Welcome to CRAZYTOWN
Spring (is that what the kids are calling it these days?) has been a blur. Hot, cold, sunny, rainy. Nothing makes any sense this year, weather-wise...
So many babies to discuss! Mom hatched 12 ducklings in an incubator the kitchen...
Our barn cat had (another) litter of sweet kittens which we catnapped. One of our friends adopted one of the three and we are rehabbing the others and will look for a new home for them soon (I could so become a crazy cat lady, or, maybe I already am one...)
We built a greenhouse on a very steep learning curve. It is now done and we are enjoying having so much more SPACE to grow and make messes.
And then there is the garden! We overwintered a bunch of flowers successfully -- Yarrow (Achillea) which are budding up...
We also had success with Rudbeckia and foxglove, not so much with the strawflower (hardy to zone 8 -- we are in 7! duh.)
Then, we tried direct sowing larkspur. On 2.28, I sowed about 2000 + seeds that had been stored in the freezer since the fall. I had read all about these lovelies...Larkspur don't transplant well because they have long tap roots, and I typically grow all my plants from seed in soil blocks and then transplant. So I was very "generous", (nervous) if you will, with my sowing. We watered and the weather was wacky and the next thing I knew, there were 20+ plants growing in each hole. Insert panic emoji here. 100% germination. It turns out thinning is just about the most painful exercise in the garden. My fave flower farming consultant Dave Dowling recommended thinning with scissors so as not to damage those long taproots. 10+ hours later, there are 2 - 3 plants growing strong in each spot and I am holding my breath for a profusion of blooms. Lesson learned.
We have given away a lot of this lovely seed over the past 6 months...Each black seed has a little white heart on it - that is where the plant sprouts at germination. I promised to put the sowing instructions up on the blog...Enjoy!
Love in a Puff (Cardiospermum) can be sown in place (1/2" - 1" deep - seeds need darkness to germinate) after the soil has warmed (after all danger of frost has passed) or indoors 3 – 4 weeks before last frost, and transplanted into the ground or a large pot. Plants are tendril-climbers and will need support (fence or wire/twine). They can grow up to 12 – 16 feet high and add whimsy and verticality to the garden. Plants do best in full sun, with rich soil. Water frequently. Enjoy!
And finally...We were quoted in the newspaper!