6 Weeks to Go!

It is approximately 6 weeks before the last frost date, so I put aside my sewing projects in order to get some of the seeds started:

Lupine Sunrise, Penstemon Strictus (Rocky Mountain Penstemon), Acroclinium Best Mixed (Paper Daisy), Petunia Double Cascade, Evening Primrose, Salvia Farinacea (Fairy Queen), Shasta Daisy (Crazy Daisy), Shasta Daisy (White Knight) and Foxglove (Excelsior Hybrid Mix).

Also finally managed to pot the Hawaiian plumeria:

Stephanotis jasmine is managing to stay alive...

Amaryllis is still going strong...

Breaking the Winter Blues

Visited the New Jersey Flower & Garden Show in Edison, NJ on Friday. Although it is not as large in scope and scale as the Philadelphia Flower Show, I like that it is not overcrowded. There were a few landscaping companies competing for best in show and various vendors, some of them plant and flower related, others not. This is my second time visiting the show and some of the vendors that were there the first time I visited, were missing for my second visit. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to call it the New Jersey Home and Garden show since there was an equal number, if not more vendors who sold products related to the home, than flowers and plants. Even still, I managed to come away with some interesting plants:

dendrobium anosmum

Stephanotis floribunda

Sempervivum Raspberry Ice?

Hawaiian Plumeria (White)

Eremurus hybrids, Foxtail Lily

On Saturday, C and I visited RareFind Nursery in Jackson, NJ for their Hamamelis and Winter-Blooming Plants Festive talk. We were a bit late due to the snow and sleet, but fortunately did not miss it and people were still enjoying the refreshments. It was a worthwhile trip and I learned about some interesting plants that I've never heard of before, some of them fragrant. Now, I'm thinking of trying a witch hazel this year. Daphnes, Camelias and White Forsythia (Abeliophyllum). We didn't buy anything this time around since the ground is still frozen out, but hope to make our way back in the early spring, perhaps in May. Saw some Skimmia japonica, which looked pretty good and was thinking it might look nice by the back of the house.

Tulip Time

It's been many months since I brought Home Depot's Parrot Tulips and Longfield Gardens' Tulipa Jimmy (which I actually picked up while food shopping at Wegmans), but I finally got around to potting them up today. Actually, I forgot whether I was supposed to plant them outside or inside, but no matter. I potted them up to admire indoors. Fortunately, they still look okay after sitting around neglected. There were green tips on most, if not all, of the bulbs. Hopefully with a little bit of TLC, they will take off.

Amaryllis Apple Blossom

Some time in November, my mother-in-law thoughtfully brought an amaryllis for me. We both enjoy gardening and love to share our successes, as well as commiserate over plants that are struggling or just didn't make it.

Amaryllis Apple Blossom is my first amaryllis and I thought it would be nice to record its progress here. I didn't think anything was going to happen for a long time and I was worried that I might have done something wrong but, once it decided to wake up, the growth was just explosive!

December 18

December 21

December 25

January 3

I am just astonished at how quickly the stem seems to have come out of nowhere. I believe it is an extra large bulb, but still... it is hard to imagine how that thick and tall stem came out of such a short bulb. Nature never ceases to amaze me! Thanks mom! :)

Smile, Dahlia!

I finally got around to taking a picture of the dahlia that I dug up a few days ago:

I didn't have time to wash the root before taking this picture since I wanted to ensure that the light was strong to capture any details. It's not as large as some of the other dahlia tubers that I've seen online, but maybe it's because I forgot to water it for the most part. The one flower it produced in the fall was really pretty and I'm looking forward to getting it back in the ground next year. 

Digging Up Dahlia

Yesterday, I somehow remembered to dig the dahlia up and bring it into the house before this week's frost. I left it in the ground a few weeks after the top withered away and during those days, we had a few days of freezing night temperatures. Hopefully it will be okay and the frost didn't affect it too badly. I guess I'll just have to wait until next year to plant it and see.

Bulb Plantings

Yesterday I finally had some time to plant out the bulbs I received from John Scheepers. They did a fantastic job of planting the bulbs which were in great condition. Unfortunately, they sat around the house for maybe a week before I was able to do anything with them, so hopefully they will take.

My Purchase

Allium Globemaster	Planted 3 at the side of the house by the railing. The bulbs were huge! I hope I planted them deep enough.
Asiatic Lily   White Heaven	Planted 5 in the bed directly in front of the house.
Hyacinthoides non-scripta English Bluebells	Planted 25 behind the house, by the broken raised bed and near the maple tree above the stone wall.

I should probably buy some mulch as the ground is becoming very dry and maybe some topsoil too.

Two of the hollyhocks out of the three that were planted died, but the one that is still alive seems to be doing okay. The peony has some change of color, but has not succumbed to the cold yet. The butterfly weed seems to have become dormant so I cleared away the dead stems when I was cleaning up the cosmos which were looking very ratty and neglected. Next year, I will do away with the cosmos and am thinking of planting some irises there instead. I didn't get around to digging up the irises out back, so maybe I'll do it in the spring. The orange day lilies should be moved towards the side of the road too. My inspiration came from seeing the same orange lilies massed along the side of the road in Pennsylvania along River Road.