Blooms

I finished planting most of the rest of my flowers just before we went camping.  Ran out of pots and dirt before I ran out of flowers.  I'm going to have to figure out what to do with the rest of them soon, but I'm pleased that the ones I've done so far are blooming.  I love the colors!

 

 

Flower Power

Sunday was such a nice day that we couldn't resist going for a drive.  I didn't intend to actually purchase any flowers - it's too early for me.  The nights are still cold enough that I have to bring the flowers in over night, and then I have to watch so my cats don't eat them.  And when my cats DO eat them (since I don't keep watch all night long), I have to clean up the leafy cat barf.  All-in-all, it's a pain in the ass, and I just prefer not to have to deal with it.

When we got to the nursery in Indian, I just couldn't resist the lure...  I found some petunias with colors I hadn't seen before.  And since I was going to get those, may as well take a look at what else is there too, right?  The nice thing about shopping for flowers this early, is that there's still a whole lot of selection.  Usually, when I go after Memorial Day weekend, it's pretty slim pickin's.  (Note: The pictures are blurry because I couldn't figure out how to use the macro function on my camera.  It's been so long since I tried, that I actually had to look up the user manual online to figure out how to change the settings.  Then once - I think - I had it set right, the stupid auto-focus kept picking up something behind the flowers.  If you look closely, you'll see that either the leaves or the pot/dirt are in focus rather than the flowers.  And those are the BEST of what I tried to get.  Dumb camera.)

I talked to the owner at Forget-Me-Not Nursery for a bit, and she recommended another greenhouse in Anchorage - that I'd never been to before (can't recollect the name right now) - for more petunias, so we back to town for more shopping.  So much for waiting...  Five flats of flowers later, I figured it'd be easier to haul the plants in and out of the house if they were in pots.  This is practically a record for me getting my flowers planted.  I didn't do them all - just the petunias and one other pot - I'll finish up the rest of them another night.

And now it's crystal clear why I don't like to get flowers this early.  Five trips to get them outside - have to close the slider in between so the cats don't escape.  Five more trips to water them.  Five more trips to bring them in at night.  And then I have to keep the spray bottle by me so I can fend off the kittehs when they decide to visit the salad bar.  It's going to be worth it, right?

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

It's been a wet and rainy summer, thus far.  I think the best weather we've had was in May over Memorial Day weekend - thank goodness we went camping that weekend.  There hasn't been enough sunshine put together in the last two and a half months to make a whole week, let alone a weekend.  I heard on the radio today that we're "flirting with the record for the most consecutive days with measurable precipitation" or something like that.  Rained again today.  If it rains tomorrow, we tie the record... if it rains on Saturday, it's a new record.  Ugh!  I'd rather have a record for the most consecutive sunny days.  =(

The upside to all the rain is that I haven't had to water my flowers practically since I planted them.  Although, the ones at the back of the front flower bed are dried up dead husks.  How can that be, you might ask?  Well, that bed sits right against the house and the back portion is sheltered from the weather by the eaves.  Since I haven't been watering, and they've been sheltered from the rain... you do the math... (but it starts with a D and ends with a D and has two vowels in between.)

Another anomaly I've noticed is that we're growing loads of mushrooms.  Tall ones, short ones, white ones, orange ones... and for the first time ever, I've even found them in my flower bed.  Which makes me wonder where the little mushroom seeds come from.  I mean, I didn't plant them; they didn't grow in the flower bed last year (or for any of the past five or so years); I don't think birds crap them out... so where do they come from?

And then there's the spiders... *shudder*...  We normally have a fair amount of spider webs that populate the deck in the summertime.  I let them live because they're eating other bugs that I may not want around (read: they'd better be eating those damn mosquitoes and any other bug that's trying to eat me or my plants!).  But there seem to be more spiders this summer.  Not sure if it's because of the rain too?  Or maybe because it's been cloudier and the spiders don't like sun?  No idea, but I get the heebie-jeebies every time I walk through a web or get close to one.

Those guys were lucky to keep on living - except that I didn't have a hard-soled shoe on me and I suddenly had a mental picture of them jumping on me.  So I stayed as far away as I possibly could to get the picture.  Thank goodness for the zoom feature on my camera!!

Sunday Productivity

I felt the need to be a little bit productive today.  I mean, more than just tending my crops and beating people up on Facebook; more than settling in to finish one of the two books I'm currently reading; more than what I normally enjoy on a lazy Sunday-afternoon-before-I-go-back-to-work-on-Monday.

It's relatively nice today, if a wee bit windy, so maybe some outdoor chores will fit the bill.  I need to finish planting my flowers, and they need some water (since the rain forecast for the last couple days didn't materialize); I have some Weed B Gone that I need to spray on the lawn before the 2-foot-tall dandelions in the neighbor's yard go to seed; the annual flowerbed (Greg's domain) is growing well, but could probably use some weeding and watering...  I'll start my productivity in the out-of-doors.

It took some time, and I think tomorrow my muscles will remind me of the work I've done today, but the flower planting is finished!  I had the help of a weasel...

...which looks like it could be a nasty weapon, if someone ever attacks me while I'm prepping the front flower bed for planting.  Poor little flowers were dry as a bone by the time I got them in the dirt.  But now they're fertilized and watered, so I can only hope my neglect is short-lived.

I also washed the glass in the sliding door, which removed the last remnants of the mini-volcanic dust explosion we caused last Fall from trying to use the shop vac without a filter (definitely NOT recommended - unless you need a good laugh and want some extra cleaning to do).  I even cleaned the rails (inside and out) for the doors.  It's amazing how much dirt and grime can accumulate (and a dead bee - wonder how long that was there?!?) in such a small space over the course of a year or so.  It took at least two dozen Q-Tips and several paper towels to get it mostly clean.  It disturbs me some that I can't get it all out, but the only way I can see to get it as clean as I want is to dismantle the door (which is way too much effort, so I'm telling myself to be content with where it's at now - and that's already at least 95% better than it was before).

I'm satisfied with my productivity for the day - I even made dinner (pasta and garlic bread - how hard can that be?) - so now it's time for some farming before bed...  =)

Let the Planting Commence

Whenever I buy my flowers, I wonder if I got enough for my pots and the front bed.  This year was no different.  With the flats all grouped together on the deck, it always looks as if it's going to be sparse when I get to the flower bed and I may have to pick up a few more.  Then somehow they multiply.

I spent an hour filling the pots tonight.  I gave new homes to 28 plants and have two full flats and a partial left over.  That's another 42 more (yes, the answer to the universe and so much more).  That's three rows of 14 (spaced 5" apart in my 6' bed); or two rows of 15 and one of 12; or four rows of 10 with two squished in somewhere... So many options, and I don't think I'll be needing an emergency trip to the flower store.  =)

I'm done for tonight, but hope to have the front bed planted before the weekend.  Then it's up to the wee buds to unfurl their little roots and make me some blooms!

Flower Power

We're enjoying some really nice weather this weekend.  Which means it's time to start thinking about planting flowers... which in turn means a trip out to Forget Me Not Nursery in Indian.  What a lovely trip!!

I wanted to get my flowers a little earlier this year than last, when I waited until after Memorial Day weekend (and our first camping trip of the season) - by then, it was slim pickin's everywhere I went for flowers.  For this year, going earlier meant this weekend (since next weekend we're camping - yay!!), and it was perfect for a road trip.

Forget Me Not Nursery is about 30 minutes south of Anchorage.  The drive is along the Turnagain Arm (in Cook Inlet), where at various times you can either see whales, dahl sheep, cliff climbers, and mini waterfalls.  It's a gorgeous area.  The nursery has a new flower display every year.  Last year, the flowers made a clock (see my post here), this year it's a sailboat.

 

The people are really friendly and the flowers are always well-tended.  I found a fairly good selection, and I'm pleased with my purchases.  If I'd come even earlier, there would've been some other items that I was interested in (like the purple - or "blue" that looks deep purple - supertunias).  As it was, I got a good selection and I'm getting excited to plant my flowers...

The rest of the evening was also very enjoyable.  We met friends for dinner to celebrate Anita's birthday - hope it was a good one, my friend! - then did a little geocaching.  We introduced two n00bs to the game... Apparently there's a geocaching app for the iPhone ("there's an app for that").  Not sure how accurate it is compared to a standard GPS, but it sure is handy.  =)

My favorite part of caching is the sights I realize I would've missed, had I stayed home.  Last night was no exception.  It was a beautiful night, and Sleeping Lady was out in all her grandeur.  I couldn't ask for a better way to end an exceptional day!

Budz Cut

There must have been a windstorm in Anchorage the weekend we went to King Mountain. When we got home, one of my flower pots (the petunias) was at the base of the stairs leading up to the deck. The pot is split down one side - looks like I'll be getting a new one next spring. Poor flowers were mangled...

In deciding what to do, I figured I had three options. 1) Leave them alone and see how they fare for the rest of the summer. 2) Throw them away. 3) Trim the stems down to see what the roots can do to recover.

I chose option 3 - mostly because I didn't want to throw them away, and I didn't figure all the bent & broken stems would be able to recover.

I'm sure they won't be able to recover to where they were before the fall, but hopefully there's enough time for them to start blooming again...

Flower Power

My flowers have been planted for just about six weeks now... it's time to see what growing they've done. Pictures of the beginning - at least, when I planted them - are here. I'm always impatient - and this year is no exception. I didn't think the trailing petunia basket (supertunias) had done very much until the last week or so (when the double ruffles started to bloom). Turns out they've all practically exploded - which I can see when I compare the pictures. I think my favorite basket this year is the petunia basket. I love the colors and that it's so full of blossoms.

Petunia basket

Deck basket

Supertunia basket

I'm also pleased with the riot of colors in the front bed. So far, I haven't had to worry about any of the back flowers growing tall, falling over, and squashing the flowers in front. I'm going to have to figure out what I put in here, so I can try it again next year...

Front bed

There's one plant (in the deck basket and the front bed) - the Sunny Sheila - that still hasn't bloomed. I thought I must've bought a plastic plant, except that now there are buds (there weren't even buds a couple weeks ago) and it looks like one of them is going to open soon. I check it every day to see the progress. =)

A Slow Record?

For me, this year's planting process was a record... of sorts. Slow to get started (didn't get my flowers until really late in the season), but a record finish (normally the flowers sit on the deck for quite a while before they're planted, and then the planting happens over several days - possibly separated by several non-planting days...). Slow to start, record finish - I hope that's not indicative of the flowering season this summer... =)

Because of busy schedules and Memorial weekend camping, I didn't go flower shopping early on. Once I determined that I wasn't going to be able to go until the end of May, I figured that it would be slim pickin's at the flower stores. I mean, there's always something at Lowe's or Fred Meyers, but I guess I'm a flower snob. I like to do most of my flower shopping at Forget Me Not Nursery in Indian, about 15 miles south of Anchorage. The owners plant gorgeous displays and they're different every year. If you look closely at the picture above, you'll see that it's a clock with different types and colors of flowers. Very cool. Last year they had a rainbow - see here. Plus, the starter flowers are always well tended and healthy. And it's a nice drive out along Cook Inlet.

On Saturday (after Greg's biathlon), my friend Heath & I made the trek out to Indian. It was a great day for it - the weather was nice, great chance to chat & catch up, views were spectacular. But, as I suspected, I should not have waited 'til the end of May to do my shopping if I wanted to get my things at Forget Me Not. It was pretty sparce - which is good for them & thier business. But it wasn't so good for me. So I settled for a couple starters (my only supertunias this year) and two beautiful hanging baskets. (Normally I plant my own hanging baskets, but I so wanted to give more business to this local company - and the ones I got are really nice - that I opted to get them pre-made this year.) Then we headed to Bell's Nursery.

Walkway Pot
Pink Cosmos, Osteospermum (either Lemon or Orange Symphony), & Lobelia

By the time we were done shopping, I ended up with three flats of flowers and three hanging baskets. On Sunday evening, I decided I'd get some of the planting done - at least the deck & walkway pots, and I could save the flowers for the front bed for another night. When I gathered all my implements and the flats, I really wondered if I was going to have enough for what I wanted. I should not have worried in the least...

Petunia Pot

Deck Pot

Red Cosmos, Sunny Sheilas, Asters, & Lobelia

Supertunia Pot

When I was done planting the pots, I consolidated the flowers and considered what I had left. Would it be enough for the front flower bed? And did I want to water them on the deck tonight (they were really dry), or get them planted and just water the bed? Since it was still early (just after 9pm), I opted to finish up the planting. Greg tilled the bed for me while I moved all the implements around front. The front bed has a mix of all the flowers in the different pots: petunias, pink & red cosmos, Sunny Sheilas, more Osteospermum (Lemon, Orange, & Melon Symphony - I love the little purple centers), and Lobelia. There's also a few other types, but I don't remember everything I got. It'll make for a nice surprise as the flowers start blooming...

Front Bed Flat

Planted Front Bed

Even though I just purchased the flowers and they're just barely unfolding their little roots in the beds of soil I plopped them in, I find that I'm already anxious to have them grow. I want them big and full and blooming. RIGHT NOW. I mean, I did my part, so grow already!! =)

2-1/2 Flats to Go

I spent most of the day today out & about, but it was such a nice evening that I decided to get some of the flowers planted. Summer is such a nice time here - even if it's not that warm. I took this pictures at about 11:30pm, after I'd finished planting for the evening.

Supertunia Basket

Daisy-look-alike Basket
with sweet smelling Compact Innocence

Miscellaneous flowers planted for coloring
(yellows, purples, & peaches)

Grow, roots, grow!! Only 2-1/2 more flats to plant...

Flower Shopping

Finally went shopping for flowers today. I think this is the latest I've gone ever!! I didn't expect there would be very much - after all, everyone else in their right mind has already gone at least once, probably more, so I'm going to be picking through the left-overs.

I picked up some friends and we made it an outing. We drove out to Forget-Me-Not Nursery in Indian. It's a little road trip, as Indian is about 20 miles south of Anchorage. The views of the inlet are always stunning - and today was no exception - but it's also a nice treat to go to the nursery. It's a local business, and the owners also make their home on the site. They put a lot of time and effort into the landscaping of the area, so in addition to buying pretty flowers you get to enjoy a smörgåsbord of greenery and blooming flowers.

Although I like taking my business to the locals, we also popped into one of the other nurseries in town to see if there was anything I just couldn't live without. I didn't really go looking with a "theme" in mind, or particular colors. I've seen some fabulous gardens, and it seems the really good ones all take that kind of thing into account. I have some whites, yellows & oranges, and pinks/purples. We'll see how things turn out as the summer progresses...

All-in-all, I came home with four flats of starters. I did find that I missed out on some great potentials, but overall I think I found some winners. Now I just need to get them in the pots and my flower bed...

Season Finale

I'm a bit behind on posting - so I'm going to take this chance to get some pictures out. The first bit are my flowers at the end of the season. They're full of blooms and so colorful - it's a little sad when I know they won't be around much longer. But here they're glorious... just before the end. (You can see the changes by looking here). These pictures are from September.

It got cold sooner this year than last year, or so it seems. We got some frost in late September, and a bit of snow in October. A good, healthy dose of snow in early November - then a warming trend that melted just about everything for Thanksgiving. My first winter milestone is less than three weeks away: Winter Solstice. Although unnoticeable at first, days start getting longer. Sad to say there's still lots of cold and dark to endure, but the first ray of hope is just around the corner... =)

October Snow

Early November Snow