Signs of Spring

Spring is popping up between or maybe because of all our recent rains. The daffodils are blooming and the camellia's are all loaded with blooms. This one has really caught my eye. It is a japonica called 'tama peacock' and I can see why. Those flowers spread out their petals a lot like a peacock fans his tail and the colors are spectacular, too. I have bee watching it at work for the last two weeks and keep forgetting my camera. I'm glad I finally remembered because the blooms are starting to show a little petal blight.

Spring is actually happening on our deck too. We have had such bad luck with plants since we moved here because there are soooo many trees and too much shade for much of anything that can grow in a pot, but the leaves are gone now and a little sunshine is coming in so I filled some pots with bulbs and they are starting to come up. This little white hyacinth was the first and it looks like some of the species tulips are getting ready to bloom. I can't remember what all I put in, but I will find out soon!

Another favorite flower of mine is this Cineraria it is a hybrid variety called Senetti. It starts blooming in the early spring and keeps going well into the summer. The colors are so bright and bold in purples and blues. They really look great planted with a lime green campanula (whose name I have forgotten) hmm...sounds like a future pot coming up.

When everything in this box died I turned it into a rock garden. Several of places we fish at have the greatest rocks and I just can't help but pick them up and bring them home to adorn my pots. The Basil sign is a sign of hoping to grow basil again one day. I grew a little 'Pistou' basil in a pot one year and enjoyed its leaves for a long time. It is a basil that only grows about one foot tall and has tiny leaves that don't even need to be cut to use and the flavor is absolutely wonderful. I just brought home 2 plants from work yesterday and am letting them stay indoors under a grow light until it is a bit warmer outside then I will try them in a pot or take them to my garden plot where it is much sunnier.

I have started moving up the tomatoes to bigger pots and soon they will be ready to harden off on the deck. All of the varieties we are growing have come from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Here is our list:


Igegnoli Gigante - large red fruit up to 2 lbs or more!
Tappy's Heritage - red
Pantano Romanesco - large red heirloom
Hendersons Winsall - pink
White Queen - white
Chocolate Stripes - purple streaked
Williams - striped red and yellow large fruit
Green Moldovan - bright lime green flesh with a tropical taste
Sarah Black - purple
Pike County - yellow
Joe Thienemann's Australian Heart - red oxheart with few seeds, great for sauces
Huge Lemon Oxheart - yellow oxheart
Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge - just as the name describes and the one we are most anxious to see

We also have 2 varieties of peppers growing and they are doing great so far. They are:
Coux D'Espagne - a sweet pepper
Quadrato D'Asti Giallo - a nice blocky yellow pepper

How we will ever remember these names I don't know but, at least we were successful at finding varieties that were new to us and that is hard to do since we have grown so many varieties over the years.

Grow On!
Ferne & Michael