This is my first year trying winter sowing (see my description here), and some of the seeds have sprouted, though I have 12 containers out and only four have shown signs of life so far. Here are my results so far: At top left is Alyssum ‘Oriental Nights.’ Top right is Lychnis ‘Rose Campion.’ Bottom…
My cherries and the nectarine tree are just starting to bloom, with the cherries (at left) opening a little quicker. The nectarine (below) has quite attractive pink blossoms, and you can see they’re just getting ready to open. The apple trees aren’t quite as close to blooming, and the crabapples have a little ways to…
At left is my Forsythia shrub this week. It’s not doing as well as in past years. I don’t know if it’s because of our unusually cold winter/spring or if I didn’t give it enough water or fertilizer last year. I don’t think I’ve given it fertilizer since maybe 2006. I’ll have to change that…
Hey, I just found a good resource on raspberry pruning in response to a conversation with a friend about his berries. I think it provides a good description of how to prune the different types (once-bearing versus “everbearing” types), because the two types require significantly different treatment. Here’s the link. It seems a little complicated…
I “oiled” my fruit trees and some of my roses last Saturday. By “oiled” I mean that I sprayed dormant oil all over the trunks and branches to kill overwintering insect eggs and things. I believe it kills some diseases, too, like fungal spores. The oil I used was Volck Oil Spray from Ortho. It’s…
My little milk jugs have some more seeds sprouting in them now. I mentioned a few days ago that the Alyssum were sprouting. Now I also have the California poppies sprouting, and just the beginning of some action with the Lychnis. I think the Callirhoe are starting to sprout, too, because I believe I’m seeing…
This is pretty cool. My wife made a deal with a neighbor who was wanting to get rid of a greenhouse he made some time ago when he was in the glass business. It’s made with strong aluminum framing, all welded together, and real glass — frosted on the sides and clear in front and…
Last week, I sowed some additional seeds in my little milk-jug winter-sowing containers. I sowed: Penstemon smallii (from a generous trade with a local GardenWeb-er) Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium montanum, also from a GW trade) Iceland poppies (seeds from a neighbor) Today, I checked the containers, and the Alyssum have begun sprouting. Here’s a photo of…