dug up the planter for the butterfly bush the soil was completely dry. sigh I just watered on Saturday. The dahlias had a droop as well, so I spent like 3 hours watering the backyard. I flooded the beds, watered all the container plants to run-off and gave the cannabis plants a solid 5 minutes of water per plant. Whew! Most flower beds need an inch of water a week. Y’all don’t even realize how much water that is when you have rain in your climate. It’s way more than it seems when you hand water. I keep thinking that I’m watering thoroughly and 2 days later I’m back at it. It’s a never-ending job in itself.
I have to water twice a day sometimes. I have lots of Columbines in my back garden and were here when I got the place. They seem short lived here with the dry weather.
What sort of poppies do you have? The last place I rented had these big beautiful bright red/orange poppies come up at the edge of the yard and down in the small creek below. They look like a common weed when starting and I dug a bunch up before I knew it was a flower. I thought I saved seeds but not sure what I did with them. I can go back and look at the creek. Maybe too late now. I know the girl who bought the house.
They were huge flowers. I know I have pics but they’re on another hard drive.
I much prefer to start all my seeds indoors under lights, even those which are recommended to be sown directly. When starting seeds outdoors, whether in containers or sown directly into the ground, many things can go wrong. But indoors I am in control of the environment, so I achieve much better germination indoors than outside, exposed to the mercy of Mother Nature.
And of course, some seeds are much trickier than others, which I think is part of the fun in being a pop addict.
I also put the new sprouts under the direct sun outdoors as soon as they break the surface of the medium.
Personally, I can’t stand the thing. 
I think your dude might just be similar.
Columbine as well. They grow like weeds but they are so beautiful - and such diverse colours.