Azaleas are blooming

Pretty!

Pretty Weeds

Bluebells. I have so many of those in my garden. I have to treat them like weeds. They are beautiful, though, especially at this time.

Life is good

Yesterday was perfect day to stay home off work and be outside gardening. These are the seeds I planted: beet, two kinds of string beans and lima beans. I remember reading somewhere that lima beans do not do well in our climate, but will try them anyhow. (But it's true that oftentimes shops and nurseries will sell seeds and plants that are not compatible with the local climate or they are on display long after their seeding window is closed.)

 This is how my veggie patch looks these days. The brick walkway is moving along little by little.

 I also planted some of my gladiolas and then repotted little tomato seedlings. I'm keeping seven from the whole bunch to see what comes out of them. This is another experiment that I'm not expecting much as an outcome. But it's fun to try.

 In the pot to the left are yellow bell pepper seedlings. These need to grow a bit more. In the pot to the right is salmon-color begonia; it's waking up from winter slumber.

The first three pots have amaryllis post blooming. I took them outside today and put under a shady bush. Soon I will plant them in the garden where they will stay until fall frosts. After that, I'll bring them back inside, put their bulbs in pots and wait for the blooms... probably coming out February or March. To the right is coleus, also saved from last summer, soon to be planted outside.

Around the garden, lots of plants are blooming and scenting the yard with a lovely aroma. There's my lilac

 and lone yellow tulip I do not recall planting

 and late-blooming, ghost-white daffodil.

Transporting Transplants

I wanted to give a small hydrangea plant to my friend Lisa. It had self-propageted from a low branch. To get it to her, I dug it out, shook off most of the dirt. I also got a bunch of old newspapers. 

 First, lay the plant down and wrap a newspaper around the roots.

 Use as many newspapers as needed, every time making the wrapping a bit snugger.

 Use additional newspaper to wrap branches and leaves.

After all done, the plant fit in a plastic newspaper bag.

I found out, though, that Lisa is out of town for a week and I had to give hydrangea to someone else. You could store plants wrapped like this for a few days, but really the rule of thumb is to put a plant in a new spot as soon as possible.

Stray Puppies

A few weeks ago I dropped my son at baseball practice and told him I'll be in a nearby Home Depot until it's time to pick him up. "Don't buy any plants,"he said. Well, I had no intention to. But when I wandered in the houseplants section, I saw these two cactuses scattered around with no pots. I just had to save them.

Tomato Sprouts

Something is sprouting in on of the terra cotta pots... I believe these are tomato seedlings (based on the tiny little "fuzz" on the stems) that I saved last year from a store-bought fruit. I did not follow any special fermenting process that I later learned is necessary for tomato seeds, so this is a happy surprise. That is IF these are indeed tomatoes. Nothing has sprouted in the other pot... but I still thing it's sweet pepper that is not coming up.