Moving day

I planted more 4 O'clock seeds.  Last year I did not have the greatest success rate for germinating 4 O'clocks.  Yes, I had a few and they were wonderful, but I had planted a lot of seeds.  This year, I have planted a ridiculous amount of seeds, and I did different things with each new batch of seeds.  So far, no seedlings. WTF.  So here is the newest edition of seeds.  I soaked the seeds overnight, maybe two.  Peeled off the outer shell, and just pressed the exposed seed into the dirt, not even covering them.    Let's see if they have any luck.  I don't know what it is about these seeds and the Moon Flower seeds, but my success rate for either, sucks.

What do you think, deer damage, or something else?

I am going to blame the deer. I hope it is deer and not something more sinister.

I am not sure this will help, but here is my solution, until I decide on what to do.  Any suggestions?

 I want to continue the Forsythia hedge, all the way down the road.  As you can see, the Bamboo always ends up a mess.  I planted a bunch of starts along the road.  As they grow, I plan on moving the perennials after they bloom, to allow room for the new hedge.

 This new bed is allowing me to get things in the sun where they belong, and at the same time, getting some height in the front yard.  I do not plan on this being the normal flower bed. You will just have to stay tuned.

I have to admit, I should have never planted this evergreen where I did.  I decided to address the issue now, and hopefully it will pay off this summer.

A few early spring happenings.

The first flowers of the season.

I was going to move this Bleeding heart because she should be a lot larger than she was last season.  I did however move the lilac that was helping to shade her, so maybe she will do a little better this season.  If not, she is off to greener pastures.

What can I say, other than, "it's a process".

I had to dig up the bush from hell to plant the Korean Lilac.  I was going to move the previous bush to another location.  It was not all that, but it would be a good screen for other parts of the yard.  It did not work out that way.  The bush tried to kill me.  The root system was a bitch, I had no other choice but to break out the chainsaw. 

Birthday plant

Thank you Reggie, for the beautiful plant. 

                                                                  Aechmea fasciata

Try to say that three times really fast.  It is also known as an Urn plant, which is how I will be  referring to her from now on.

Here is a close up of the bloom.

Rosie alert

Now I am not absolutely sure that this is Rosie or one of her squirrel friends, but she is a mess.  I need to change her name to lucky.  It looks as if something got a hold of her tail, because it is no longer a bushy squirrel tail, but rather a rat tail. 

Let there be heat, in the greenhouse.

The last two years, I have started the greenhouse March 28th.  I wanted to start the greenhouse a little earlier this year, since the groundhog did not see its shadow.  We shall see if the groundhog is a good witch, or a bad witch.

This Goldfish plant is the newest edition to our inventory.  She cannot wait to chill out on the Lanai this summer.

The greenhouse is ready for a new season.  I carried out all the flats of seeds.  I have started many seeds.  Basil, Oregano, Flat leaf Parsley, Rosemary, Dill, Thyme, Sage, Dutch Iris, Lily seeds, Castor bean, Morning glory, Moon flower plants, Cosmos, Spider plant, 4 Oclocks, Canna lily, are a few of the things I hope to have growing soon.  I have many more things to still to start.

As you can see, I use a small little heater.

I decided to get some high tech lighting for the greenhouse this year.

Lettuce, maybe?

Herbs

The Impatiens have started to sprout.

Now I know it does not look like much, but this is a victory.  I have a bad history with impatiens.

Happy seedlings.

Canna lily seeds I started in February. I started almost 100 seeds and have close to 20 seedlings.  Not a good germination rate but I am happy to have this many.  And who knows how many more will germinate.  I find a new seedling about everyday. 

I have a variety of seeds started.  I am planning on sowing a lot of seeds tonight, so I will go more in detail at a later post.