Purple Giant Alliums

I've always loved these big purple ball flowers.  My sister has a bunch in their yard.  She has the smaller version of these flowers though.

These are called Alliums.  These are spring to early summer blooming flowers which is easy to grown when there's good drainage soil and full sun for them in your garden.

This is the first year I had these flowers in my garden.  I didn't read the planting instructions so I think I might have planted them too closely together.

Below are pictures of the bloom of these flowers.

They are pricey bulbs but they are just so pretty.  I just love them.  So far they seem to be pretty long lasting because other flowers in my garden which bloomed at the same time seem to have wilted already.

My sister also planted scallions and onions in her yard.  They look similar...maybe because they are in the same onion family?  But I believe the steams looks different and also the colors of the flower might be white. I got to try it since I've always have unused onions or scallions that goes bad which I can just throw into my garden.

Anyone planted Alliums?  What are some things I should look for in caring for them?  And has anyone tried planting scallions and onions?  Let me know!

Ground hog in yard. Ahhh!!!

We have a ground hog living in our yard.  I think it made itself home under our shed.  I see it coming in and out a couple of times everyday.

I read that ground hogs could cause foundation damages.  Is this true?  How can I get rid of it? Please help!

It's cute but I want it out!! 

New photos and updates on my plants

So a week and here are some updated pictures on my seeds that I've started. All my Celosias are growing well. And finally my Poppies and one Lupine seed is growing. They growing and changing daily makes me so happy. :)

And can you believe it...something is already munching on my plants. I believe these are my tulips I think and they are half way gone. I really need to find a way to prevent them being all chewed up this year. Any suggestion what I should do or get??

I was so surprised when looking through one of my hypertufa pots. My Chinese Dunce Cap succulent had started with its seeds. How exciting. There were only a couple. Hopefully more will start growing.

Milk Jug Starters - Poppy, Celosia, and Lupine Seeds

My kids drink lots of milk and we always have tons of milk jugs to recycle. So I decided to try to reuse them. It's the beginning of spring so I thought why not turn them into seed starters. I've seen some bloggers out there using this method and it seems like it’s a great idea.

I had a couple of different seeds to try out.  First one was the Poppy seeds that my sister had given me. Second Celosia seeds, two types to be exact. One is the cocktail version which I had collected from last year's container. The second version is the brain looking type which I've purchased at an Ocean Lot. The third type of seed was the Lupine seeds, which I've also purchased last year somewhere.

I cut all the milk jugs in half leaving a small section near the handle to keep lid in place. I punched holes on the bottom for drainage. I filled them all with potting soil and then moisten it. I lightly sprinkled seeds around. I placed a light layer of soul on top of seeds. I moisten that layer also and closed the containers and leaving the milk jug caps off. Originally I was going to place them outside but we still had tons of snow and weather has just been so close I just ended up leaving them inside. Since the jugs are now inside I uncovered them so they would get some light. Throughout the week I kept the soil lightly moist.

A week later I noticed some of my little seeds had spouted. Only my Celosia seeds though. You see the little red popping out. Aren't they cute?  I hope the pictures taken from my phone are clear enough.  The little spouts are kind of tiny.  I was so excited. I just love this Celosia. I live their textures and their vibrant colors.

I was upset how I didn't see the other two seeds spouting. Maybe I have to wait a little longer?

Well I'll keep you guys updated on my seed starting process. Maybe next week I'll post more pictures so you guys can all see how different my seeds look.  Experts out there please give me some tips on how to start seeds or other methods people out there used.  

Re-potted My Poinsettia, Christmas Cactus, and Miniature Pineapple Plant

I finally got off my lazy but and replanted some of my plants.  I re-potted my Poinsettia, Christmas Cactus, and Miniature Pineapple Plant.  The blue pot are from the Ocean Lot.  They sell a huge variety of pots for a very affordable price.  The blue one was $3.  The clear plastic thing (sorry, can't think of what it's called right now) under the pot cost $0.88.  The purple vase/pot came from Ikea.  It's sold in a set of two.  The smaller one is broken so I only had this tall one left.  I apologize but I do not remember how much those cost.

This miniature pineapple plant originally cost was $12.99 but it went on clearance and I got it for $2.99 only.  I brought two of these plants from Shaw's (a local grocery store).  I had given one away to my sister.  To my surprise I found pups in each of these pots.  The one my sister got had one and the one I got had three.  I did not know of this until I had brought them home.  What I deal huh?  I will take close up of these little pups as soon as I find more time.  :)

Also to let you all know I went to the Boston Flower Show this past weekend.  Hopefully can I upload some photos soon to show you all.  

Is winter still here? Succulents Colors and Daffodils and Tulips

It's been a while since I've posted.  We been receiving so much snow outside that I didn't get a chance to take much pictures or see much changes in my plants.  But this weekend it started to warm up and snow is beginning to melt so I was able to take some pictures to share.

Look at the bright red colors.  These two succulents will turn green once the warm weather comes.  I guess red is the stressed color (is that how people call it?)

Are these tulips?  I'm not sure what I've planted or where I've planted it.  I guess I'll find out soon.  They seem to be growing fast.

Daffodils?  Again, I'll find out soon!

These were in my garage the last month or so.  We've had over two feet of snow so to protect my plants and hypertufa pots I decided to store them inside for a while.

Is this the Chinese Dunce Cap spouting?

I forgot what this is.  Damn I'm bad with names. 

Hope you like the pictures.  Spring will be arriving soon and I'll have more pictures posted up soon!

Crochet Cactus, Flowers, and Succulents

Everyone knows cactuses and succulents are extremely easy to take care of and to keep alive.  But if some of you disagree check out my recent post on my crafts blog and make something that look like these plants and they can never die!!  Aren't they cute?

Check out site here: http://allmyfuncrafts.blogspot.com/2013/01/crochet-cactus-flowers-and-succulents.html

Getting Ready for the Holidays with Poinsettia and Christmas Cactus

I was at a Home Depot this weekend for a Kid's Workshop. For those who don't know about this kid’s workshop and have kids please see below. My daughter loves these workshops and we look forward in going every month.

From the Home Depot Website (http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/ContentView?pn=HT_WS_KidsWorkshops):

• FREE hands-on workshops designed for children ages 5 - 12 offered the 1st Saturday of
every month at all The Home Depot stores between 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Workshops teach children do-it-yourself skills, tool safety and instill a sense of pride
and accomplishment.
• All kids get to keep their craft and receive a FREE Kids Workshop Apron,commemorative
pin and certificate of achievement.

Check out my other blog on what kind of projectsthese kids are making at these workshops: http://www.babyatplay.com/2012/09/06/free-kids-workshops-to-learn-create-craft-at-the-home-depot/

Home Depot is pretty sneaky...by offering these FREE workshops; it's a way to lure you in to buy things. Once I walked past the Christmas garden section I couldn't help myself but to purchase two plants. I brought a small red poinsettias and a pink Christmas cactus. They cost me under $3 for each. They are just so cute. Love them.

So any special care for any of these plants? Letme know!

Replanted My Little Cactuses

Brought a tiny glass container from Michael's crafts store the other day.  It was on sale for $1.79.  I'm not sure how much the original price for but I thought it was just too cute to not buy.   

I had these tiny little cactuses that used to be in two small terracotta pots and I decided to put them all together.

 

Bottom of the vase/container I used dark pebbles. These pebbles were purchased at Ikea a while back. There is a layer of moss. And then finally I added some potting soil. I lined them all up from big to small. And I decided to play three white pebbles in back of these cactuses to add some color. I love it! What do you guys think?

Any anyone know what kind of cactuses are these? I forgot the names of them.



My Hens and Chicks Getting Eaten

It's been a while since something has gotten into my succulent's containers. I thought it was the end of it. I'm not going to have to deal with pest or animals anymore. Well....I guess I was wrong. This must be a big animal. It's the first time I seen my succulents half way eaten. :( Something has been chomping down on my plants that I don't have many left in this hypertufa container anymore.

Echeveria 'Black Prince' Bloomed

My Black Prince had finally bloomed. The flowers are red and they are just beautiful.

Due to the frost and cold days we are now having in New England my Echeverias and other succulents are now currently indoors. And once I got my Black Prince indoors that is when it started to bloom.

I heard that now that my Black Prince is indoors it’s not going to get as much sunlight as before...and it might turn the color green. I'm excited to see how that would turn out. I will keep you guys all updated.

Another picture of my Orostachys Iwarenge (Chinese Dunce Cap)

This is a small cutting of the Chinese Dunce Cap.  It never grew that big but it did finally bloomed. Here's a close up. The flowers is prettier for some reason.

My Bromeliad is giving me more pups!

I was organizing and watering my indoor plants and found a great surprise. My bromeliad is producing more pups for me again. This time there was three. Not sure if you can see them in this picture but there's a small sprout on the right side, left side, and the middle. I'm so happy! So this mother plant has given me a total of 5 pups!  Will try to provide updated pictures on how they are doing weekly.

 

Anyone out there having luck like me?  How many pups do one mother plant give?  And how long does the mother plant live?  Please let me know!

 

My Orostachys Iwarenge (Chinese Dunce Cap) has bloomed

My Chinese Dunce Cap succulents had bloomed! To my surprise they weren't that pretty. Since the succulent itself is beautiful I thought the flowers would look pretty nice too...I was wrong. I actually didn't even know it flowered until I looked at it closely one day.

The flowers are tiny and white.

 

Also my plant was infested with these tiny black greyish bugs. I'm not sure if you can see them in these pictures. When I purchase these Chinese Dunce Caps I noticed a couple of them but had gotten rid of them with a water and gentle soap. Now these bugs are all reappearing again. I tried the soap solution again but it's not working. Is the solution not strong enough? Any suggestion what else I can use to get rid of these pest? Or tell me what kind of pest they are? I did hose it down and most of them got flushed off but not all of them. Ugh! I hate insects!

My Garden After the Rain in the Fall

It's been rainning the last couple of days.  Cloudy and gloomy.  The only thing that cheers me up when I leave my house is looking at my plants.  They just look beautiful after it rains.

 

And it seems like my morning glories are changing colors.  Anyone out there know why it might have changed colors? 

 

 

Well just wanted to share with you an update of my garden.  Hope you guys like it.

Harvesting Zinnia Seeds

Mid-September and my Zinnias are still blooming. They are so pink andpretty. And because of them I still have some color in my garden. I want to tryto harvest the Zinnia seeds this year.

Look at all the Zinnias

I did a little research and here are the steps in harvesting these seeds.

1) You need to locate the dried seed heads from your zinnia plant. If theZinnias in your garden are mixed colors you might want to separate thedifferent seeds so next year you can plant the colors you want. The seed headsare the center of the color. Once dried, they should be brown and most of the petalshave fallen off.

2) You need to test the pod to make sure the seeds are mature. Break apartthe seed head with your fingers and the seeds should fall out easily into yourhands. The seeds should look like little arrow heads.

3) Each seed head will have hundreds of seeds. So collect as many dried seedheads as you wish and share the extras with your friends and family. Placeseeds in a bag or a container to keep them cool a dry. Don't forget to labelwhat you've collected.

4) Around 4-6 weeks before last frost you can start your seeds indoors orsow seeds outside after last frost.

I don't have much seed heads yet. So I'm going to wait for a couple moreweeks and I will then try to harvest them. I will post pictures of the processonce I get to it.

Anyone out there harvest Zinnia seeds before? Are the instructions listedabove accurate? Anything else I should be doing? If there is please let me know!

Seed head here but I don't think it's completely dried yet

 

 

Early Happy Birthday to Me - Orchid and Bromeliad

Since some of my family members are going on vacation soon they all decided to celebrate my birthday a few weeks early.

And my sister got me this. How sweet of her. She also remembers...I've always wanted an Orchid. I've own some in the past but I could never keep them alive. Hopefully now that I have a little more experience with plants I can keep this plant alive longer.

I believe she brought this beautiful container from Whole Foods. They use all moss when planting both the Orchid and Bromeliad. It seems kind of wet when I got it. And it's still very moist 3 days later. Roots please don't rot this time!!!

So anyone out there can give me some advice on how to take care of my new baby?

Orostachys Iwarenge - Chinese Dunce Cap

I brought these succulent at my local nursery this summer. I feel in love with the small blue grey rosettes. I planted this succulent in one of my hypertufa container that I've made. It worked well in the container.

 

Early August I've noticed the middle of the roseletts started to grow outward.

 

These pictures below were taken today. After doing some research I found out this succulent is starting to flower. I believe they will start to turn into pinkish conical spires. These spires can reach up to 6 inches tall. And the flowers will be pink and white. The sad part is that after flowering the plant will die. How upsetting. Hopefully it will self-sow so I will continue to have these beautiful flowers again next year.

 

Anyone else have these succulents?  Do they really come back from seeds the following year?  Please let me know!