Annuals

It's too hot and humid to do anything outside.  I should be emptying out the finished compost so I can load it up with more stuff, but I really don't want to.  Actually, there is a long list of things I should be doing.

Instead, I want to think about what annual flowers to grow next year.  I'm still not sure how I feel about the gladioli.  I think they're very cool, they do make everything seem very lush and colorful, but they're a little... I dunno, tacky?  I still have two boxes I didn't plant this year, so I will probably end up doing something with them.  But DON'T buy any more.

The Morning Glory are not worth it.  I'm getting like, 2 blooms at a time, 3 tops.  And if I had bean plants in their place, that would be so much more productive, and so easy.  I mean, seriously, I put way too much work into getting those things started, and this is the 3rd year I've tried it, and I think I should just stop.  The Moonflower were even worse.

I'm very enamored of Zinnias right now, so I say let's do a bunch of those.  They can be in containers, or whatever, but now that I know what I'm doing, I think it will be really nice.  Just don't put them in the window box again.  And the ones I got from Home Depot are some sad little fuckers.  I should have ripped them out after a week.

The nasturtiums aren't that bad, the ones in the grow bags.  The raised bed really doesn't have space for something decorative like that.  I mean, maybe petunias or something would be more graceful, but I think these are cute.  I will definitely do all one color again.

Everything about that wall planter seems kind of shitty.  It obviously dries out like crazy.  Everything I put in there dies, except the Thunburgia which looks like a messy weed.  (Um, that's cause I need to cut it back.)  I think next year I will put a plastic liner in it so it doesn't get so dried out.  And I don't know what to put in there...

The Mandevilla was not a great choice.  I wish I had gotten a Clematis.  Not that they're really comparable.  I'm just disappointed that he's not actually climbing.  Putting a container in that spot in the bed was fine, I guess, although I think it looked weird for a while.  But the big hole in the bush has filled in, so I think we're good!  I was planning to bring the Mandy inside for the winter. I think I still will, because it sounds easy to care for over the winter (unlike the Clivia...) and it would be a plant that I could have inside, which would make me happy, and because reasons.

Let's see, what else did I plant...  The Vinca look great in the front bed.  I am kind of starting to understand the way people who are serious about gardening want to have purely perennial beds, but it really works well to just fill out the front with little annuals.  They look so good with the Sweet Potato Vine.  And they were cheap, and they live forever no matter what you do to them.  The ones I put in the container look good, too.

I bought that pack of...um... Lantana?  And they were supposed to be pink and yellow, which were my colors for the front bed, but then they looked more red, so I put them in the Bed of Neglect, where there is a red and yellow yarrow, but then they started to turn more pink, and now they're kind of pink and red and yellow?  Google Images seem to have the same problem.  But they are tough as nails.  I have basically ignored them (I mean, I banished them to the Bed of Neglect) and they're growing all happy, with their weed friends.  Ha, weed friends)

And... I put some calibroachia in the front bed, because it was pink and yellow, and I guess it's fine?  I never look at it, because it's on the other side, but it had a few rounds of flowers with no attention from me.  I guess things in the ground are pretty safe in general.

Now, on the patio- the hibiscus is so sexy with its big-ass flowers.  I want to try to overwinter her inside, as well.  I just asked the internet how that would go, and the internet was like, "Ooh, yeah that's going to be tough, she needs 2-3 hours of direct sunlight a day."  Relax, internet, I got this.  I have southeast-facing sliding glass doors, and I actually get more direct sun in the winter.  I did learn that it is in too big a container. (The container is insane, it's like a bathtub)  So I think I'll transplant it first, which I would have done anyway.

Both the Mandevilla and the Hibiscus need to come inside before nighttime temperatures drop below 40.  So, Mid September.

And... I also have some New Guinea impatiens and some begonias that never flowered and some coleus.  Coleus is fucking amazing, and that's why I'm going to grow it my damn self next year, because I couldn't find any this past spring.  I see they have it all over the place at work, so I think they must have hoarded it all.  I think I will not be doing the plant stand next year, just the raised bed that I set up.  And I would like to fill that with primarily hostas and ferns, but I kind of know that's a bad idea.  I mean, I know Mike McGrath would tell me not to do it.  He'd probably be like, "They might not necessarily die, but why try it when you could just leave them in the ground where they'll be happy and healthy?"  And he would be right.

The smart thing to do would be to fill that spot with things like Begonias, Caladiums, Coleus and Elephant Ears.  3 out of those 4 are tubers that can be dug up and stored inside over winter.  So I could develop this really lush patio landscape of big leafy things, a Hibiscus, and a Mandevilla, and as long as I pay a little attention, I don't have to keep buying them.

(BTW- remember that container at Mom's, with the gorgeous foliage plants for shade, like the begonia and the other weird thing?  If she doesn't want to save it, I should try to get a hold of them and save them, and then repot them for her in her own containers next year.  So smart!  Good Mother's Day gift!)

Other annual flowers (god, I did not realize I had done so many)- the Sunflowers.  Ok, so I have like, 6 of them, in a nice little patch in front of the AC.  They're like, 4 feet tall, which is not too offensive.  But, like Mom said, they are fucking ugly.  (Actually what she said was, "I think they look best when there's a big field of them, far away."  But that's because they are ugly.)  And it's the end of July and they don't really show any signs of blooming.  The ones at Pete's looked great the first week of July, and 3 weeks later they're looking a little spent.  So, best case scenario is still not great.  I don't think they're that awesome for home gardens, unless you have a lot of land, and you want to entertain kids with them.  Because I can see how it's a good project for a kid, this tiny seed can grow a total monster of a plant. (which looks like a nasty weed and has an unremarkable flower, woo!)

But wait, there's more!  I threw some Sweet Alyssum seeds into the Side Bed around April, and they're actually growing and it makes a nice border.  I kind of want to put Thyme there, though.  The Thyme is so low-growing that it just does not stand a chance in the raised bed.  I don't think it gets any sun.  But if I put it along the side of the side bed, next to the sidewalk, it would get great sun, it would drain well, and it would be more likely to perennialize because it's close to the house.  And it could be pretty, I could get some flowering kind.  Or I could also get some Sweet Alyssum seed, and start them inside.  (Calm down, you have one grow light.)

2014 so far (or, Don't start no shit, won't be no shit.)

March 16th: I'd started starting some seeds.  Do Better Next Year (DBNY) Tip- Buy a grow light.  Burpee has one with a stand for $150 that's 12" x 30" and would fit perfectly on a shelf in the laundry room, and they do little promotion things all the time, so, just saying.

8 little pots of Thunburgia (new, Wedgewood), 4 Cilantro, 2 Rosemary and 2 Thyme (old, Burpee).
Several (like, 12?) of "Flying Saucer" (striped) Morning Glory (new, Wedgewood)

Used Wedgewood Black Gold Seed Starting Mix, and peat pots.

Cut back one liriope, pulled out a lot of leaves, especially around saddy sad sad Hellebores.  (DBNY- prune hellebores back in early March, so they grow big and pretty)

Spring Bulbs- Hyacinths were "crowning?" daffodils were starting to peak out.

March 30th: I went to California for like 2 weeks and everything was fine!  I covered the peat pots with an upside down plastic box- I worried it wouldn't allow much light in, it's a little translucent, but the Morning Glory were all sprouted and grew like 4 inches.  (DBNY: it's not good for them to be tall- they're tall because they're not getting enough light and this is the only way they know how to get your attention.  Stop being obsessed with tallness.)  Last year, it seemed like it took a thousand years (literally) for anything to even germinate, and I had stuff on the ground in front of the glass doors.  It's probably warmer on my desk upstairs than on the tile up against a glass wall.

Even though it rained like fuck all weekend, I sowed some Arugula and Radish seeds in the raised bed

April 6th: Started 12 pots of Zinnias (multi color, cut and come again), 6 blue Morning Glory, 6 Moonflower, 3 green Zinnias (all Wedgewood)

Sowed Kale in raised bed, cut back more liriope, "planted" begonia bulbs (tubers?) in small pots inside, to hopefully get them started.

SO MANY FUCKING PANSIES!  Bought a flat of pansies at Wedgewood.  Basically crammed the window box full of pansies, then put some in that raggedy-ass terra cotta pot that sits next to the steps, then pulled out those wooden rectangular planters that look nice but kind of fail, and put the rest in those.

Tried to make a nice container arrangement with pansies and oxalis.  Oxalis is an indoor plant, ok?  Creeping Jenny came back nicely!

April 11th:  Maybe it was listening to so much Mike McGrath, but I really tried to get the compost started.  At this point it was just a pile of garbage.  I eventually added more leaves, but it needed a lot of manual mixing (manual = with my hands.)

Planted a little bed of gladioli in the side, right in front of the AC.  Put in a new soaker hose for the side bed and raised bed.

April 18th:  Started more Zinnia seeds.

April 20th:  Planted a bunch of Gladioli and 3 Black Eyed Susans.  Daffodils are starting to bloom.  Day Lillies are coming up and they look healthy and all.

So, what have we learned....?  I should just bite the bullet and buy a grow light and just go ahead and commit to being That Guy.  I haven't yet successfully started something from seed indoors I couldn't have just as easily direct sown (green beans and nasturtiums, basically.  Seeds that are the size of marbles, that are recommended for teaching 6 year olds how plants happen.)  Since I don't have a lot of space to grow vegetables, I'm really more interested in growing annual flowers from seed, particularly ones I never see in garden centers.  The Morning Glory and Moonflower in particular I should just start the seeds in whatever container will eventually go outside.  I'll get way more in there, too.  I don't know about the Thunburgia and the Zinnia.  I guess I'll see what happens.