Spring Fever

Despite the fact that I should wait until after Mother's Day I decided to get my annuals going early. Here's the porch before...

...and this is after (not much different yet, but when the vines get going it will be.)

The basket above already had a nice mix of flowers, but I added an ivy for more contrast.

I only bought one lavender, and I get itchy when there isn't symmetry in my planters so I made it a tabletop stand-alone.

This planter has a nice geranium, white pansy, pink daisy, and this great-smelling dianthus...

...here's the label-it smells like cloves!

Above is this clematis 'Carnaby' and a bunch of red pansies to hopefully keep the clematis roots cool.

The other planter has a contrasting geranium, the white pansy, pink daisy and more clove-scented pinks.

These geraniums are fancier than the usual ones that I buy, I hope they rebloom enthusiastically all summer.

The rest of the planters are for seeds (as well as dollar-store solar lights for fun). This one has moonflower vine, peas, cherry tomato, pole beans, and mini cukes.

The other planter with the light has blue morning glory, along with the aforementioned peas, a different cherry tomato, pole beans, and mini cukes.

One "extra" planter kinda messed up my quest for symmetry, but I had room so what the hey. It has sage, fennel, salvia, fennel and sage. I'm excited to see if this stuff grows!

This is my first try at really planting up my porch, we'll see how it holds up to local creatures (including bored school children) Wish me luck!

Late Summer Blooms

 

 My bloom scape on the keiki is looking great!

 

 

 

Plus I still have what appears to be a growing baby plant as well, I'm anxious to see what happens.

 

 

 

I had a weak moment at Home Depot and got this jasmine for $1.98-it still has some sweet-smelling blooms on it.

 

They had perennials on sale too, so I got three perennials and a pretty red bougainvilea vine.

 

This was covered with bees at Home Depot, I'm surprised none of them followed me home.

 

Pretty echinacea, I selected a plant with mostly buds to prolong the show.

 

 

LOVE the bloom color on the vine, too bad it has no fragrance.

 

The blooms are even pretty before they open.

 

 

This palm is showing some growth and looking somewhat less ratty, but I'm pretty sure it will be treated as an annual and left out to succumb to frost. These never stay nice looking for me anyhow.

My new big brugmansia is looking super nice! I'm planning to repot it before it comes in for the winter.

 

The fuschia is blooming like crazy, too. It seems to me that they've done something to these plants to keep them blooming without dead-heading. I have given this Miracle Grow a couple times, but I've never had a fuschia bloom non-stop like this!

                             Here's hoping for a nice mild autumn, I want the show to keep going!

First Snow

 

It's that time-first snow of the year. Amazingly my outdoor annuals and veggies are uninterested and still growing along, unphazed.

 

 

My 'Happy Girl' orchid is done blooming...

 

...but not all of the bloom scape has turned brown. Unfortunately the "budlets" that I'd hoped could become blooms shriveled away.

The previous bloom scape on the left is still green, but not producing an off-shoot or new bloom scape as I'd read it might. I'll leave it alone while it stays green though, along with the green parts of the second scape. After all, everything an orchid does is in slow motion anyway so I'll just wait and see what happens.

                               Meanwhile, I'll trim off the brown shrively parts so it looks nicer.

 

Because another bloom scape is beginning to emerge!

 

My passionflower vine is growing well and rambling around the room, but no sign of blooms so far.

The vanilla orchid experiment isn't going so well, the green leaf has just a small segment still alive. I'm hoping it may survive as an epiphyte, so I mist it daily and run the humidifier...

 

...unfortunately it's too late for the variegated specimen. Not to be deterred, I've already ordered another set. I wants me some vanilla orchids, dammit!

 

Two of my three Christmas cacti are budding....

 

...and the rest of the orchids are doing fine. These two mounts are getting a drink, looking pretty happy and showing good growth.

 

This trio of small specimens are looking good, too. I've been so happy with most of my mounted orchids that I may take these in that direction as well, but for now they look good so I'll leave them be.

 

And these two on the other side of the room are doing pretty well too. They aren't as close to the humidifier though, and I may relocate them soon. I have to consider light intensities and preferences of the plants I swap with, so I'll think on it for awhile.

 

The staghorn fern is a newcomer, so I'm not sure if it looks happy or not. Since it's not dead, I call this a victory for now.

Going into the winter months I won't be adding to the collection after the new vanillas arrive. What I may do is pickup a different gardening project fom my friends at Field and Forest Products, maybe a fun "TeePee" mushroom growing kit to amuse myself until spring. Gotta feed that gardening jones!

Pretty Spring Planter

 

Look at this pretty planting they did at my workplace! I really like this idea, and I may need to copy it someday...

 

                                         ...have you seen any nice spring plantings this year?

Porch Annual Baskets

This year my botanical obsessions have been largely satisfied with houseplants, but not entirely. I had two hanging baskets outdoors to test the sunlight intensity on my porch (as well as the security of my apartment complex). Starting mid-May, I planted one basket with flowering tobacco, coleus, and petunias...

 

 

...and the other with two coleus and this Parrot's Beak 'Amazon Sunset', which had a picture of the red, tubular, hummingbird magnet-looking blooms that I hoped it would be covered with very soon.

Thay didn't look like much at first, but that's my favorite part of annuals-watching them grow and fill out the planters. If I go for the "instantly lush" look, it feels like cheating (or at least spoiling the surprise.)

Besides, there's still enough instant color for my tastes.

By September the baskets are certainly filled out...

...with plenty of color. Well aside from the parrot's beak, that only managed a couple meager orange flowers all summer. Meh.

There are even several volunteers/escapees on the ground below, too.

Although combining the spotty coleus with the stripey petunias kinda reduces the impact of both. But hey, more color is all good as far as I'm concerned.

 

 Peak color and fullness was in August...

...especially for the tobacco.

 

 

 By October 9th the coleus are done in by an evening cold snap, but the other plants are hanging tough...

 

 ...even the tobacco which usually dies back fairly easily for me. Coleus are doomed by all the water in their stems, so it doesn't take much cold for them to give up.

Now to see how long the rest can last...