Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Seedlings


Geraniums (pelargoniums) repotted. They had outgrown their plastic cups. Hopefully they will do even better now.




Coleus. They did good. I hope I get a nice variety to adulthood.
Calibrachoa. Three seedlings so far out of 30. Hope to get more germination.


A few coleus from the first sowing.
Dragon wing begonia again. Only about 7 have germinated out of 20. The pelleted seeds are still on the soil.

Mostly new impatiens wallerinia. A whole tray and only a few germinated. 
Dahlias
More coleus. I like the color they may be red. I'll see as they mature.
Broccoli seedlings. They don't look promising. These were old seeds. If they don't make it i'll buy some plants when they come in the nurseries.
Another broccoli seedling. I also have ivy leaf geraniums that have not germinated yet. If they don't soon they may reach adulthood but not bloom this season. Salvia below. Free seeds from a seed order. Not my choice. I love the salvia with blue flowers.


When I think of Spring I'll Think of You


Joy Burrell 1998-February 24, 2015
We are sad today. Thought I was being punked. A cat with kidney failure and cancer. Joy was behaving normal up until 2 weeks ago when he started sneezing and wasn't eating. His decline was quick. I took him to the vet on Saturday and he was given fluids, a different kind of cat food for critically ill animals, and pills to stimulate his appetite. He was drinking water but refusing food so we fed him with a syringe.Test results came back on Monday and indicated that he had renal failure and some type of cancer. The vet told me, "you have a very sick cat."

Joy came to us as a gift from my coworker Donna. Her cat Sally had kittens and I picked him out of the liter. He was spunky with pretty eyes. Thank you Donna. He lived 17 years and was our Joy. He had a personality like no cat I've ever met. He came to my house as a kitten swinging from the curtains. He loved my daughter and could be found in her lap when she's at home. He was forced to deal with me when she went away to college but I know he loved me too. I just had to keep him in line because he did exactly what he wanted. I don't like animals on the furniture. My cat was fascinated with tables and thought the living room and dining room tables were where he was supposed to be. He was a cat, he was doing what cats do, and always got caught. This didn't stop him from doing it. From me he got disciplined. From my daughter he got stop that Joy. You know he didn't listen to her.

When he got sick I thought. I hope he can at least make it till Spring so we can sit on the porch again, feel the breeze, smell the flowers, and listen to the birds sing. He loved being on the porch and chasing birds and squirrels. Squirrels would sit down low in the tree and look at him and taunt him from the tree in front of my house. I thought I wish I knew this was his last Christmas. He won't be here to sniff the pine Christmas tree or drink the water from the trees container. He'd slap the ornaments that hung on the tree and they could be found on the floor in the morning. I thought he could make it but he was ready. 

Last night I slept on the coach so I could continue to be the nurse I am. I didn't want him to have to do anything and he couldn't. If he died at night, I didn't want him to be alone. That helps me a lot knowing that we did everything we could to comfort him and let him know he was loved. My daughter asked the nurse today how old he was in human years. She said about 100. Wow. I can't ask for more. I believe my mother greeted him and said, "Joy you're here." Yes, I do believe animals go to heaven. I believe that God breaths into them the breath of life also at birth and comes again to receive them.
He loved flowers.
He loved boxed more than any cat bed. I bought 3 over the years thinking that he would actually sleep in one.
He's already missed.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Beautiful Surprises





The bulbs have me hooked. Went down stairs for water and they were there. Didn't even see them peek out first and get larger. This is my first time tying tulips and I'm hooked. I'm getting excited now for fall and picking out what I'd love to feast on all next winter.

The quiet after the storm. Wouldn't know we just had a snow storm. It was expected though. Snow day from work.








Sunday, February 15, 2015

Seed Starting

What better day to start seeds. Bitter cold out with strong winds and snow last night. I don't know what the temperature is today but it must be in the single digits. Not snowed in. The snow is light, fluffy and pretty. Blowing through the air with every gust of wind. 


Jiffy seed starting mix.

Holes put in bottom of tray with hot screwdriver. This time I did something different. I didn't use the pellets but filled 2 trays with seed starting mix instead of using the pellets. I mixed the coleus seeds and calibrachoa seeds with sand before sowing since they were so small.
I planted two 5" pots of broccoli. This is old seed from 2012. Maybe not a good idea for my first time sowing my own vegetable seeds.
These are old seeds. They did real well the first year I planted them but I didn't take the tubers in during the winter and they died.
Planted all the coleus seeds left. Hopefully I will get a lot of seedlings. 

African daisies again. I hope these do better and make it to plant out size. They're yellow and salmon colored.
Did the calibrachoa 3 types but didn't get to the petunias.
I like pretty seed packs. They need to be soaked or nicked due to the seed coat. I'm not doing that today.
I didn't start these yet I'm going to soak them for a day or scarifying them also first before sowing on another day.
Put on the heat mat. I hope these seeds do better and I pay more attention to them.

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Snowflakes, Flowers, and Valentines Day

Begonias, orchids, calla lilies, sunflowers, ti plants, daffodils, the aroma of roses in as many colors as the rainbow, flower heaven! Sold out isles that were previously stocked with candy. Be my valentine and I'll show you the plants that told me to take them home. I'm sending you flowers, enjoy. Couldn't bring them all home. Wish I could send you some snow, light, fluffy, picturesque. Just a coating, enough to enjoy.


I thought I would be planting the last of the bulbs soon.

Snapdragons and lisianthus. The snapdragons are the longest I've ever seen almost 3 feet.



Just beautiful!





Amaryllis done blooming. I'm going to put some more bulbs in there.





I saved the snapdragon stems. Do you think they'll root? You know you love plants when every stem is a possibility.

Hydrangea
Calla Lilies

Rieger Begonia


Who doesn't love pale pink zinnia? Can grow them in the ground in my yard, too much shade but I can put them in a container on my steps which gets tons of sun. Going to try more petunias since I didn't have to order seeds and they were only $1.88. They're plan not the wave or other specialty ones but they'll do.