A Seed Saver's Garden

[Anniekay]

I think, with some flowers, it depends on your growing conditions, how bright, light, or dark the flower comes out. I had a plant I brought with me from S. Florida and there it was a much darker color, even considering the strong sun light, than it became here. Also, the growers are normally growing their plants in optimum conditions which we may not have.

This is not to say that sellers don't "enhance" their photos. They do, for sure, but it also depends on what light intensity they are photographing the flowers in. Colors, most of them save purple, look darker in lower light. Take a pic of a red rose, for example, in shade and the intensity of color is much deeper than in bright sunlight.
Noticing the background light intensity helps me to determine how accurately the plant's colors are coming out.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

1. Cukes finally up (well, some of them).

2. Think I got my hands on some backup mini Glass Gem (in case mine next year proves so old as to be totally dead.)

 

[heirloomgal]

I think, with some flowers, it depends on your growing conditions, how bright, light, or dark the flower comes out. I had a plant I brought with me from S. Florida and there it was a much darker color, even considering the strong sun light, than it became here. Also, the growers are normally growing their plants in optimum conditions which we may not have.

This is not to say that sellers don't "enhance" their photos. They do, for sure, but it also depends on what light intensity they are photographing the flowers in. Colors, most of them save purple, look darker in lower light. Take a pic of a red rose, for example, in shade and the intensity of color is much deeper than in bright sunlight.
Noticing the background light intensity helps me to determine how accurately the plant's colors are coming out.

In the cases where I experienced a different flower type/color than pictured it was beyond those kinds of factors. Flesh toned daffodils like Petit Fours were the standard bright yellow, tulips that were not anything like the box indicated. For some reason bulbs in particular have especially misleading imaging. Most perennials I find pretty good, but that's because they try time the blooming with their time on the nursery shelf so they can't really exaggerate too much because of that. Peonies seem an exception though. I actually saw a peony this year that was supposedly a true butter lemon yellow, and I was very tempted to buy it. Never seen a yellow peony around here though and it was close to 50 dollars. They're all white, light pink or dark pink. I may go back and look at it again, I'd love a true yellow peony, but I'd kind of like to see it blooming first for such a high price.

 

[heirloomgal]

What a beginning to the gardening year.

We went from winter to summer very late in the season, with so little time/heat/sunshine to get transplants ready. That was a major setback. And then the dog had a major health crisis, which has not been easy to deal with as he's needed 24/7 care, let alone the emotional side of it. I had my first night's sleep in a bed last night after being with him on the living room floor for 3 weeks. So I've been torn between seasonal deadlines and all of us wanting to be with the dog a lot, because we don't know what's going to happen. Trying to stay positive, and the gardening has been a deeply appreciated stress reliever when I am able to get out and get something done.

I will say that my new little sunroom has really saved me this year. I planted almost all the beans and many of the peas in there in pots (the peas in cell packs) about 2 weeks ago and because they're all sprouting in there so well I don't need to rush to get anything direct seeded in the garden. It's quite hot in there and is facilitating germination very very well, and no bugs. I'm actually at a point where if I can put nearly everything I grow in as transplants. It's more work but worth it. You just have so much more control and can have extras in case there is some problem, and you aren't set back. I've lost a few corn transplants to I dunno what, but I kept some transplants back ( I planned for extra) and have been able to go in and just pop a new transplant in the gap.

So I am thrilled to have gotten the 'Apricotta' Cosmos seedlings in this evening, the stripey 4 O'Clocks, 'Lemon Sorbet' Sunflowers (a branching type), 'Taiyo' sunflower (non-branching type with a single large head) and all the tomatoes are officially planted. It was a lot. Many long keepers again this year. Feels wonderful after you've nursed seedling trays full of plants for so long, to finally put them in the ground.

So, tomorrow the peppers, eggplant, tzimbalo, & some direct seeded peas hopefully go in - and that will mostly be it until the grand finale - the bean and pea transplants. So close to done!

 

[Anniekay]

What a beginning to the gardening year.

We went from winter to summer very late in the season, with so little time/heat/sunshine to get transplants ready. That was a major setback. And then the dog had a major health crisis, which has not been easy to deal with as he's needed 24/7 care, let alone the emotional side of it. I had my first night's sleep in a bed last night after being with him on the living room floor for 3 weeks. So I've been torn between seasonal deadlines and all of us wanting to be with the dog a lot, because we don't know what's going to happen. Trying to stay positive, and the gardening has been a deeply appreciated stress reliever when I am able to get out and get something done.

I will say that my new little sunroom has really saved me this year. I planted almost all the beans and many of the peas in there in pots (the peas in cell packs) about 2 weeks ago and because they're all sprouting in there so well I don't need to rush to get anything direct seeded in the garden. It's quite hot in there and is facilitating germination very very well, and no bugs. I'm actually at a point where if I can put nearly everything I grow in as transplants. It's more work but worth it. You just have so much more control and can have extras in case there is some problem, and you aren't set back. I've lost a few corn transplants to I dunno what, but I kept some transplants back ( I planned for extra) and have been able to go in and just pop a new transplant in the gap.

So I am thrilled to have gotten the 'Apricotta' Cosmos seedlings in this evening, the stripey 4 O'Clocks, 'Lemon Sorbet' Sunflowers (a branching type), 'Taiyo' sunflower (non-branching type with a single large head) and all the tomatoes are officially planted. It was a lot. Many long keepers again this year. Feels wonderful after you've nursed seedling trays full of plants for so long, to finally put them in the ground.

So, tomorrow the peppers, eggplant, tzimbalo, & some direct seeded peas hopefully go in - and that will mostly be it until the grand finale - the bean and pea transplants. So close to done!

You're growing some really good stuff !! I can't wait to see your progress this year !!.

 

[flowerbug]

sorry to hear about your dog having troubles. in the middle of all that other stuff it must be a tough time. to all.

 

[digitS']

I feel the same about transplants —  boom, a garden!

One can't quite give up on the nursing of the plants. "Transplanting shock" is a reality. Hardening off may not have prepared them to all weather changes, which are so likely to throw us into a tizzy a good 50% of the Springtimes ... boing! Backups are good.

A role I had for cosmos, especially in the dahlia garden. Saved or purchased roots don't always show up as green and growing plants. Darn! You have allocated 4 sqft of ground in the bed and  nothing. There I'd be with the package of cosmos seed ... sprinkle ... They grow so quickly by the time the dahlias have a flower, the cosmos are shoulder-to-shoulder and soon have their own flowers.

Steve, Good Luck during the season and with canine care

 

[heirloomgal]

Started putting in the pea transplants today, which I must say came along very nicely in the cell trays. Some of the roots were incredibly long as I pulled each cell out. As I was looking at all these tidy little precious starts, all of the varieties super rare to nonexistent in Canada, I wondered how I'd sleep with ease knowing a groundhog was seen not long ago. It would be such an easy picking for him, and they are so small yet, about 2 to 4 inches.

If there is one thing we seem to have an abundance of around here it's chicken wire. But wrapping around the whole bed is just not practical. So I cut 13 inch strips from the end of the 3 foot wide roll, and fashioned a mini 'hoop house' over each row, and then bent and squeezed the ends to close them. Chicken wire is as wonderfully malleable as clay. It took three strips to cover each trellis line of peas, but it doesn't look super noticeable, and the peas can grow right through. So if a hog or rabbit does have a nibble (which they once did to my 2 foot peas a few years ago) they can still grow back. Ah, I feel real triumph that I thought of that. Such relief knowing my crop of rare peas is safe and snug in there.

And it makes up for the fact that I managed to accomplish what no gardener has ever done - killed an entire row of Jerusalem artichokes. The 'sunchoke: the unkillable plant' is a myth. If you plant them too deep....they rot.

 

[heirloomgal]

I feel the same about transplants —  boom, a garden!

One can't quite give up on the nursing of the plants. "Transplanting shock" is a reality. Hardening off may not have prepared them to all weather changes, which are so likely to throw us into a tizzy a good 50% of the Springtimes ... boing! Backups are good.

A role I had for cosmos, especially in the dahlia garden. Saved or purchased roots don't always show up as green and growing plants. Darn! You have allocated 4 sqft of ground in the bed and  nothing. There I'd be with the package of cosmos seed ... sprinkle ... They grow so quickly by the time the dahlias have a flower, the cosmos are shoulder-to-shoulder and soon have their own flowers.

Steve, Good Luck during the season and with canine care

This is a very good idea @digitS', and remarkable that they could be timed together like that with one from seed and one arriving with years of growth behind it. I wish I had thought of the 'back up' transplants idea years ago, I'm quite late to the idea. Or to have transplants of any kind ready in the case of a gap.

I didn't have the time to properly harden off the many pepper transplants from the greenhouse this year, which I felt guilty about. I planted them anyway, and crossed my fingers. And wouldn't you know it, we have had moderate heat and only diffuse sunlight, caused by smoke from fires far away I'm told though I smell nothing. Whatever the case, I got super lucky that we had such favorable weather for those weak starts, and now we're going to get 2 days in a row of rain showers. I think they'll be okay now, they got hardened up this year 'naturally'. Kind of a miracle.

 

[heirloomgal]

Adventures in clematis, and other perennials.

I would never have guessed that clematis could grow so quickly. The plants I bought last spring were very tiny, and yet 2 out of 3 still managed to eek out a tiny number of flowers by the end of the summer. Foliage was still very sparse though; however, this spring my goodness they have surprised me with such vigorous growth. Most of my front yard plants battled for sunlight with huge cedars, and the one clematis I planted over a decade ago never did well. Now, even that old one it's springing to life despite barely any growth for a decade. The crowding with other perennials didn't help it either and all the competition has been removed.

I have a rabbit to thank for one especially vigorous clematis. That nibbling to the ground of most of the front shoots resulted in a lot of new shoots. Looking back, I should have mimicked 'the rabbit effect' on the others to get the same lush response.

I'm leery of pruning clematis though because I know there is a science to it and categorizations of pruning type to clematis vine type. I don't know what these are anymore, so didn't want to risk messing anything up. Then again, most of the time pruning just encourages growth so... The plant on the left was weak even last summer, and barely grew. Even this year it still has the thinnest foliage, I'm guessing this is varietal because they are all in the same conditions.

This is a new clematis I bought, apparently it has fragrance. Forget the name, but it flowers in small white blooms and is a wild type. Not as refined as the others I'm sure, but when I saw that it smelled nice I was in.

This is the other new one I got this year (and I'm all full up with clematis now between this year and last years buys). They were clever and had it flowering beautifully in the store so I fell for it. Plus I don't think I have a dark pink one, just the light pink. After not being able to grow clematis for so long I think I'm making up for lost time, lol. 8 clematis altogether, can't wait for the blooms!

Another 2024 perennial that has really exploded with growth is the poppies. The number of buds on them is crazy, considering how tiny these $2.99 plants were last summer when I planted them. I didn't think they could increase in size this much in one year. Again, probably full sun. My part shade perennial peach poppy took years to bulk up. Unfortunately the white ones I planted, which have slightly different foliage, seem to have been buried when I put raised beds in the front yard garden. Ya win some, ya lose some.

I left these to die more or less, and they never flowered last year after I moved them. But I'll let them stay now that I'm reminded I like iris a lot. Wish the colors were pink or purple, but they'll do. I bought a new one 3 years ago with pink AND purple in the blossoms, still no flowers! This year it looks like I might get lucky.