lavender

Thanks, I'll be checking to see if any of them are near ant hills. We have quite a few.

Update on the bloodroot. I had one plant growing under a tree. It has been there for years. There were also a few plants that were being kept for the spring plant sale. Suddenly, this spring I am finding bloodroot plants all over the yard. They are all new plants and didn't bloom this spring but I am looking forward to next year. They must seed like crazy when the conditions are right.

Boredom was alleviated by something I found in the greenhouse today. Once upon a time I bought a white bird of paradise plant. I saw them growing in baskets in Florida and thought I got lucky when I found one at Lowe's. There must be more than one kind as this one subsequently grew to 9 or 10 feet tall and has never bloomed. No it hasn't bloomed yet but it did produce something interesting. Lo and behold when I watered today I found an earthstar fungus growing in the pot. Don't have a clue as to where it came from as I have never seen one in the yard. Maybe the spores came in with the potting soil. Who knows? Isn't it great?

Ever see a pasque flower? It blooms around Easter hence its name. I don't have as many as I used to so maybe I'll collect some seeds and try to grow some more.

Here are the white ones and the pink ones. I have tried to isolate them so I would have a patch of pink and a patch of white. It hasn't been very successful although the white ones are more stable than the pink. Some of the blue ones get pink with age but the pink ones come out pink. They do have a hint of blue that is more evident in the pictures than on the plant.

Forget me nots! How cute! If you let them go they can be invasive but you will eventually get pink and white ones as they resseed. I love them.

I grew purple broccoli once. Correction that was purple cauliflower. Had to eat it raw as it changed color when cooked.

This odd grape hyacinth popped up. Think it might be Muscari armeniacum 'Blue Spike' There are lots of varieties. This isn't the weirdest but it gets close.

More stuff is blooming. Let's start with the daffodils. I put in a mixed pack several years ago. They were a nice mix with some blooming early and some blooming late. Also a couple of hyacinths. They don't do particularly well in clay soil. Had to download these from the cloud hense the small pics. My iphone is refusing to send pictures. Driving me crazy. I've tried everything but throwing it against the wall.

The large patch I know of is beside the road. It is startling to come upon it. I was afraid that it was going to be lost when they logged but it seems to have survived.

You are welcome. Let me know what is in those starter bags. I haven't used those in years but did find that they were difficult to water if not kept really wet. Some of the stuff at the back of the racks always gets overlooked. I plant too much every year.

Are you sure the water is getting to the roots? I would suggest that you give them a thorough watering rather than dribbling water on them. Those starter thingys that you germinated in are generally filled with peat moss that is very hard to wet once it has dried out. Peppers don't like wet feet but then again they don't like drying out either. Peat moss has a very low pH too. It is around 4.4. That would cause yellowing as well. I'd cut those bags open and at least give the plants some access to the soil in the pots. Even if it is a soilless mix it would better than what is probably in the bags. Peppers grow slowly and the roots don't penetrate those starter bags for a long time. The tomato roots grow much more quickly so perhaps that is why they are doing better.

Bet I know where that patch is. They are blooming now.

They transplant easily and are quite hard to kill. I have some growing under an arborvitae where it is quite dry. Mine are growing in shade but I've seen them along the road in full sun. I found one a few days ago in a place where I didn't plant it so it seems that they reseed as well. Good luck with it This is one plant that seems to do well when you try to domesticate it.

I suspect ours will be getting mowed out of sheer boredom. Hope it survives the shelter at home edict.

Forgot the hellebore Ellen sent me. It is the palest pink that I have seen so far. We started with 3 or 4 different colors and now have quite a few more from seedlings.

Some squill from my yard. They are all Chionodoxa of different sorts.

Puschkinia or striped squill sent by a fellow gardener.

Yellow hellebore. Sort of an odd man out as they are mostly shades of pink, purple and white. Also, one that grew from seed with an edging. These things are like weeds around here and they reseed readily.

Someone who takes better pictures than I do sent me this crocus. The contrast between the orange pollen and the purple petals is incredible.

The Down to Earth Garden Club has cancelled meetings for the next few months. Instead we are trading via email what is appearing in our yards. Most of us have hellebores blooming. Here are 3. Anybody else have anything?

You should always be careful when using natural remedies as well as stuff you pluck from the roadside or your yard. First be sure it isn't contaminated with chemicals or pollutants. Things growing near a road generally are. Next be aware that dosages are never precise unless the plant undergoes chemical analysis. Oh, and do make sure you have the plant you think you have. There can be side affects. Plantain can cause diarrhea and low blood pressure. Women who are pregnant should never use it as it can cause miscarriages. Not for nursing mothers either. It can cause skin allergies and people who are allergic to melons are particularly at risk. That said I dose myself all the time. I make salves, creams and other things. Mostly though I buy my supplies. The dosage issue is what concerns me. You can easily get too much or not enough when you do an extraction from a plant. Mullen is and has always been my favorite. It makes a great addition to a steamer and gets rid of bronchitis

It takes 6-8 weeks to grow peppers to transplant size. It takes 9-14 days to germinate peppers. So count back that many weeks from May 30 which is our last frost date. Germinate at 68-85 degrees F. Tomatoes take 5-7 weeks to transplant size. The seeds take 6-12 days to germinate. The germinate at the same soil temperature as peppers. Both should be put out after the last frost date. I tend to start stuff a bit early but I do it in a heated greenhouse and then move them to an unheated one. This makes it possible to slow growth and harden them off at the same time. Leeks get started in the last week of February. We've had great years for leeks and years where we got nothing. Last year I found some leek seeds that were supposed to be able to be direct sown but they came to nothing. Weather has been weird lately.

Looks a lot like my humidifier in a draft.

Really like the cows in the ugly sweaters!