Seed production and collection.

In my yard, everything is open pollinated. The bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies spread pollen from flower to flower. There's no telling what mix you might get from year to year. This is most evident in the black eyed susans. Early spring bloomers have started releasing their seed pods. Some have already been scattered around the yard. Some will be collected for trading. Most will be returned to the soil just before it rains for next year's plants.

Sweet Williams. I'm sending most of these to the backyard, especially the pink and white crape myrtle bed which needs some early color.



Columbines have already produced a lot of seed. Sown fresh, they will germinate this year and probably bloom next spring. I'm filling mostly shady spots with these plants.



Peonies. I've never grown peonies from seed, but I know it's possible. I might wintersow them, in summer.



Red Hot Pokers. There are a LOT of seeds on these two plants. I'll probably collect them instead of scattering them. People love these plants that start out looking like fine blades of grass. It takes 2 years for blooms from seed. Year three is where mine are now.



Poppies. I'll scatter them as soon as they are ripe. They'll germinate when it's time.



Mountain bluet seeds are hard to collect. These seedlings are beneath the current plants. Once they get a little size to them, I'll move them around this fall to areas that still need spring color. The parent plants need to be cut back soon.



Dusty Miller has just started to bloom. Planted in the fall of 2009, these plants have gotten huge. The blooms float about 2 feet above the soil. If I remember, the seeds are like dust.



Grown from scattered seeds, the annual Monarda citriodora is one of my favorites. After it blooms, it can be cut back for a repeat bloom. I did this twice last summer. The seeds are collected by shaking the spent blooms over a container.



Speaking to Cameron at Defining Your Home Garden, I've decided to scatter seeds as soon as they ripen. This seems the most natural method as it's what happens when there's no gardener present. Nature takes care of enough seeds to create a new crop each year. I'll save a few seeds just in case. You never know what could happen over the winter.

It's currently 81 degrees and pouring rain. Heavy thunderstorms are about to move through the area. The rain is expected to last a few hours.

More planting out.

Pineapple sage
Rudbeckia Prairie Sun
Achillea Summer Pastels
Culver's root
Pink Obedient plant
Four kinds of sunflowers
Monarda - annual and perennial
Sage
Milkweeds

and plenty more. From this



To this



Maybe 200 holes dug this morning going through 2 full charges on the cordless drill. The remainders are either too small or their locations aren't decided. I'll get around to them.

A bicolor California poppy has opened near the street.



The Mountain Bluet is going to seed. I scattered five seed heads around the backyard in beds that need early blooms.



Red hot poker.



Dianthus. It just glows in the garden on cloudy days.



A single white gerber daisy survived the winter.



Today's been just about perfect for working in the yard. It's 79 degrees. Mostly it's been overcast with a breeze. There is some humidity in the air, but it's tolerable. The first mosquito bites are itching.

Dame's Rocket, clematis, roses, and a big pile of blue.

Dame's Rocket is suddenly one of my favorite early blooming spring plants. I wintersowed seeds in 2008. I planted out a few clumps and really just forgot about them as they grew larger and larger. They started blooming a couple weeks ago.



I have a lavender and a white. From what I've read, the white is less common. Both are fragrant.





Next to the perennial bed arbor, there's two large clumps. There's a weigela in there too. Golden Showers is the yellow rose. The clematis is blue, and came home with no tag.



Mountain Bluet was also sown in the winter of 2008. It bloomed nicely for its first year last spring. The show this year is much more stunning. I plan to divide and move some of these plants in the fall. I'll also scatter seeds into the meadow.



Salvia subrotunda seedlings are up near the street. I'll transplant some of these once we've gotten some rain. The finches love the seeds. The hummingbirds love the red dainty flowers that rise 5' or taller into the air. It bloomed all summer last year.



It's 63 degrees and cloudy. It's been sprinkling on and off this morning for an hour. No real rain, yet. This evening it should come.

2:35pm - It's 77 degrees. The sun was out for a few hours. I laid in the hammock, planted out a few more seedlings, and walked around the yard a few times drinking my second cup of coffee. I need a table and chairs. Need, not want.

The rose by the swing is blooming on last year's wood. That tells me something about when to prune. I'm going to be snipping off wayward canes after this flush of blooms. I'm hoping it sends out another. It may be a one time bloomer.





Charlotte got rain this morning. We got a sprinkle. It's headed right for us.

Close Ups

It's another day without rain. I've got another yellow iris.



A new Dutch iris.



More blue on the May Night Salvia. Cuttings were taken on Thursday.



Mountain Bluet. These are so intricate. I need to divide this clump in the fall. It's grown to nearly 4' across from three plants and a few self sown seedlings.



Red clover is making an impressive show. I love these blooms.



It's 45 degrees. The high today should reach 70. Rain likely Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. I hope they're right.

Laura is here visiting from New Orleans. I'm off tomorrow, so we'll probably spend the day catching up again. I won't be doing much gardening with her here. That's a good thing. It's nice to have company in the house.

Late start.

I'm getting a late start this morning, my day off. I spent the night in Charlotte at the home of two friends. As soon as I arrived, I noticed a few things.

There are more blue flower on the Mountain Bluet, wintersown in 2008.



The purple azalea I remember in the backyard next to the a/c unit isn't quite as purple as I recall.



The two year old tea olives are getting big.



Snowball viburnum is about to bloom.



A one year old cutting from Sharon's gardenia bush is growing again. Sharon passed away this past winter from cancer. Her husband still walks her little dog down the street. He says she loved to walk past my house last summer before the disease forced her to stay inside.



I finally have ladybugs. I also have lots of aphids.



And Brown Avenue is gone. At least for a few months.



I'm going to spend a few hours planting some containers out. I'm thinking of mowing the grass again, but it could wait a few more days. I need to transplant my tomato seedlings into individual cups. Their growth stunt may be caused by the nutrient starved seed starting medium. I don't want to lose this second batch. I have very few seeds left. I might even spend a few minutes getting reacquainted with the hammock. It's sunny and 64 degrees. The high today should reach the mid 70s, back to normal.

In other news, Dixie Carter passed away at age 70 last night. The lights have gone out in Georgia.

Rain is coming.

We've got a good chance of rain this afternoon.



New things are popping up all over. The rain should kick things into overdrive.





The ferns I transplanted last week are starting to unfurl.



Black & Blue salvia is returning. This one is pineapple sage. That's the first time I've ever had this plant return from the roots. The three others show no signs of life.



Brugmansias have new growth too.



It's 61 degrees. There's a coolness to the air.

The Sun Came Out.

And it's still shining. Not a cloud in the clear blue sky. It's amazing what a little sunlight will do for the soul. It's 41 degrees.

The perennial bed from the front walk. In a couple months, new plants will be going in from the wintersown containers that will go out on Friday/Saturday.



Last year's plants are still blooming. This one is Mountain Bluet.



By the front walk, the 25cent heucheras and dusty millers have created a nice combo.



In the basement, 260 quart/six inch pansies are drying out. I spent a grand total of $2.89. Sales tax is 8%. You do the math. These will be my containers for some of the annuals to be sown in April. They needed to leave the garden center. My boss made me a deal I couldn't refuse.



Will have to spend a few minutes after work picking up more firewood for the night. The cloner will be cleaned and refilled. More firewood will be split on Monday and Tuesday before work. Rain is expected for the later part of the week. Tonight, more below freezing temperatures. December has been colder than normal. Wetter too.

The circle bed.

It's part of the perennial bed along the driveway. I finished the path a month or more ago giving me a view from all sides.



It was my intention this morning to head out and completely revamp this bed. I've got some perennials that I want to divide and move, but once in the yard, it was impossible to decide what to keep and what to toss.

There are wintersown Columbine that haven't bloomed yet.



Self-sown Mountain Bluet and diathus that are blooming again after being wintersown in December.



Seedlings of larkspur are popping up all over. I scattered a lot of these back in October from a package sent to me by Janie, the obsessive/compulsive plant collector.



Tiny cleome are also popping up. Will they survive the winter? I'm not sure.



Wintersown sea hollies are putting out new basal growth too. One plant bloomed, but it wasn't in this bed.



Wintersown irises and daylilies probably wouldn't survive the move at this point either.



The July blooming foxglove seems happy where it is in partial shade.



A mum, bloody dock, red spider lilies, and Golden Jubilee seedlings. Could I really move these with winter coming soon? I can't take the chance.



There's also tons of spring bulbs in this bed. Daffodils, hyacinths, muscari, and irises would probably be destroyed in the process. I've got Stargazer lilies in there, too. I would be heartbroken to dig one of those up. Crimson clover has germinated and should create a sea of red blooms in the spring. And who can blame me for not redoing this bed today? It's starting to drizzle and the bees are still asleep.



Instead, I potted a couple of really cheap clearance plants into the coleus container from the front porch. I amended the soil, removed all the summer plants, and brought it inside.



It's not what I had planned to do this morning, but I'll survive. More importantly, so will my plants. I'm still going to head out and divide a clump of Full Moon Coreopsis and Dame's rocket for the circle bed. It's 55 degrees, dark, dreary, and trying to rain.