Plants started from seed

A sampling of some of the plants that I started by seed this year. Some were winter sowed and some direct sowed.

Candy Lily

Purple Majesty Millet

Purple Spiderwort

Moss Rose

Four O'Clock

Baptisia

Monarda "Prairie Night"

I've been to the flea market again

And got this nifty little 2 piece fountain statue for $3. I didn't have to haggle or try to talk her down. It is very heavy.
I also got 2 Hosta "Great Expectations" for $6. each. Nice sized plants that I took home and planted. I then decided that they were such nice sized plants that I dug them back up and split them, then planted 4!

"Great Expectations" is florescent green with blue-green edging. Very bright!

I picked up 2 6-packs at the grocery last week, of Coleus. They were $1. each. The purple veining in them is great.
I finally got an "Endless Summer" Hydrangea. It blooms on both old and new wood all summer long! I got this at Home Depot while buying a chainsaw a few days ago. I have resisted and resisted and couldn't resist them any longer. It is small now, but just wait until next year!

All of these new shade plants forced me to finally break down and revamp the Maple bed out front. It is a large bed and had a few Hosta and very little else. So I added bunches of purple flowering Toad Lilies, Liriope Muscari, Spider Plants (the houseplant variety), additional varigated Hostas, and a bird bath. I also moved an Astilbe that was being smothered by a Hosta.
It turned out quite nice, although it still needs mulch.



I also added an Ostrich Fern and some Toad Lilies to this section of sidewalk bed. Once grown full sized, this will bring a lot of texture to the shade.


Also in the shade is this pot of Japanese Knotwood. For many years my mother and I thought it was a variety of bamboo, but after doing some research I found that it isn't. It gets red flowers right before the first frost. It is doing nicely here in the shade, although it is a sun lover.
One last shade picture for this post. Chris and I picked up this iron cat made of nails and springs a few years ago at an art festival. It too is in the big Maple bed sitting in front of one my Poinsettia's. It isn't real noticeable due to the rust blending in with the mulch, but it is always fun for the kids to find.

Do you know any rain chants???

Hot, dry weather loving Daylily by gazing ball

The smell of rain is in the air...as it has been frequently, I can only hope that we will actually get some this time. We have had exactly 3/4 of an inch of rain since the beginning of May! There is an 80% chance that we will get some today according to our meteorologist on the news last night. An 80% chance is pretty good, but we have seen it rain a half mile down the road from us in both directions and remained dry here.

Plants that are established aren't the problem, as I try to maintain a lot of plants that can tolerate the hot dryness. It is all of the new things, the seedlings and little plants that I winter sowed. I hate to water! I hate dragging hoses around everywhere and I hate coiling them back up even more (ask my husband-he's always asking me if I'm done with the hoses).

I have lost a lot of plants so far this dry spring, but thank goodness for the mass amounts I started with, I still have lots to look forward to.

Dry weather isn't the only problem, with the grasses and wild areas so dry and crispy, all the woodland creatures are looking for nourishment elsewhere-mainly in my gardens! I am down to two sunflower plants, and one of those is partially eaten. Baptisia and Four O'Clocks seem to be a favorite of smaller creatures, but luckily many of those are hanging in there.

Groundhog looking for food. Our younger son saw one when we first moved in, and that city slicker thought they were beavers!

I do have Jackmanii blooming, just starting. It is going to be really beautiful in the next couple of days, especially if we really do get rain today. HF Young has grown 3/4 of the way up the rustic arch I put up last year and reloaded with blooms. It too is going to be gorgeous.

Isn't this Jackmanii beautiful?

Annabelle Hydrangeas are starting to bloom. I am not a white flower kinda gal, but these are nice because many of the surrounding plants aren't quite at their bloom times yet. A flower is a flower!

Annabelle Hydrangea

Scabiosa that I dug up from my MIL house last year is getting ready to open. I love this beautiful purple flower and (like always) can't wait to see how big and thick it will be next year.

Scabiosa soon to bloom

I finally got around to putting out one of the signs that I made over the winter. It took quite a few pounds from the hammer to get it into the hard, dry ground. Notice, I really do have weeds there, lol!!


I took the blade off of my son's broken fan before tossing into the trash and made this little windmill out of it. It adds a lot of flash out there when it gets spinning away.
Veronica Incanata is blooming. I got this pretty plant in a trade this spring and it is doing well! I of course like that the flower is purple the best!

Veronica Incanata

Yucca and ditch lilies are looking quite spectacular together down at the spillway. I never got a chance to see them bloom last year. I really like the brightness of them together. They are putting on quite a show!

Yucca and Daylily

Some inspiration....

"Just living is not enough...One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower." -Hans Christian Anderson



"Sometimes you just gotta get up and get on with your life." -Mary-Alice, Desperate Housewives

Boredom is not an option.

Gardening on the CHEAP...Part II

Gardening need not be a budget breaker. As soon as I posted Part I, I knew I had missed some things. I hope these lists will help someone save a few dollars. After all, with todays price of gas, we need to save as much as possible!

21. Nickie reminded me that lots of plants are tossed to the curb. I picked up some free Day Lilies last year from someone who had placed a full cart by the road and marked them as FREE. I only took a few, but the mound shrunk daily as people stopped by and loaded up. So keep an eye on the curb for castoffs!

22. Garage / yard sales! This is another suggestion from Nickie that I have done before also. If you're going to have a sale, might as well pot up a few of those extra or unwanted plants and make a couple bucks on them.

23. Leaf bag snatching! I know it sounds suspicious, but for those of you who don't have lots of trees to make that free mulch, this is one way to do it. When you see all of those bags of leaves sitting by the curb waiting for yard waste pick up, this is the time to get yours. Of course, you could always stop by someone's house and volunteer to rake them up for them...

24. According to Snopes.com, collecting those wild flower seeds on state property may not be illegal after all.

25. Freecycle.com allows people to post listings for items they want to get rid of for FREE. There are items from all over, so put in your zip code and see if anyone has plants.

25. Craigslist.com has a section for Barter, another section for FREE, and another section devoted to Farm+Garden. You can visit a local craigslist virtually anywhere in the world. You can find plants and shrubs and pond supplies and garden art and rocks and bricks and so on. My husband checks this website daily. Oh yeah, there are a dozen other different categories, you will want to spend some time on here.

26. Recycle those newspapers! Newspapers have several uses. Uses pieces in the bottom of your pots to prevent the dirt from going out the hole. Shred them and use them in the compost. Shred them and use them as mulch. Open them up and put layers of them under your mulch to smother weeds. Many people use plastic or weed mat under their mulch. The problem with this is that neither of those are organic and will not break down. Plastic will last forever and won't allow water through. Weed mat is tough and allows water through, but it isn't adding any nutrients to your soil. Newspapers on the other hand, will allow water through and will break down over time to add nutrients to your soil. Another great things about them-worms love it!


27. Catch that precious rain water! Use a barrel, use a bucket, use a wheel barrel, use anything you can! Not only can you save on your water bill (or keep from draining your well), everyone knows the benefits of using rain water on your gardens. Sometimes I will see food grade plastic 50 gallon drums on Craigslist for free. These can easily be converted to collect rain water. You can add a drain towards the bottom to attach your hose to.

28. Don't water in the middle of the day. Water early or water late. This will allow the best bang for your bucks. Midday temperatures can dry the soil quickly and can literally fry your plants if your foliage is wet on those super hot days (this is especially true for evergreens).

29. Think outside the box when adding a border to your beds. You need not go buy fancy borders, just look around to see what you already have. If you have trees, then you are sure to have a pile of branches or sticks. These can be broken (or cut down) and stuck into the ground close together to make a really cool rustic border. If you have larger branches, just lay them at the edge and use smaller sticks stuck into the ground to hold them in place. If you like radical, try saving those wine bottles and then placing them neck down into the ground around your garden. It will be colorful and add lots of sparkle.


30. Read, read, read. This seems obvious, but many people decide to put in a garden, whether it be flowers or vegetables and have no clue what they are getting into. While this is great, a lot of times things are planted in the wrong place (a shade lover in full sun, a veggy garden under a Walnut tree) and then when things die or don't flourish, they may have wasted a lot of money. So go to the library, or do some internet research, or borrow some books. At the very, very least, read the plant tags!

Wildlife...

A Purple Martin looking for baby food.

One of the Purple Martin babies waiting on that food!

Hundred's of tadpoles

One of the few frogs that sticks around when I visit the spillway pond.

Tulips in a tree-you're kidding right?

If you've never been lucky enough to see a Tulip Tree in bloom, you are certainly missing out. A tulip shaped, beautifully colored flower on a tree. This is the third house that I've lived in that has one (I planted one at the last place but moved before it was mature enough to bloom) and this tree is also the largest. The problem with the larger tree is that I almost missed the blooms this year. The tree is so tall that the blooms are not at eye level, heck, they almost aren't even within arms reach. Yesterday evening I just happened to notice petals raining down and looked up and there they were.

Liriodendron tulipifera

Yesterday evening I took a picture of this unnamed lily bud and this morning it had opened up. It is a real beauty. Very bright and colorful. It is growing beside a large Goldmound Spirea, which is also just starting to bloom.

Sedum sarmentosum

This Graveyard Moss Sedum is taking off like crazy. I just plunked this face down in it a little over a week ago and maybe next week I will have to move him again as he will be completely buried. I am going to dig up a good portion of this sedum and plant it on the hillside in "The Wilds". The Wilds isn't mowable due to rocks and bricks scattered about and sticking out of the ground.

Centaurea cyanus

My wheel barrel is just starting to bloom. Beautiful purple Bachelor Buttons that were winter sowed. The other side has purple Poppies and purple Balsam, but they aren't budding up yet.

Athyrium niponicum var. pictum

If you are a collector of ferns, the Japanese Painted Fern is one you should have. A wonderful lighter green with purple, it really adds some interesting color to the shade garden. I have a couple of these and they are fantastic!

Still planting....

I put my Lavender seedlings into the ground this morning. 11 of them. I put them on the south side of the house, in spots that I had planted all of my Canna's. I am not sure what I did wrong, but not one single Canna has grown. I pulled them all out and put into the compost pile. I overwintered them in the garage exactly the way it said to, but nothing. Obviously the garage is too cold or too warm, none of my geraniums (and I suspect my water lily too) made it either. WHAAAAAA!

So, out with the Canna's and in with the Lavender. Two completely different plants, completely different foliage, different flowers, different heights, two completely different looks.

The lavender will do well in those locations, but I was really looking forward to the tall leafy Canna foliage along those beds.

I also planted one pumpkin plant that I started indoors. I sowed this in a pot in the sun room and direct sowed the rest of the pack (which was one to two years old). The direct sowed plants are much larger than the indoor started plant. I am not hoping for a bumper crop, but at least enough to not have to go buy any this fall.

I also put one nice looking sun room sowed Sunflower plant out too. I sowed this at the same time as the pumpkin plant and it is already thick and bushy and nearly 8 inches tall.

I transplanted 3 Blue Angel Hosta's from the woodland path, split 2 of them into 2 plants each, planting a total of 5 into the front Maple Bed. I also transplanted 2 Green-Yellow Hosta's (unknown name) into the same bed. Additionally, 4 Spider Plants (the hanging house plant with the babies hanging down) went into the bed, 8 Geraniums dug up and divided, and some other house plants-all into this same Maple bed. If it sounds large, it is. It is a nice shady bed, nice and green. But, it is all green green green. Nothing to catch your eye. So, the addition of the blue and the variegated Hosta's, the geraniums and spider plants will bring some much needed color.

We've gotten little bits of rain here and there. Not enough to soak, I've still had to go and water everything. But it has been enough to germinate the weeds of course. I spent some time yesterday pulling some weeds and cutting my Blue Fescue back and got stung or bit by something. I didn't feel it, the sting or bite, or see what did it. But my right hand began itching like mad and I realized it was swelling quickly. I don't have bee allergies, but my hand and wrist and part of my forearm are big and tight and itchy. I hope it doesn't last too long. I imagine it wasn't a bee, I haven't seen too many of them due to the colony collapse. It could have been a spider or even maybe an ant.

Speaking of insects, the picture at the top is a nifty looking creature. This is the 6 spotted Tiger Beetle. According to the Bug Guide, it eats other insects. Hopefully it eats the bad insects, as it didn't give that information. We have seen lots of them around this year. Maybe it will have an impact on the soon to be arriving Japanese Beetles. I seriously doubt it though, Japanese Beetles are quite a tough insect and almost bigger than the Tiger Beetle. They both certainly are colorful though.

Gardening on the CHEAP

Although it would be nice to go to the local nursery and spent a few hundred or thousand dollars on plants and trees and shrubs (as many, many do), I tell you, there is a lot of satisfaction in getting the same gardening results without putting out the dough.
This beautiful dark purple Iris was given to me a couple of years ago from someone who was dividing perennials and knew I would give it a home.

There are so many ways to garden inexpensively that I doubt that I will be able to list them all. Here are some of the ways that I have increased my plants without spending a bundle.

1. Ask! If you know someone who has a plant that you covet, ask them for a small clump of it. It needn't be half the plant, just a tiny bit of it so you have a start of it. You will be surprised when the person says yes, and may just offer you bits of other plants also!

2. Start your own plants! You can collect seeds from your plants, your friends plants, plants at work or other businesses (ask first!). You can start the seeds the old fashioned way under lights, you can winter sow them, you can direct sow them...so many options!

The infamous winter sowing!

3. Propagation! Taking cuttings of plants, trees, shrubs and starting them in a rooting medium will give you more plants.

Propagation using the oasis method.

4. If you move, take your favorites with you. When my mom moved to Arizona, I dug up several plants and shrubs and took them to my place. When we moved a year and a half ago, I dug up and moved many of those and brought them with me. While this seems like a lot of work, at least you know how well the plant grows, its growing conditions, where it came from, and you brought your memories with you.


5. Join a plant swap. These are loads of fun. Several gardening web sites have them in the spring and the fall. You enter your name and a list of plants that you would like and a list of plants that you have to offer. Your name and lists get matched up with someone with whose lists match yours. You get the name, dig portions of your plants, package them up and send them out. It is better than Christmas when you get your box. You don't know what is in it, but you know it is NEW plants!


6. Join a seed swap. These are normally done in the fall on gardening sites, but sometimes are also done in the spring. This is a bit different from the plant swap. You collect all of the seeds that you can and put them into packs and label them. You send a large envelope with all of the seeds you have to trade, there can be multiple packs of the same thing. Everyone sends their packs to one person, who sorts through and sends everyone a large envelope of different seeds from all of their cyber-gardening buddies.


7. Go directly to the bargain bin. If you cannot resist going to your local nursery, then go to the sale area. These plants, trees and shrubs may be runts, or may have gotten a bit of frost or they may have let them dry too much and they are in recovery. They could be just items that no one wanted and they are root bound in the pot. I once got a 3 foot Japanese Maple tree for $15. because a branch had been torn off, leaving a gaping area on the trunk. I took it home and planted it and now, 4 years later, who would know that at one time one side was on the bare side. Another time, another nursery, I got a 7 foot Tulip Poplar for $5.! It was sickly looking, but healthy (make sense?) so I took it home. I never had any problem with that tree and it looks gorgeous today.


8. Shop at the flea market or the farmer's market. I can't tell you how many plants and things I have gotten for a dollar or two this way. I know exactly where they are set up at the flea market and try as hubby can, he knows I will go right there! Rarely do I come home empty handed!
1 of 2 Holly shrubs purchased at the local flea market, $2. each.

9. eBay! I have done a lot of plant purchases on eBay. Always look for someone who has sold lots of items and has good feedback ratings. Usually items will be packaged well and sent quickly. I bought six 6 inch Japanese Maple's several years ago for $6. I gave 5 away and kept one for myself. What a great investment that was, as I have been able to shape and grow this beauty myself. It has been dug up and moved at least 5 times and doesn't seem to mind one bit.
This beautiful Japanese Maple was purchased several years ago, one of six, 6 inch trees for $6. on eBay.

10. I belong to a points program that allows me to get gift cards when I reach a certain amount of points. I always, always get gift cards for Home Depot, that way I can use them in the gardening department. I can get plants, but I can also get pond supplies, mulch, stones, garden art (if I don't make it myself!), fertilizer, etc. Also, I don't buy most of these items unless they are ON SALE. The gift cards I receive are worth $25-$75, depending on how long I can wait before cashing in those points!

11. Dig up and divide your plants. Even after being in the ground one year, most plants can be dug up, cut in half (or thirds or quarters) with a spade and replanted and ~WOW~ another plant!
12. Join a gardening club. Although I am not a member of one, they sound awesome, getting to check out others gardens and trade plants and information.
13. Volunteer with spring clean up at local public gardens. Many advertise for assistance in doing spring clean up and get to take home extra plants.
14. Buy your spring bulbs after the so called planting season. Spring bulbs do not have to be planted in the fall, it is just easier then because the weather hasn't usually gotten bad yet. I have planted my spring blooming bulbs in February. As long as the ground isn't frozen, you can plant your bulbs. Wait until everyone has bought and planted, then go looking to buy when they are all marked down to 50-90% off. There is usually still quite a good selection and there is still plenty of time to plant.
15. Remember to divide your bulbs. After blooming (or before, I have done this both ways), dig your bulbs up and divide them. This helps promote more bulbs, more plants, and less crowding.

16. Make your own mulch. This is a lot easier if you have a large piece of property. I collect our leaves in the fall, sometimes running them through the chipper/shredder, sometimes not. I then put them onto the flower beds. I also collect branches and sticks and do the same. I also rake up pine needles in the fall and use them as mulch.
17. COMPOST, COMPOST, COMPOST. I cannot stress this enough and it really should be at the top of this post and in between each item. COMPOST. It does not matter if you live in town and have a tiny yard, you can still make your own compost. Dig a small hole and bury your kitchen scraps, it won't take long for it to break down and start providing you with some added soil nutrients. If you are lucky enough to have a large amount of property, put everything you can find on your pile. It will break down and give you lots of black gold to amend your beds.
18. Go for a Sunday drive out in the country and look for those piles of field stone. If you ask a farmer out in the field, he will usually point you right to it and give his blessing for you to take what you want. These can then be used to line your beds or create a rock garden. There is nothing more beautiful (if you are a rock lover like me) than having some granite in your gardens.
19. Dig up your unwanted or extra plants and sell them or offer them for trade. I dug up a huge amount of Hosta's last year and put them up for sale at the end of the driveway. I ended up getting rid of every single one, but instead of selling them, I traded them for an even larger pile of Miscanthus, which I broke into 35 clumps and lined the front edge of our property with. Every one of them made it through the winter and are growing! Yippee!!

Miscanthus pile that I received in exchange for a wheel barrel full of Hostas.

20. Don't spend it if you don't got it to spend. Impulse buying is bad for your wallet and for your future! If you just have to spend money on plants, then keep a jar to collect your change or write a couple bucks into your budget each month to spend on gardening.


I hope this little list will give you a few new ways to garden on the cheap. Have I missed some great ways to save? If so, let me know, because I am always looking for new ways to save money and increase my gardens!

Hello HF Young Clematis!!

This really is the true color of this spectacular HF Young Clematis. It is my favorite one so far, and I have many different Clematis.
Hardy to zone 4, it grows 8-9 foot tall and blooms May to June and then again in August. Because it doesn't grow to great heights, this variety is really suited to containers, rather than the arch that I have it on.

It is just too beautiful!

First Clematis blooms of the season: Meet Mrs. James Mason

I was quite surprised that this Clematis bloomed so easily after being moved just a month ago. But Clematis continue to surprise me with the ease of care. This is Mrs. James Mason with several buds ready to open when these ones finish. It gets 8 to 10 feet tall and could very well be too large for this trellis, but once it reaches the top, I am going to start keeping it trimmed. This will force the growth back into the lower part of the vine and also produce more blooms. It isn't supposed to bloom until June, but as you can see, it is a few weeks early. It will take a break after the first flush of blooms and not bloom again for another month. I have this planted on the south side of the house, but it does get a couple of hours of mid-day shade. It isn't mulched particularly thick, but I do have some glass balls sitting at the base, which helps act as a mulch by keeping those precious roots shaded.

I am not positive where I picked this Clematis up at, very possibly at our local Kroger grocery store several years ago. I dug it up and moved it with me to our country house a year and a half ago, then moved it again after finding a temporary permanent location. Then a month ago it was moved again. So hardy!

I used to be intimidated by Clematis. All the hype over care and shading the roots and watching out for Clematis Wilt and when to trim and how much and that they don't like to be moved.

I have found that Clematis is one of the easiest perennials to grow. Yes, I have been hit with Clematis Wilt. You will know when you have it. One day the vine is going gangbusters, a few hours later all of the foliage is wilted and hanging down so sad looking. Sometimes it is the entire vine, sometimes it is just one of branches. When this happens, as it can, I just cut back below the wilted area and remove that portion. There is no reason to leave it. Wishful thinking will not stop the wilt, it will only make it worse. So cut it and forget it. It may look small and pitiful, but it will bounce back. Better to cut it and have a small and pitiful vine than to leave it and allow it to spread, then you won't get any blooms at all. When you remove that wilted foliage, do not leave it laying on the ground by the plant, toss it in the compost or the trash. The Wilt can still continue to spread to the rest of the plant if left laying near it.

Other than the wilt, I believe Clematis are one of the most versatile plants around. You can get almost any height of vine needed, almost any color you love. They can be planted on trellises, trained on walls, planted at the base of some evergreens and allow to intertwine and bloom on them, they can be allowed to grow along the ground and ramble as a beautiful ground cover.


There is one location that many people grow Clematis that I do not agree with and that is the mailbox pole. We had a mail delivery lady who was allergic to bee stings and was quite worried about delivering mail to those who had any tall flowers or flowering vines on the mailbox post due to the occasional bees. I have never been one for planting up the mailbox post, so ours was plain and she thanked me for that.

The morel of the story...

Taking a walk down my woodland path I have recently been glancing about wondering if I would find any wild mushrooms. I didn't, until I squatted down to relax for a moment and realized I was surrounded by 3 morel mushrooms.
We looked and searched and looked and searched and couldn't find anymore. I am betting that of course there really are more, but we just aren't seeing them. By the way, they were delicious!

Last night I got 8 Baptisia planted, 4 Cleome, and 1 Cosmos. I also sorted through my winter sowing jugs and moved the unsprouted ones to shed area and left the ones with starts where they are at until they are a little bit bigger and I can plant them.

I also put pumpkin seeds in the ground and also some more Baptisia seeds. Everything seems to be doing okay (knock on wood!).