Seedlings

Coneflower seeds.

One of the awesome things about being a gardener is that I get to witness how 

the little seeds from the above  became these tall plants full of pink flowers below.

Coneflower at my garden,  from 2010.

I planted these seeds back in September, it was time to put them in their own little pot. 

Then I will plant them at the garden where they will go to sleep in the winter to 

wake up  sometime in the spring,  when weather gets warm.

Oh, my life in the city! Most of the things I do, I do them inside my cage. 

We around here call it fence, got to have it, it also comes in handy for the picture's backdrop.

Cutie is always around helping me, where would I be without him!

 Have you ever wondered how long are the roots of a 2" seedling?

Being patriotic, 2010

Poor guy, he works so hard that he passed out in the middle of the job!

Coneflowers  among other plants,  from 2010.

Sharing with you and ABC Wednesday, Good Fences ,  Floral Friday Fotos and  The Little Things Thursdays

Mid-November at Leticia's Garden

Clematis

Here are some pictures of what I have blooming at my garden in the middle of November. 

 Last night was the first time the temperatures got really low around here. I walked through my 

garden this morning to see what the frost had done and the only flowers I saw damaged were the 

dahlias and black eyed susans. Which made me very happy because not just I get to enjoy many of

my flowers for a little longer, but I can also use the pictures I had already taken for this post! 

Snapdragon

'Dancing Dolls' Salvia,  and Black Eyed Susan

Johnny Jump Up

Wood Aster

Cone Flower

Plumbago on left bottom and Blanket Flower

 After blooming Snapdragon

Salvia 'Hot Lips'

Blanket Flower  

Agastache

After blooming Anemone 'September Charm'

Penta

Blue Salvia and Penstemon

Turtlehead 'Hot Lips'

Clematis on the fence with Lantana in the back

Knock Out Rose

Coreopsis

Lily 'Happy Returns'

Bearded Iris

Clematis with the fall orange color of a Myrtle tree at the background

Blanket Flower and unknown plants

I'm so happy to have these many flowers at my garden!
But I have to confess, it is also full of weeds, as you can see in the picture above.

After not caring for my garden for 2 years, the lilies, evening primroses and black eyed
susans, have taken over. In the last couple of months I have been uprooting some of them
which left me with a lot of  bare spots that the weeds have quickly filled in.

Currently I'm putting down mulch, which it might be a little too late, at least it'll give
some nice curb appearance to my home for the winter. Thankfully I have the cat to help me!

 Joining May Days Dreams for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day and to Floral Friday Fotos

When I Move Plants

Today was a rainy day. If I had plans for the weekend I would be a little bummed. Not this time, I was glad when I saw the weather forecast, raining on saturday. I started to move plants friday, but I get tired easily and had to slow down. And I made plans to wake up early, and didn't happened. I still used as much time as I could before the rain.

Moving plants the day before or on raining days, is the best time to do it. I believe that there is something in the water from the clouds, and not being sunny, that helps the plants not get in shock.

Sometimes, if I have the energy, I get a rain coat and move plants when it's raining! I know! I had some teenager neighbors that looked at me sideways. They probably called me the cuckoo plant lady! I don't blame them! It's weird to see someone gardening in the rain.

Me on friday, with a foxglove in my hands, they look like big lettuces.

I try to keep my hands clean. I started with gloves, but they get on the way! And in the middle of gardening I took them off.

Crocuses

Here is how my crocuses looked like in other years. It was my first time planting bulbs. I had seen many pictures of groups of bulbs looking better than when they were planted separate. And I didn't have experience with flowers from this zone.



Also, not all the bulbs are planted the same dept. Tulips, daffodils, and irises are planted deeper than crocuses. That's why I didn't think about overcrowding issues. And neither did I think that bulbs reproduce!



I loved how they came out the next year. And friends that saw my garden liked to see the groups of blooming bulbs.



It was the time when the kids were younger, school was easy to do, and they didn't want to go here and there. It was perfectly fine to just play in the backyard. I had all that time to get really creative in the garden. I even put red mulch!

I think that white is not a very common color for crocuses, but in other years I even had white crocuses!


Now, fast forward to this year. I had to go searching for crocuses! And I almost didn't find any!

2012
I'm writhing about them, to say that I know crocuses and that I have planted them. But this year I didn't get too many crocuses. And I will show you pictures from 2009. It might sound like living in the past. I think I'll get away with it, because you like me?

2012

Crocuses are one of the first flowers to bloom in my garden. They bloom at the same time or a little after the Lenten Rose. In this picture from 2009, there are still leaves from the fall of the year before.
It's nice to see them in the middle of the grey and brown winter. It's like hope of life among dead. I miss my crocuses!



I think I learned my lesson, but I will make a little list of what NOT TO DO when planting crocuses.

1. DO NOT plant them too close with other bulbs. I think the other bulbs suck all the nutrients and leave nothing for the crocuses.
This picture, from 2009, shows all the bulbs I put in one hole. I put tulips, irises and daffodils, To many of them!

2. IF I WANT beautiful little flowers in the beginning of the blooming season, I should plant some bulbs in the fall.


3. I SHOULD fertilized them in the fall. That way they would have enough nutrients for the many other bulbs I put in the hole. ( If I happen to ignore #1. I better not!!)



These two pictures are from the same spot.

2009

2012, Only one crocus bloomed!

All the pictures are from 2009, except the ones that have 2012 on the top.