Seedless in Seattle (Not Really)

I decided to break the jinx and willfully not start seeds today.  There will be scallions planted tomorrow, March 1st, with plenty of lead time before transplant time outside.  March is officially seed starting month at DOA Central.

Finishing February

I certainly haven't accomplished many February goals.  The main goals being:


Sort and Inventory Seeds     (done)

Purchase new seeds via mail-order or shopping locally  (not done)

Start Seeds!  (not done)


I have this recent-years bugaboo that if I don't get seeds started indoors in February, I won't get any seeds started ahead of time.

All my seeds will be direct seeded.

This would be fine, except it severely limits varieties chosen and forces to me spend a great deal more on flowers than I would if I started my own.

Thanks to the Leap Year, I have one more day to break the curse and get some indoor seeds going.

Go, go, go!

A Note On Paper Pots

I love using paper pots for seed starting. They’re a great use for old newspaper, and they’re simple to make.

While they’re quick to make, they’re also a container that breaks down very quickly. It’s best to use them for seeds that will be transplanted soon directly to the garden, or that will put into a larger pot for further growth under lights.

Garden Romance

Very late with my posts and this is just a pure placeholder so I can think in my mind I'm caught up.

Toon Tuesday: Melting Snow, Read All About It!

It has been sunny and warm, though still icy for being out walking.  Even so, when snow begins to melt and you see lovely brown grass emerge, it's quite the thing.

In The Mailbox: Kinsman Company

If you're looking for planters, unique ornaments, or garden tools, take a look at the offerings of Kinsman Company.

https://www.kinsmangarden.com/

Sunday Dreaming: Inspirations

Cool ideas!

https://gardeningsoul.com/20-mind-blowing-garden-ideas-using-old-kitchen-items/

Year Of The Lantana

I love Lantanas!  They are beautiful all summer.  My favorites are the pinks and yellows, but the multi-colored ones are most common.   They love sun but you can give them a little shade and they're still happy.   I always want to bring them in for the winter but they go under within a week, alas.

The National Garden Bureau has declared 2020 the Year of the Lantana.   Follow the link to learn about all of the varieties and the best ways to care for these charmers.


https://mailchi.mp/ngb.org/yearofthelantana

Gratuitous Cat Photo

It's not all Beagles in the Garden here at DOA In The Garden.  In fact, I'm sadly beagle-less.  We do have a cat who returned to live with us.  He's a special guy!

He loves being outside, he comes when he's called, and he plays fetch.

As part of my Librariandoa blog 12th Anniversary I'm doing a post a day talking about each year.  There in 2012 was this nice post about The Cat Who Would Help In The Vegetable Garden.

Helicoptermageddon

It's nearly 2 am and I can't miss a post so here is a picture that would be nice spring dreaming if it weren't for the thick blanket of "helicopters" or samaras or tree seeds that fall every year.  Those aren't woodchips!

Garden Treasure Hunting : Spring Things

Gentlepersons, Start Your Spring and Easter Buying Engines!   Time to start combing the stores for charming things that come in pastel shades of pure happiness.

Off to Walmart with you.  They have the best stuff right when you walk in the door, all so reasonably priced.  Most but not all things are adorable.

I personally have a weakness for Rabbits.  Yes, even though they eat all of my things.  So adorable!


Bunnies for the garden

I know what you're thinking when you see this:  Terrarium!

Everywhere since last fall are those cute little red trucks.  You know the ones, toy trucks that somehow look good in any scene.

How about a really cool truck you can paint any color you like?  It has wonderful details.  Look at the door handles.  Awwwww.   Mine will be...Pink!  Detailing in either cream or a very light mint green.

Toon Tuesday : Dreaming The Winter Away

Our resident rabbit Thumper actually has been seen in the yard, but let's pretend he mostly sleeps.

Created with Toony Tool

Garden Crafts : Pressed Flowers

I was pondering this week whether there were any garden crafts I'd like to learn.   One that I have tried with little success is Pressed Flowers.

There have been attempts, back in the day when phone books were large and handy.   It just never worked out as I hoped.  It is possible with my tendency to just jump into things without "reading the directions" I chose flowers that weren't suitable.

Somehow I've always thought I wanted a "real" flower press, then my flowers would be perfect.


This season, I'll print out the great instructions for various ways to press and dry flowers from Proflowers.    They have all the methods nicely illustrated, they talk about flowers that will get the best results, and even the best paper to use.  Very nice!

Sunday Dreaming : A Rose Garden

For today's Sunday Dreaming, I pretend I have nice spots for roses in my garden, and I can get whatever I'd like.

I "shopped" at High Country Roses, a favorite source back in the day.


Berenger

Ispahan

Rose de Meaux

Madame Pierre Oger

Fantin Latour

All Dressed Up

Five Plants Anyone Can Grow, That I Never Could

Over the years, the phrase “easy to grow” has equaled dead plants in my garden.   Challenging plants that shouldn’t grow in my zone? No problem.  Here are five examples of “ carefree” plants that shrivel and die when they see me coming!

Money Plant

Early in my gardening days, Money Plant was highly recommended for gardens, with the recommendation that you grow three, of course.  I’ve never liked that rule of three.  You don’t know if you’ll like a plant, or if it will grow well for you.  Who has the space for all those trebles?

For me, no matter how careful I was, the Money Plant never grew, never produced flowers, certainly it never produced those charming white discs.

Perennial Phlox

Phlox comes in so many pretty colors.  I cannot stop trying to grow it.  It might do well for the season I buy it, then it doesn’t return the next year, or it returns but seems stunted.  

Dahlias are a bit like Zinnias on steroids.  Spiky and beautiful, they can make a stunning display.  We won’t tell the tragic tale again about my planting the first Dahlias I ever tried upside down, and it took all season for them to make the turn towards the light and come up.  Other Dahlias planted from potted flowers seemed ok for the season, but not like their pictures.  I’ve tried giving them large pots to grow in. Nope.

Purple Coneflowers

Isn’t this a surprise?  It seems that sometimes I can grow the most basic version.  It never gets large and lush, and more often than not it doesn’t return season to season.  The newer varieties either don’t come back at all or they seem to have reverted.

Ornamental Grasses

Here’s another case where the plants can be pretty the year they’re planted, but they’ll be gone without a trace in spring.

DOA in The Garden's Romantic Plants Wordfind

Happy Valentine's Day!   So many plants have romantic names, I thought they'd make a great Valentine's Wordfind.   Just scroll way down for the answer key when you're ready for it.!

A Way To Garden : My Garden Planting Calculator

As you're sorting your seeds this month and aren't sure what to plant when, you should try A Way To Garden's spring Garden calculator.

https://awaytogarden.com/when-to-start-seeds-calculator/

A selected list of vegetables, herbs and flowers are provided.  You select your last frost date, and the calculator will provide:

Here in Zone 4, the "new" last frost date is an optimistic May 15.  I pretty much stick with the "old" last frost date of May 20, which seems closer to what we actually see.

Garden Map Drawing Template

The drawing tool is actually a stencil that is meant for landscape drawing, but I think it's perfect for use in planning out a garden.

Once I find (cough) my garden notebook from last year, I'll use this to plot out my vegetable and perennial gardens.