How does your garden grow '07!

Ankou

So I've got a bunch of wild strawberries out in the yard, left over from the previous resident. My little brothe says that if you prune them back they will produce larger berries again. Has anyone ever done this? I've moved one indoors to try and domesticate it :) Feels like I'm talking about the alley cats...

The bulbs I planted in January are starting to pop up! Yeah! Transplanted some young sage to the outside today, and I'm crossing my fingers that it gets a good foot hold out there. Sometimes I feel like this gardening thing is a type of magic beyond my powers!

Love....
 

ravenest

Blooooom

I wihish I had a camera (again!) might borrow one so I can put some pics here. One type of my Bromiliads has bust into flower, There are 42 of them in the graden this morning - a bright coral scarlet colour.

First a flower stem emerges from the centre pool of water, It getas a frosty pink head (like Coconut-ice color and texture) then the head expands to a redder colour where the bumbs are, these get a puple dot, swell up and the bumbs open into flowers, firstly purple, then red then a sprig of yellow in the middle.

Don't know what the flowers are for (except fun and apprecitation) as there never seems to be any fruit or seed, they propagate by growing 'pups', small plants from the base of the original.
 

Guiding Cauldron

ankou

yes if you cut back your strawberrie plants it doe shelp them produce bigger beries, that is usually done at teh end of their season to get them ready for the winter when they "hibernate". They need no water dureing winter sleep time. However strawberry plants really only have about a 3 yr life span before you 'll need to replace the plants with better stock. Hope that helps :)
 

Ankou

Hey Sunshinelover,

Yes that certainly does help! Thank you! I don't know how long these plants have been around, but I don't see them in the winter at all. They are either propagating themselves and or hibernating in the root and coming back. I'll just keep going with my little experiments and see what happens. Knowing a little bit more about what to expect is always helpful!

I think I've got some sweet woodruff out in the yard too. If I'm right about half the plants I have out there already, I can get a wonderful herb garden going without having to dump too much cash into starts! Yeah... :D
 

TheBip

The weather here has been holding pretty steady (tho it was rather chilly last night) :) Today we mowed the lawn for the second time this year. The dandelions are flourishing, so mom called TruGreen ChemLawn today and theyre gonna come out and work on getting em under control.
Ive been working on our landscaping (still have quite a ways to go). Heres a list of the things I have growing...

In the ground: Iceberg rose, baby carrots (just planted today), sweet basil (in between the carrot plants, also planted today), Buttercrunch Lettuce (in front of the carrot/basil rows. Also planted today :) ) Also have strawberries (regular and wild)

In containers (outside): more Buttercrunch lettuce (in a window box), Nearly Black rose, Blue Girl rose, salad greens mix, thyme, chives and strawberries (pulled from the ground ^_^)

In containers (Inside): Norfolk Pine, Lemon Catnip (the cats wont touch it o_O), regular Catnip (the cats ate this down to just a nub), SweetPea, more Baby carrots, Moonflower, Hyacinth bulbs (the flowers and folliage have long since died back) and an Easter Lily (flowers/foliage also gone).

Im planning on planting the bulbs outside for next year :) Im also waiting on two plant orders from Michigan bulb and Audubonworkshop. Ive also got some Autumn Red Daylily bulbs that need to be planted tomorrow :) Im gonna be busy this year :D
 

Guiding Cauldron

oooohhhh moonflowers!

i LOVE moonflowers! are they the kind that open up only at night right? They are SO lovely i havent been able to source any seeds for those as yet in the UK. Do we even get them here does anyone know?
 

lark

We planted up a storm yesterday...I lost so many plants to the cold this winter it was a barren wasteland out by the backyard flower bed.
We got 20- 20lb bags of compost and replenished the beds and I put out my 100 perrenials I grew under the grow lights in the basement.
baby sun coreopsis
russian statis
yellow harmony dianthus
esprit penstemon
old spice sweet pea
cherokee sunset rudbeckiacandy
candy cane zinnia
chedder pinks dianthus


This didn't even make a dent...so off to do one of my favorite things, go to my local nursery and pick out flowers...

So they are all out and in their new spots..now its water..water..water so their little root systems get good and established.

Today the herb garden gets a good hair cut and I have Salad burrnet and a sweet little new basil I'm trying called basilico finissimo verde a palla...such delicute little leaves..those grew under the lights too.
Some lavender, parsely, oregano, cilantro, and a few flowers and it will be all set.

Then the garden to do in a few days.
 

TheBip

I got my MoonFlower seeds at WalMart ^^ I cant wait till these plants are big enough to bloom. Theyre only a few inches tall right now :)
 

Guiding Cauldron

moonflowers

wal-mart eh? humm i may have to check there when i get there for a visit in June :)
 

Guiding Cauldron

new additions

well i think i baked my last lot of seeds in the greenhouse- oh no!!
went to garden center and got some:
french marigolds-yellow, to plant with the tomatoes
pumpkin plant, for my lil son to grow
dwarf sunflower plant and a, for my son to grow
Red Rum Lily flower plant
also a couple of bigger pots. :)
 
What is this? Damiania?!