As I think I have mentioned before, we plant a lot of seeds. I keep all the seed packets, but honestly sometimes forget what I have planted where. I have a great seed catalog that shows what seedlings look like and I use that to match up or try and guess what we have growing. This year there have been many strange plants emerging, many that I don’t recognize from the last few seasons. I spent some time pulling many I thought were weeds and trying to identify tiny green specks. I have had my eye on several feathery stocks, almost certain that they were growing where I had planted some poppy seeds. I did notice them last season, but they never flowered. They never got very big at all, and I have learned sometimes it takes some plants grown from seed several seasons to get going. Which was exactly what I thought about these. This spring, they were some of the first to emerge from the soil. These feathery stalks were in several areas and were growing faster than any other plants. I believed this to be the case since they were on their second year. I thought for sure they were poppies. Well, I was certainly wrong. You may have looked at these photos and known exactly what they were. After I found out, it seemed silly that I thought they were anything but those orange vegetables that rabbits love to eat. I would have easily guessed that if I had remembered the conversation I had with the teenager who needed somewhere to put his biology project. After unloading some new plants yesterday into the back yard, we walked past where one of the largest stalks had been growing. Just at the very top of the soil peaked out an orange top. I stopped and looked closer, and the teenage biology student giggled and peered over my shoulder. I didn’t recall the conversation, but I did recall the project for school at the end of his sophomore year. We walked around the yard searching for all the look alike feathery stalks, and low and behold we had a carrot crop growing. We pulled a few and left a few to see how much bigger they would get. Those pesky carrots had been growing last year as well, just much smaller. Since I didn’t think I was growing any harvest-able plants, I had just watched them as if they were a flower. In fact, while planting some annuals this year, I stumbled upon something I thought were old bulbs. I’m fairly certain those were old carrots from last year. :) Apparently, our biology student is a Johnny carrot seed. We had a good laugh over the whole carrot thing, and I was reminded of the carrots that were growing in my grandpa’s backyard garden. I always thought I was helping when I would “harvest” his carrot crop and bring them proudly inside the house to show him. I’m pretty certain they were never ready to be gathered, as the look on his face would tell me. He never got mad at me, just would take the tiny carrots and wash them off. I think we may try carrots again, just for fun.
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I swore this year it would be different. I wouldn’t stress about every storm warning and thunder cloud overhead. I wouldn’t check the weather 50 times a day worried about what could ruin my happy place. I wouldn’t let the threat of hail scare me into covering every plant I could. Who am I kidding? Weather in my great state of Colorado, is a bit..well..unpredictable. I believe there is a saying here that goes “if you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes.” I have seen days where we have all four seasons in a 24 hour period. Coming from California where the sun is shining and the weather is consistent, this Colorado stuff takes some getting used to. Weather in the Rockies is one of my favorite and least favorite parts of living here. Obviously, the weathers impact on a garden is vast to say the least. Our Colorado gardens go to sleep at the end of each fall, and wake again each spring. Our growing season is short and sweet. Snow blankets our landscape and cold temps keep us indoors in the Winter, which is one of my favorite parts. One day it could be snowing like crazy, and the next day the sun is bright and warm. I love that I can take a break from maintaining the yard, and plan any new additions for the coming Spring. Spring is my most favorite. (Or is it Fall?) Spring brings rainy afternoons and bright welcomed sunshine. Plants begin to wake up. What once was a brown and dry yard, begins to show tiny signs of green. I spend time each day looking at which plants are waking first, tying to remember what was planted there. I start collecting seed packets and plotting where they will go. When the sweet little Robin birds arrive, Springtime has too. Late Spring snow storms and freezing temperatures are what we experienced this year. Just as my garden began to wake, it was covered in snow. I had already done a decent amount of seed planting and had a lot of seedlings sprouting already. Never fear. The crazy garden girl is here. This passionate gardener, collects old plant containers, cat litter buckets (thank goodness, we have kittens), empty berry containers, pie tins, oatmeal cylinders, yogurt containers and other things you probably put in your recycling bins. These make great snow protectors and hail helmets for my little garden friends. Not to mention my innovative use of lawn furniture, beach towels and tarps. It’s weird, I know. I know what you’re thinking. This girl has way too much time on her hands. That’s actually not true. You see with careful planning and attention to weather reports, I sometimes have plenty of time for this protective measure. And I am not alone. I often wait for the neighbor behind me to cover their plants. And sometimes when I start to pull out the arsenal of weird recyclables, they come out and follow my lead. My Mom has her large container plants on little wheels, so she can move those heavy gardens into safety at a moment’s notice. I feel like it’s completely normal. Right? This past Spring when our temps dipped to record lows in late May, these covers saved my plants. Yes, it took time and was some work and looked kind of odd, but I would have lost most of the seedlings if not for my tiny berry container green houses. Will I always have time to cover my sweet plants to protect them? Nope. Am I able to cover all my flowery friends? Nope. Will I always be home when storms appear? Nope. But if I am able, I cover what I can to guard them from flying balls of ice. I cover new flowers, seedlings, plants that are delicate, plants I have been taking extra care of, and plants that are simply sentimental to me. I feel horrible for the ones I can’t cover, but many are tough and can withstand a bit of rough weather. Which is why planting native and local plants is best. Those guys are used to what Colorado, or your area, has to offer. Which here can be harsh.. from brutal low temps to scorching heat and everything in between. It looks silly I know. At least once or twice each summer, the garden withstands some damage. It makes me sad, which is why I do what I can to protect what I can. I nurture these little guys along and watch them grow and I hate seeing what a strong hail storm can do. Not only to nature, but to people’s homes and cars. Hail is an unpredictable force that comes and goes as it pleases, in all variations of magnitude. It can bring dangerous and violent consequences and it makes me a bit jumpy to say the least. So, this Colorado gardener is going to protect, risk injury (since I wacked myself in the head last year with a metal lounge chair trying to cover plants in a hurry) and give my garden a chance to reach the end of the season intact. My potted plants all get shelter up against our house. It’s a lot of work. It looks truly odd to my neighbors who don’t garden, and maybe even to the ones that do. They must see me sometimes in the wee hours of a summer morning, uncovering plants from the threat of an overnight storm, in my PJs and a sweatshirt, and think this girl is crazy. But they are the same ones who peer over my fence to admire our garden or tell me they enjoy my sunflowers looking over their fence.
Yep. Colorado weather makes this gardening thing a wee bit complicated. But I love it. Except the hail. Really don’t like hail. What kind of weather effects your garden space? 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! |
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
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