To All Of The Flowers I've Known And Lost

Just call me Mrs. Brown Thumb.
What is that old song that says
"To all of the Women I've Known and Lost" ?
Well after going through my flower picture files and

notes this is and apology to all of the flowers that

I have known and lost.
Even with all the best intentions and with all of the
knowledge I possessed at a given time in some poor
plants life, it seems that I have lost quite a few over
the years.

How you might ask does one kill a hardy, tough,
grow anywhere perennial like Hollyhocks?
Well moving them three times in one summer
and then forgetting to water them just might be a clue.
Planting them in the shade behind the garage does not
seem to help them grow to great heights and form
beautiful blooms.
They were moved once again last Fall to new sunny
location. Will this red one be amongst the six replanted?
Who knows but one can always hope.
Then let us not mention the six 'Queeny Purple'
dwarf hollyhocks that were started from seed.
They grew wonderfully all summer in the garden
but every one of them failed to come back last summer.






Now this little anemone just disappeared into
thin air. I think a garden fairy loved it so much that
it came one night to borrow it and forgot to bring it
back.
"That is my excuse and I am sticking to it."




Now this hardy Geranium I remember well
and it took a lot of work to get rid of this lovely.

There has been many perennials that have been
lost and I will not bore you with them all.
Thank your lucky stars that I do not have pictures
of them either. The carnage is too horrific for
innocent gardeners to view.





This dear 'Ruutel' Clematis only lived to
the tender age of two summers.
And least we forget two 'Autumn Joy' clematis
have met there demise by my hand.





I will take full credit for killing this Trumpet vine.
After years of growth and suckers coming up 30
yards away, not to mention the drainage lines it clogged,
I tried and tried for five years to kill it and its little suckers.


But it seems I am more famous with my brown thumb
by the name of ' The Killer of Roses".





'Queen Elizabeth' did not like her visit to my
garden.





'Irish Gold' literally turn red with anger.
Well it could have actually been it froze back
last winter to the graft and turned red.





'Senior Prom' did not stay for the final waltz.
And an 'Autumn Rose' did not stay to the following
Spring let alone the next Autumn.





Alas 'Pink Beauty Rose' was a beauty.
Maybe it is that the color of pink in roses that
just hate me. I do see a color theme here in the roses.
No excuses , I just managed to kill them all somehow.





How in the world does someone kill a knockout rose?
Again you just move it three times in one summer and
forget to water. Simple really.




Two Mimosa trees have gone to early deaths.
One do to the mess it left.
Note to gardeners: do not plant them in garden
beds or near roofs and sidewalks. They are beautiful
but messy. Another one due to a new septic system had to
meet its Waterloo.
No they are not invasive in my yard
and two others are planted FAR, FAR away from the house.





Caladium's bulbs just will not over winter in my
basement. Maybe they are too stuck up to stay
among the cobwebs and dry air.





Now it looks as though 'Capistrano' Rhododendron
may be bidding me a fond ado after this winter.
She has slowly been disassociating her self from
me the last two years and this winter her frail limbs
are broken from the snow and wind.
Losing her will be so sad.





The number of flowers I have lost over the years
are too many to even write them here.
As gardeners we know you win some
and you sadly lose some.
" Oh come on now, don't you all stand there
all puffed up and tell me you never lost a plant ". LOL!

Good Luck and Happy Gardening Everyone!

Osteospermum "Soprano Purple"

Purple is one of my favorite colors so this Osteospermum
"Saprano Purple" is a favorite that adds a punch to some
of the containers around in the yard. I love it with
the purple potato vine and Argyranthemum "Maderia Pink".




I have tried to start them indoors from seeds but have had
little luck with them. Only two survived my brown spotted
thumb. Maybe they did not have enough light or most likely
were kept to damp.
Has anyone had good results that can give me some tips?
Because I want to let some go to seed to try another attempt
next Spring.

Its daisy flowers bloom all season on compact plants. Keep
them dead headed to encourage them to spread and to keep
it blooming. They will grow in full sun to part shade and to a
height of 8 to 14 inches, with a spread of 12 to 14 inches.
They are hardy to zone 9, so unfortunately are used as
annuals in my zone 5 . It likes rich, well drained soil.

Typical March

This week has been a typical March week. One minute
the sun is shining and the next we had big fluffy snow
flakes flying on the wind. It has decided to warm up a
little so this is good news. The Spring flowers are growing
now quiet nicely and we cannot wait to see them bloom.
The Buzzard's have returned to Ohio which they do about
March 15th of every year. When I happen to look out the
back door to my surprise there was one eating some left-
over pizza that was thrown out to the cat. It must have been
very hungry to come so close to the house. A Bald Eagle has
been spotted at Lake Logan in the Hocking Hills. We hope it
decides to stay around.



The experiment with the potato vines has been going really well.
It was my first time trying to propagate them. More experienced
Gardeners probably know that you can stem root them in water
and even carry them over throughout the winter very easily,
but I am learning.
Now from one plant I have created six more and can get as many
growing as needed.Everyone will most likely be getting a potato
vine this May.

Potato Vines

Purple Potato vines are wonderful in window boxes, and I always add
them every Summer.The blooms are beautiful and the vines are very
forgiving when forgotten a watering and then saturated from the down pour
from the roof above. They just keep on going.

Usually new ones are boughten every Spring because of a lack
of sunny windows and the knowledge of how they may survive over-
wintering. So this fall I decided to experiment with them and dug them up
before the freeze. I trimmed away all of the foliage and kept only the tubers
from them and planted them in a container to see if they will sprout out and
survive in the house this winter. They are starting to grow back out now and
I am holding my breath that they will continue to grow until this Spring.



Pinching them back may also help keep them in from getting too long
and leggy before then. If it works then this Fall they will all be coming
inside for the Winter.
The weather has been so mixed of late that we are getting touches
of the coming Spring, with the temperatures in the sixties and thunder
storms. This coming week will bring us back into the knowledge that winter
is very much still here as snow flurries are in the forecast.