Soaked David Austin's Harlow Carr in a small basin since a larger and deeper bucket was not available. The roots were in water, but the bulb-ish part of the plant was not. Hopefully it will not be a problem. Planted it today according to directions, sans rose food, since I didn't have any available. Dug an approximately 18" square hole, 18" deep as the directions stated. Back filled with original soil and some compost and used Start to get the roots off to a healthy start. Top dressed the soil with compost and watered with 2 gallons of water. I planted it at about 5 or 6 pm after the hot noon sun was beginning to temper off. Hopefully there will be rain for the next two days so that the plant is not too stressed. It was difficult work and there was a lot of large stones in the soil, some of which I removed.

Also purchased three heathers (Erica darleyensis) as well as some Miracle-Gro rose food, a set of 10 Lily-of-the-Valley and a set of 3 pink bleeding hearts.

Weather has been really warm lately. Right now it is about 80 degrees F. Tomorrow will bring temperatures in the 90s. From weather reports, it seems uncharacteristically warm for this month.

Been watering plants with hydrolized fish and seaweed fertilizer each time. I wonder if I should only do it every other time.

Hardening Off
Linarias are looking a bit frail.
Lupines are drooping a bit despite watering. 2-3 of them died. Was it the cool temperatures from before?
Sweet Woodruff are looking a bit ruffled too. Will probably move them to the back since they are shade lovers anyway.
Sweet Peas are doing okay.
Thyme seems a bit wilty when given too much water.
Alpine and Fresca strawberries seem to be doing okay, but will water anyway.

Received Harlow Carr today (or did it come yesterday and I just didn't notice it?). Will soak it in water tonight and plant outside tomorrow. Need to buy some rose food for it too. It should rain on Thursday and Friday, so hopefully the rose will get off to a good stressless start. Also brought some Start to encourage root development.

Last week on Friday, I pulled out all of the orange "ditch" lilies from the raised stone and mortar bed outside the back door and will probably plant herbs and a small vegetable garden in its place. Gave a clump to Aunt J since she seemed to like them. Will also later dig out the yellow daylily from the bed along the road to give to her as I'm not a bit fan of lilies. At least not yet... ;)

Aunt J and Uncle L gave us a brilliant pink azalea plant. I am wondering where would be the best place for it. Would like to plant it near the backdoor, but I think that the north side of the house could use a bit of brightening up which this plant would certainly do.

Planted on Sunday, March 21, 2010.

Oregano
Cilantro
Dill, Mammoth
Rosemary
Chives (2009)
Gomphrena
Basil
Larkspur Blue Cloud
Alyssum Summer Snow
Lemon Grass (2009)

Put together a mobile greenhouse stand and started to harden off some seedlings.
Nasturtium
Thyme
Sweet Woodruff
Lupine
Fresca Strawberries
Alpine Strawberries

Watered some of the seedlings today as well as thinned some of them out.

Asclepias Cinderella does not seem to be doing very well. There is only one tiny seedling pushing its way up from the soil. On the other hand, Asclepias Tuberosa is doing very well with many seeds germinating. Too bad, I liked Cinderella a bit more because of the pink coloring. Will probably share some of the Tuberosa since I have more than I want. The yellow cosmos will probably look good planted with them.

Lupines seem to be doing okay despite my transplanting them the other day.

Nasturtiums have developed really quickly and have well developed roots already. I am thinking of planting them outside soon in order to take back some space on the growing shelf.

Heliotrope Mini Marine are not doing as well as I would like. There are a few seedlings, but not many. I was looking forward to the vanilla scent too.

Lavender Lady is not doing well either, although I think some of the other lavender seeds that I planted are taking off.

Later this week, I plan to dig out the lilies in the backyard to give to Aunt J. I'm not really a bit lilies fan and she seems to be interested in them. I wonder if I should move the irises next to the mailbox. It might look nice there.

Transplanted lupine Sunrise and Sweet Woodruff today. Hopefully the lupines will survive since they dislike being transplanted. They seem to grow on long taproots. Next time, it would probably be better to plant each lupine in its own peat pot instead of together in flats. Also watered Aquilegia in egg crate which had dried out. No signs of life there yet, but supposedly it takes 30 days to germinate. Running out of space on my growing shelf that C set up for me. Already went through two bags of Miracle-Gro seed starting mix and need to get more for transplanting into 2" pots. Gardener's Germination mix has a better texture and less debris; there seems to be some shiny silver mineral flecks in the soil too. A faint odor of something like ammonia can be detected when seedling trays are placed inside a plastic bag for humidity. There doesn't seem to be a difference in germination rate though. It would be useful to do a side-by-side, A/B test with the two formulas.

Planted in Gardener's Supply Germinating Mix today:

Park Seeds

Snapdragon Twinny
Do not cover seeds; needs light to germinate.
Germination temperature: 55-65 F.
7-30 days until germination.
Transplant after 4 true leaves.
Plant 12" apart.

Linaria Enchantment
Germination temp: 55 F night.
When 4 leaves develop, transplant to 2 1/4 in pots.
Plant 12" apart.

Lupine Sunrise
Germination temp: 55 F night.
When 4 leaves develop, transplant to 2 1/4 in pots.
Plant 12" apart.


Sean Conway
Foxglove Strawberry (30-36" H)
Perennial.
Full sun/partial shade.
10-15 days until germination.
Plant 24" apart.
Needs light to germinate.


Burpee
Cosmos Gazebo Mix (30")
Annual
Full sun
Germinates in 7-10 days.
Thin to 8-10" apart.

Forget-Me-Not Blue Bird (Myosotis) (12")
biennial
Full sun/part shade
Germinates: 7-14 days.
Germination temp: 60 F.
Thin to 8".

Pansy Plentifall (6-8")
Annual
Trailing habit: hanging baskets/containers
Partial shade to sunny area.
Germination time: 12-21 days.
Transplant after 2 pairs of leaves.
Plant 6" apart.

Viola Johnny-Jump-Up (10")
Perennial
Germination time: 12-21 days.
Germination temp: 65 F.
Transplant after 2 pairs of leaves.
Plant 6" apart
Sun to part shade


Thompson & Morgan
Aquilegia Flabellata var Pumila Kurilensis Rosea (6-8")
Do not cover seeds.
Germination temp: 59-68F.
1-3 mos germination time.
Plant outside when they are well grown, 9-12 in apart.
Full sun. [?]

Primrose Arctic Mixed Colors (4-6" H)
Hardy perennial.
Part shade.
Germination Temp: 59-68 F.
Germination time: 10-30 days.
Light helps germination.
Transplant when large enough to handle.
Grow in cooler conditions and give plenty of water.
Plant out in autumn, 9" apart. [?]

Primula Drumstick Mixed (9-12")
Partial shade.
Hardy Perennial.
Germination temp: 59-68 F.
Germination time: 10-30 days.
Sprinkle compost over roots to anchor seedlings.
Plant out in autumn, 9" apart. [?]

Chinese Lanterns (24")
Hardy perennial.
Sun or shade.
Germination temp: 70 F.
Light is beneficial to germination.
Germination time: 21-30 days.
Plant out in a reserve border and move to their final positions in autumn planting. [?]
Plant 24" apart.

Nasturtium Strawberries & Cream (9-12")
Tropaeolum majus
Hardy annual.
Full sun
Flowers summer to autumn.
Germination temp: 59-68"
Plant 9" apart.

Cosmos and Marigolds and Thyme 2009

I should have noted this earlier, but did not get a chance to note it until now. For future reference, cosmos have shallow roots and can get a bit untidy. The gutter wasn't working properly this year and the water from the gutter spilled out over them causing the stems to fall over. The stems did not right themselves up, but continued to grow prostrate along the ground while the main stem threw off several upright stems which then flowered. They were planted too early this year and was only able to come into bloom once before the frost killed them.

The marigolds from the marigold/sunflower mix seemed to do well. The seed packet seems to be a mix. There were red marigolds with orange accents and solid orange marigolds. I wish there were more of the solid orange ones. The lighter colors seem more cheery.

I planted Park Seed's English Thyme seeds with Miracle-Gro Seed Starting Potting Mix in Jiffy pots about a week ago. I had them on a heating mat at first, but took them off the heat since the package states, "Place in a cool location." They are starting to come up now, but some of them seem to have white fuzz on them indicative of damping off. I took the plastic cover off of the plastic shoe box they are in. Hopefully that will help to air them out and prevent seedling rot.

This summer I also bravely re-potted the orchid that I brought from Lowes thanks to U's encouragement and it seems to be doing well. The blooms fell off, but at least it is still. Right now it has six leaves, one which is coming in. The terracotta orchid pot it is in now will allow for drainage, whereas the decorative pot it was in had no drainage holes and I never knew whether I was watering it enough or not.