Speaking of grasshoppers, we have noticed A LOT of tiny little grasshoppers lately. They are super cute, but I'm fearful we may wake up one morning and our yard will be gone. I don't have much experience removing these or wondering if I should remove them at all. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Okay so back to the patience. Anyone who knows me well can tell you that patience is certainly something I don't have. Gardening requires patience. When you plant seeds especially, you have to wait. I actually mark on the calendar the dates of when I plant seeds, and when they haven't emerged when I think they should according to the package, I am frustrated and sometimes heartbroken. There have been plenty of times when the seeds I plant don't yield a single green anything. I make a note of what doesn't work. Sometimes the seeds don't make an appearance until a season or even two seasons later and sometimes not at all. Which is why I keep all the seed packs I plant, grouped by year. I am constantly referencing these to check on what I planted and the stats and info of the plant. If the pack doesn't contain a seedling photo, I google it to keep tabs on what is what. I play "what is this" with fellow gardening friends when I don't recognize the seedling. I let things grow usually long enough to tell if it's a friendly plant or weed. Not that weeds aren't friendly. Funny side note on this. I once had this crazy tall vine creature growing in the garden. I had no idea what it was so I let it grow till it truly was taller than me with leaves the size of something out of Jurassic Park. My Mom suggested I take a clipping and a photo to the garden center to inquire, and after almost the entire staff passed it around, smelling it and looking at it, the head plant guy said calmly "Get rid of this. It's a nasty weed and it will spread." So the landscape foreman had to chop it down. Like a tree or a beanstalk. And I think it did spread. I had these little strange plants come up all over this spring. Some I pulled and some I left just to see if it was my Jurassic Park friend. I will keep you posted. So again back to the patience. Or should I say you, dear reader, must have the patience to follow this post. Plants are all about patience and potential. It's caring and nurturing seeds or reduced price plants that no one wanted. Its watering and waiting and protecting them from bunnies and grasshoppers. It's having the patience to start all over when hail damages your garden. It's believing in its potential. It's an investment and it's a risk. I truly get more from starting plants from seed. I know, me with little patience can wait for 7-10 days and then sometimes an entire season to see results. Some of my favorite parts of gardening is witnessing new flower buds and wondering what color they will be. How tall will this get, and better yet will it spread to other areas. I may be disappointed with the results and that's OK. I came across some seed packets at my local grocery store. Since I love the way cosmos multiply in my yard, I was thrilled when I saw these "Cupcake Mix" variety. ( I love all things cupcake!) It's late in the season to plant these, since many of my cosmos are already a few inches tall, but I decided to give it a try. And this morning I was happy to see, at only 6 days after planting, I had seedlings! Only a few, but I consider that a baking success (get it, cupcake). These are listed as annuals, but again I have had success with annuals coming back year after year. They also are relatively hail tolerant because of their wispy structure. And finally, I love planting with seeds because I get to try different varieties (like the cupcake cosmos) that you may not be able to buy as a plant. It's also relatively cost effective given most seed packs are between 1 to 3 dollars. I like the ability to disperse them around and with many of these plants they reseed on their own magnificently. If you haven't been able to tell, I enjoy a garden with a wild and random look. I do groups certain plants on occasion, but I like the free form style. Kinda like sprinkles on a cupcake.
What are your favorite plants to grow from seed? Comment your favorite!
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AuthorCrazy plant girl who likes all things flowers, gardens and kittens. Together with my landscape foreman and photographer/site manager, we are watching our garden grow. Archives
August 2019
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