Wednesday, March 10, 2010

This,That and the Other

 
What a wonderful few days we have had here in the hills
this week. The sun was shining bright and with temperatures reading 66 degrees it was time to head outdoors.
I took down the winter decorations of the sled, snowmen,
and “Welcome Winter” and “Let It Snow” signs down and
decorated  the front porch in Spring wreaths, flowers, flag
and a sign stating “Welcome Spring”. 
I wanted to get rid of the winter decor  in the hopes that the
cold and snow would stay away  and welcome in the warmer
temps and sunshine. Hope it works LOL!

These are some of the goodies that I  got Friday at the Home
and Garden Show. I picked up a little bird and one giant
Honey bee. A bronze colored humming bird yard stake.
A pretty little bulb container and two Caladium bulbs
of white with green variegations for this summer’s shade.
A visit to the secondhand store in Lancaster had this
white ceramic bunny which will add a little to Spring
decorating and another basket for planting flowers
in this summer. Always looking for those baskets. LOL!
A stop at  the Meijer’s store did not have the primroses
I was hoping to get but they did have a pot of three different
colors of Kalanchoe in one pot of red, pink and white,
that I can divide into three pots and a beautiful miniature
rose.
I hand been admiring Robin’s from  ’Life in Robin’s
Nest’
  and Kate’s at  High Altitude Gardening miniature
roses so I grabbed up this little yellow one.

 

The miniature yellow “Cupido”  rose was placed in a blue and
white pot and brightens up the living room with a touch of
spring.  The tag on the rose stated that it was cultivated in
Canada which was a surprise that it was not a locally grown
flower. So thank you Canada for the rose!

 

 

The Spring like weather also brought in some new visitors
to the yard. The first Robins returned along with the evil
looking Grackles, buzzards and a Red Winged Black bird
visited the feeder on its way through.

 


I was so excited to see a pair of Blue Birds checking out
one of the new Blue bird houses that I was falling all
over myself to get to the camera. They must have approved
the new house because they promptly took up housekeeping.

 

Well I am glad to report the squirrels survived eating my
chili and were back looking for what other leftovers had
been tossed out.

 

Do you think it was begging for more of my chili ? LOL!

 

The seedlings are growing nicely and I transplanted some
into bigger pots yesterday. Some of the flowers growing now 
in the little greenhouse are:

Pentas
Petunia’s: Blue Ice, Fancy Dress, Purple Wave,
White Wave, and a  double Burgundy Cascade.
Pelargoniums: Raspberry Ripple, Red Ice, Apple-blossom
and Maverick.
Verbena: Peaches & Cream, Burgundy, and Purple & White.
Gazania White Flame.
Milkweed & Ornamental Okra (thanks Darla)
Larkspur Shades of Blue (thanks Catherine)
Hibiscus (thanks April)
Hibiscus Blue River II (thanks Donna)
Red Poppy (thanks Tatyana)
Nicotinia red & dark pink.
Daisy  Crazy Shasta
Coneflower White Swan
Yarrow Cerise Queen


I also sowed some more seeds yesterday some
of which were:
Lavatera Hot Pink
Red Leafed Hibiscus
French Vanilla Marigold
Cerithe Major (thanks Robin)
Impatiens: Tutu Red & White, Rose Parade Rose
& a mixed seed from last years Impatiens.
Have any of you gotten an empty pack of seeds before?
I went to sow the Rose Parade White Impatiens and it
was empty, no seeds or packet inside of seeds.
So off went an email to Burpee Seeds. LOL!

I am fast running out of space so may have to
sow some of the  seeds outdoors this spring because
I still have many seeds yet to plant. I always end up
with more seeds than room to grow them indoors
even when I refrain from sowing the whole packs.

I hope all of you are enjoying warmer temperatures
too and are getting anxious to plant some seeds.

 

Happy Gardening Everyone !

22 comments:

Sheila said...

Looks like you have been busy! Love that bunny!

Becca's Dirt said...

My goodness - you have been busy. I am jealous you have so many seeds up. I must catch up to ya.

Hoping the cold stays away and that you have sunshine through the weekend.

Great shot of the bluebirds. They sure took to it fast didn't they.

Hope you have a great day.

Roses and Lilacs said...

I especially like that yellow rose in the blue pot. Looks like you will have a ton of flowers to set out when the weather warms up.
Marnie

Patsy said...

What a happy post.
Patsy

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

Lovely array of seeding pots. I always germinate more than necessary, just in case... But feel too bad later to pull out the weaker ones.. ~bangchik

Jimmy said...

Do you need any more squirrels? How about a rabbit or two? I'd even be willing to pay shipping on some deer.
lol
Jim

Darla said...

Great finds at the show!! I always have seeds left over...I love to sow directly in the garden...you have a lot of plants and seedlings....

Gatsbys Gardens said...

We had 65 degrees here! I also took down Christmas decorations, trimmed my limelight hydrangea and cut down some more type 3 clematis. We still have some snow around the edges, couldn't get to all of the clematis.

Eileen

Noelle Johnson said...

What a wonderful and happy time of year this is. Your photos and words clearly show your excitement. I look forward to seeing more pictures of your resident bluebirds :^)

Stephanie said...

Oops... No seeds?... I hope they will send you a replacement soon. I think your experience is a unique one.

Your seedlings 'workshop' is so organised. I love the way you systematically sow your seeds. I think gardening at your place is harder as you need to move them in and out. Hard work but you can still sow and grow seedlings while it is snowing outside... another unique situation :-D

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

You found some great treasures there! The bee is so cute :) What a sweet little yellow rose.
I'd be falling all over myself too if I saw Bluebirds moving into a house here, I've never seen one in person. It'll be fun watching them build their nest. I think the bees scared away the Chickadees this year, even though the bees are gone now they haven't been back to check the house out again.
You've been really busy with all of the seeds. Your garden is going to be full of color for sure!

Amy said...

Blue birds are just so sweet. I hope you cook some more chili for those squirrels. They are back for seconds, thirds and fourths.

Dirt Princess said...

I can never catch the birds! When I am outside, and they land near...I never have my camera. By the time I go inside to get my camera and come back out....they are gone! Go figure!

It has been GORGEOUS here! We are at 71 degrees today! Oh I just LOOOOVE it!!!

Lona said...

Shelia: I think the bunny was a great find.Thanks for dropping by.

Becca: Hey girl you are about to catch me with all of your seed sowing. Get Buddy to help dig for you LOL!

Marnie: I will have a bunch for certain. Have to make up a new bed for them LOL!

Pasty Thanks lady!

Bangchik: You noticed I did not tell how many seeds did not germinate LOL!

Jim: No thanks on the offer of more critters. The hills are full to over flowing with the varmints ;-)

Darla: I wish I could sow directly but this old soil is just not good for seeds. Too heavy with clay. The seeds just bakes right in.

Eileen: I see we both had to get rid of that old winter reminders. LOL! You are up on me though because I have not trimmed anything yet.

Noelle: I will no doubt be taking pictures of them all summer. ;-) People will get tired of seeing them.

Stephanie: It is a little bit of a hassle sowing indoors especially when there is now room LOL! Once the weather warms up it is easier not to drag them in and out.

Catherine: We has so many chickadees and titmice around here. They scold me when I go out to fill the feeders. I think they are telling me to hurry up already. LOL! I am sure some birds will take up the offer of free housing this spring.

Amy: Silly things. They will have to eat what everyone else around here eats. LOL!

DP: That is the way it goes everytime. If I had known they were moving in I would not have stumbled all over myself getting to the camera.LOL! Loving the warm weather and by your pictures you have been soooo busy outdoors girl.Enjoy it!

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

Lona..what a pretty post. The birds and the squirrel are so cute they don't even look real! How great it would be to live around something like that. Not much wildlife here..and the birdies are mostly brown...
I get all excited when I see a flash of color on any bird!
That's why I have four of them in the house. :)
Mona

Corner Gardener Sue said...

Hi Lona,
I enjoyed your this and that. Congratulations on your blue bird couple choosing your house. I am so ready for spring to get here, too.

Anonymous said...

That squirrel is so cute, he looks like a stuffed animal. :) I'd love to have bluebirds visit us.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lona~~ Your spring weather sounds like nirvana. Your bluebird couple are just precious and it looks like you've got a great vantage point for keeping tabs on them. And posting photos! Will you plant the miniature rose outside? Good luck with your seeds. The missing Burpee seed is odd. I suppose it's an easy mistake for a machine to make. Enjoy your pre-spring.

Rose said...

Looks like you are all ready for spring! I haven't even begun to start any seeds indoors yet, but I'm going to be gone next week, and I learned the hard way last year that little seedlings need daily attention. Your garden is going to be beautiful with all these blooms. How exciting, too, to have the bluebirds come visit!

Anonymous said...

I, too, just put away my winter wreaths in the hopes that Spring would know it is welcome to show up any day now. Happy Spring! Cheryl

Unknown said...

I'm STILL giggling about the squirrels and your chili!!! You must really make an excellent pot o'chili, that's for sure. :-D

ibo said...

lovely pot for the miniture rose. I never had success growing rose indoors. I believe is because I don't have a window that have a direct sun come through.