It has been rainy, cloudy and windy for the last few days so that has given me a chance to work inside the greenhouse. Come on and Walk with me to go play in the dirt again today. The Greenhouse is calling and I know there are more Hibiscus blooms waiting for me!
Heading out the door to go outside I can't help but notice the Solomon Seal at our porch. They were gifted to me last year and I separated them into pretty small clumps. I planted them here in a spot that likes to hold water and they probably tripled their size over the winter. They prefer shaded or woodland gardens. They get tiny bell like white flowers up the underside of the stem early Spring and are followed by little black seed pods.
These will likely get about another foot high.
Blooms just started opening today.
Meet my Spotted Wake Robin Trillium. There are over 40 species in the Trillium Family and 38 of them can be found in North America. I have moved these with me 4 different times now and they always adapt perfectly.
These are one of my favorites but I absolutely love the spotted yellow trillium. I had one in Knoxville, TN and sadly it was left behind when we moved. We have yellow ones here on the mountain but
As I walk around the garage the Wood Poppy is glowing with her beautiful yellow flowers. Woods Poppy (Celandine Poppy) are one of the first wildflowers to come up in Zone 6 during the month of April. This Poppy is native to this area in Virginia. They can grow two plus feet tall and have beautiful yellow flowers beginning in early spring through the summer. You have to Keep these watered in the summer months as they will go dormant in hot dry weather. If they dry up, don't worry because they will come back next year.
Their stems and leaves look fragile but the Poppy is a pretty tough perennial and also cold resistant. The bud, which is referred to as a fruit, looks like an oval, hairy capsule that splits open to reveal this beautiful yellow flower. I just left the two seed pods I had last year to dry and spread on their own. I am not noticing any sprouts around the plant, so this year I may try saving the seeds and germinating them myself.
We have just a few clumps of clover in our yard but no matter how small I absolutely love looking for 4 leaf clovers. My Momma and I used to sit out in the yard when I was a little bitty thing and look for clovers. She would get a quilt and here we'd go to the front yard and hang out on the blanket. I drive my Husband crazy cause I am always looking for them and he has to wait on me. It is very relaxing to get lost in the clover :)
Found this one on the way to the Greenhouse today.
Alright, we have made it down to the greenhouse. Lets see what we got going on today. I could not be more excited about the surprise I found in the Greenhouse. I wrote a post a few weeks ago about my love for Amaryllis and in the post I explained I was going to try propagating from seed for the first time. I am happy to let you know some of the seeds I put in dirt have germinated. I placed 20 seeds in this container with 2 other types of flowers and bulbs to see if they would germinate and Yaaaaay, here they are. It will be several years (4 to 5)before I will have a bulb large enough to produce a bloom.
So, can you guess what this is?
That is right, an Oxalis. Because they are green and have 4 leaves they are referred to as a Shamrock. Shamrocks are easy to grow from bulbs and will develop tiny white or pink flowers that hide up under the leaves. The bulb requires a period of dormancy so don't toss the plant out when it starts to look like its dying. You can move the pot of bulbs to a dark, cool room for 3 or 4 months. I just left mine on a shelf in the greenhouse. I started watering them about a month ago and they are waking up now.
My Cala Lillies outside are not coming up yet but these stayed in the Greenhouse over the winter and are already waking up. This is a Sunset Cala. These are deer resistant so I will be moving them outside in the fall.
This year I decided to keep most of my Oriental and Asiatic Lillies in the Greenhouse. The Deer helped themselves to the blooms last year. They should be able to bloom in peace in the Greenhouse.
Where are the Vegetables? What are they going to eat? OK, OK, here are the veggies. I thought my seedlings were big enough so I decided to transplant them to little 4 and 6 pack trays.
All but two of my seeds germinated for the Yellow and Red Sweet Peppers. First time I have saved and planted pepper seeds so I am kind of proud to have any grow.
I like to raise different hot peppers for salsa and sauces and kimchi. These are little red Pimiento Chili Jalepano. I had to take two different shots to get the Roosters good side :)
My two largest tomatoes Parkers Whopper and Roma. Well, of course there had to be plants in the picture too.
Heirloom Mr. Stripey. I really liked the little pods I used for germination. It makes it easy to transplant without hurting the roots. I will learn how to garden without these I am sure, but I enjoyed them this year
I ended up with 16 German Pinks. These are our favorite Sandwich Mater but I hope to give 1/2 of these away as no way do we need this many. The Cayenne Peppers are not ready to be transplanted, so I will leave them a few more days.
Last stop is down at our little pond to check it out. There is always something to see around water.
The turkey, deer, and evidently the raccoons all drink here. We can see the pond from our Dining Room and the Greenhouse. We sure enjoy watching what comes and goes.
We have been watching the tadpoles for several weeks. There are literally hundreds
I hope you enjoyed seeing whats been going on here at the Farm. Kimberly Q