Wednesday, March 27, 2013

SEED PLANTING - which seeds 3 of 3

The Shepherds Scabiosa is a mistake. Looks great but is for zone 5, oops. 
I honestly thought I put it back on the rack but now that I have them I will try direct sowing them as annuals in the front lasagna garden.
The sunflowers are going to go along the back fence - where there is no garden currently.
Yes, I have just committed to adding in more beds before I have even started weeding my existing ones but this one will be very long, very thin and very specific.  Should be easy, right?

What is this white fence if not a 75' long canvass?

Now is my chance, I have never had enough sun to grow Sunflowers before.
I have 7 packs of seeds and no idea how many seeds come in a packet nor how many I will need, though I presume I will need more and they will all be in hues of red.  Most are in the 5-6' range but two packs will produce just 2' tall plants which I will intersperse amongst the others to spread out their glorious blooms, taking full advantage of the clean white backdrop.

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Sharing with Fertilizer Friday

14 comments:

  1. Joy in a seed packet!
    Happy Gardening!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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    1. Thanks Lea. I do think it will feel different growing something from seed, I am looking forward to it.

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  2. It's always exciting to make a new bed. Before there's nothing, then you're done and you've created a bed with beautiful flowers!! My experience with seeds (I plant them every year and currently have 41 packs waiting to be planted) is that there usually aren't many per pack. I plant them all because you never know if they will all germinate. Once they start getting a little height, thin out the weaker ones. The tall sunflowers are going to look magnificent against that white fence! I can't wait to see your pictures!

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    1. Thanks so much for the advice and info Christy, I think I have realized that I will need to buy some workbench lights and get them set up in the basement instead of leaving them in the bay window. Do you use lights to start indoors?

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    2. Hi.....About four years ago I tried starting seeds indoors. I bought all of the equipment...shelving, heating mats, a heater, lights, covers to go over the shelving...everything. The shelving was in front of a window, so the seedlings got natural light and artificial light. I was so excited and thought this idea was going to save me so much money. I babied those little seedlings every single day. Even though the lights were close to the seedlings, the seedlings grew very gangly. Out of probably 100 planted cells, I maybe got 15 plants I could transplant outdoors. None of them made it to a second year. Ever since that year I direct sow and I've always had beautiful plants come up.

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    3. Christy, I feel like I might end up in the same place (i.e. relying on direct sowing), but I may as well try it indoors at least once and see how it turns out

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  3. You'd be surprised what you can grow in an area that has a lot of snow cover - I have a friend in Quebec City who grows the most amazing garden, all because of the climate created under 2 meters of snow. I remember seeing something from the African Violet family growing north on the St. Lawrence in Cabot's garden. You might want to open your seed packages and do a count before you buy more - look at the spacing, and make your guestimate, although I generally buy at least 60 or 70 packages and have room for about 3-1/2.
    The sunflowers will look gorgeous against that fence.
    Barbarapc

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    1. Barbara thanks for stopping in and offering most welcomed advice. Yes, next step will have to be a guesstimate on numbers for my sunflower wall but I will err on the side of caution to be safe and make sure I have spares if need be.

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  4. Maybe you can stretch the zone a little and scabiosa will thrive this year. Sunflowers are always fun, reaching for the sun.

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    1. Hopefully the Scabiosa at least come up this year even if they don't come back next year.

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  5. I love your description of a 75 foot canvas...Have fun planting and growing natives! gail

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  6. sounds like me...I am already planning to dig up the grass for beds...and the snow isn't even gone yet!
    Thanks for linking in today...I hope you will again soon....Happy Easter friend!
    I have shared your post on the tootsie time facebook page

    (¯`v´¯)
    `*.¸.*´Glenda/Tootsie
    ¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
    (¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.

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    1. Tootsie, you might want to consider a lasagna garden to avoid having to dig up the grass. I've got some posts on mine, though I do not know for sure how they will turn out this spring. Soon enough we will get to see.

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