Week 22, Year 2: Early Bloomers

This year, I’m trying my hand at timing. Not all plants bloom continuously all summer. Unlike most annuals, many varieties of perennials will only produce flowers for a short time until they bloom again in the next year (e.g., tulips, daffodils, and irises). Last year, I mostly had annuals and continuous bloomers because without a yard it can be hard to truly enjoy such short producers. However, this year, I wanted to try my hand with at least a couple of timed bloomers with the hopes of having new things to look at each month. My first crop of early bloomers peaked in late May and most of them did incredibly well.

Bearded Iris These had already started blooming when I bought them. While most irises are just now blooming, my guys were eager to get started and brought me two weeks of incredible joy. They produced the most flagrant flowers (think grape popsicles) and outshone all of their other deckmates. The only downside was that their dead-heads are not the best looking, shriveling up into prunes, so it was important to remove them right away so as not to distract from the beauty of the newer bloomers.
Poppy

I was little nervous about the poppies. However, my worries were misplaced and they truly thrived. These little pod like creatures grew, and opened into beautiful, dainty orange flowers with yellow centers. The plant produced about 10 blooms, with a few new ones each day. The blooms only lasted 1-2 days each, but were perfectly timed so that we had continuous blooms for about two weeks.

Pansies

Despite being annuals, pansies usually wilt once the temperatures start climbing. So far, mine are hanging in there, but I suspect they will be ready to move on once we hit mid-June. For now, they are happy cooling the clematis’ feet.
Now, the only question is what to do with the perennial’s remains. The iris’ foliage is interesting enough that it is worth keeping for the summer. However, the poppy’s is not much to look at. I’m considering transplanting the rootball to a fancy cardboard/texturized container for the winter. I’ll have to do some research and decide if it’s worth starting this experiment – plus, that also means I will have an empty pot to fill with another new and interesting specimen.

Next up for the timed flowers: June Bloomers

Week 11 - Year 1: The Supplemental Draft

While I'm very proud of the success I've had with my first gardening attempt, it's time to face the music and admit that not everyone made it. I was forced to run a "Supplemental" draft last week to replace some of the plants that did not survive my rookie season.

RIP

A quick moment of silence for the ones that did not make it ... pictures omitted, as the sight was too unfortunate to photograph.

Violets

Osteopermum

Purple pansies (yes, all of them - wilted in the hot sun, yellow ones are still fine though!)

The Replacements

I could not resist filling out the holes that were left by my failed attempts. Hopefully, these new guys will fare better than their predecessors.

Calibrachoa - why mess with success? I figure the coral ones are still doing well, so why not try another color? This purple variety replaced the violets, which did not make it after looking like they got mauled by a bird one day.

Sampaguita - AKA, Arabian Jasmine. We originally got this plant for my in-laws, but we've ended up keeping it around as a replacement for the osteopermum. This flowering plant is popular in the Philippines and supposedly has a very nice smell once it blooms.

Life Support?

Finally, let's keep our fingers crossed for these guys, who may be in a code blue situation. Again, pictures omitted out of respect for the patients' privacy.

Kalanchoe

African Violets

Lobelia hanger

Week 5 - Year 1: June Showers, Bring July ____?

Before we started gardening, I used to love rain - the smell, the sounds, and the excuse to snuggle up with a good book were a great way to spend a day. Now that I'm gardening, me and the rain gods need to have a talk. We have had rain for a week straight and the forecast predicts more gray and more rain are in our future. I'm wondering if June has become the new April in Madison.

Last weekend was especially bad. Things got so bad with the wind and massive downpour that we had to have an emergency rescue mission, which is what the picture at the top of the blog shows. The window boxes were being pummeled and the pots along the sides were being blown in every direction. So, in the midst of it all, I went out and moved everything to the center. The rain was pretty severe and water was running everywhere.

While the rest of the week days were not as bad, we did not get any sun either, and it's starting to wreak havoc on the garden. I had to move the African Violet inside because I was afraid it could not take this outdoor deluge. The roses have not bloomed since the beginning of the rain. The Morning Glory's leaves are starting to decay. The heliotrope and verbena have not had any new growth and are starting to look sad. The pansies are wilting (in fact, I had to toss some of the ones I had replanted in the Clematis containers). And, the Osteospermum got so excited that it bloomed all at once, keeled over and gave in. This was what was left of the carcass.

However, all hope is not lost yet. The clematis are actually doing pretty well all things considered and some of the smaller pots are starting to bloom. While sun may be coming mid week, I am hard pressed to believe the weather man and am wondering if a grow light would be a better investment.

Week 4 - Year 1: The Pansy Wars

I planted pansies in the center of all of the window boxes. While the yellow ones in the center box are doing fine, the variety of purple pansies that are in the two outer boxes are under siege.

We've had a week of mostly rainy/cloudy days, which have caused the petunias to thrive, but the pansies seem to have wilted (or been attacked by their box mates). When I got home last night, it looked like the pansies had been mauled to death.

Emergency surgery was required. I decided to replant the tired looking pansies into the clematis containers because I recently read that clematis like to have their roots shaded by annuals.

The pansies in box #1 (with the petunias) looked the worst by far as it looked like the petunias were overtaking them and the pansies I had literally decided to lay down on the job as a result. So, I decided to remove all of them, but I'm not sure if it is too late - they look pretty sad.

The situation in Box #3 was not as dire. While some of the pansies had that wilted look to them, others were thriving and I ultimately decided only to remove half of them to see if that will help the box situation. The pansies in box #3 are a really unique mix of purple (see the first picture) and I really want them to succeed, so I was nervous about replanting all of them.

Unfortunately, pansies are not big fans of heat, so I might be saying good bye to all of them in July if we have a hot summer. Wisconsin is not exactly known for its heat, so they might make it through the summer, but we will have to wait and see.

Week 3 - Year 1: The Experiment Begins

I graduated from law school a couple of weeks ago and immediately needed a hobby to fill the hours I suddenly got back. I've always wanted to garden and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to start a container garden on the deck of our apartment. I have no idea what I'm doing, but three weeks in and everything is still alive, so I thought I would share the progress of my garden over the summer. I'm sure hilarity will ensue, but so far, I'm pretty proud of the progress I've made, for a novice.

Here is the line up, as of Week 3:

Window Box #1:

1. Blue Wave Petunia

2. Blue Angel Pansies

3. Silver Wave Petunia

Window Box #2:

1. Sun Kiss Bidens

2. Fama Golden Yellow Pansy

3. Coral Calibrachoa

Window Box #3:

(from left to right)

1. Lara Dark Blue Nierembergia

2. Pansies (White with Purple Blotch)

3. Hot Blue Lobelia

Containers

Right Side

I placed three containers on the right side of the porch. From left to right:

1. Yellow Kalanchoe

2. Pink Cupido Roses

3. Blue Browallia

Left Side

From Left to Right:

1. Deep Blue Champanula

2. Jade Shamrock

3. A spruce tree - yes, a tree. Instead of the traditional flowers, my husband brought this little guy home with him one day. We call him Snowpoke.

Center

Along the center, I have a mix of climbers and sun happy containers. You can't see them up close very well in this picture, but I plan to give more close ups later. From left to right:

1. Cardinal Wyszynski Clematis

2. Blue Summer Snapdragon

3. Viticella Venosa Violacea Clematis

4. Purple Osteospermum

5. Lemon Star Black Eyed Susan Vine

Back Wall Containers/Hangers

1. Coral Mini Begonias

These coral mini begonias are planted in a cheerful yellow pot on the mini table between our deck chairs.

Hanger #1:

Includes a mix of:

- Dark Dancer White Clovers

- Sweet Potato Vine

- Coleus

Hanger #2:

Includes a mix of white, blue and light blue lobelia

That's all for now folks! More to follow.