Sunday, April 30, 2017

My Flowers Are Ready To Move

I am finally sure spring has arrived in my garden. This week the weather was strange - snow, rain, sun, even hail and sometimes warm.
Now the night temperature is above +4 C (40 F), soil is soft and I can dig and plant flowers and veggie seedlings. They are completely ready to be planted and to rooting in the soil, but still are potted in the city. 
As I have before told I purchased 4 clematises to plant instead the dead ones. They are well, started to bloom in blue and red on my living room windowsill and will continue flowering on the garden trellises. The royal and zonal pelargonium cuttings and impatiens rooted up well, I want to plant them in hanging baskets.


Last month I sowed tomato, celery, parsley, annual dahlias. They germinated well and grew in plastic cups and milky boxes on the kitchen windowsill. Tomato seedlings are tall and thick, 3 varieties: beef, pink and cherry. I think when they be planted in my greenhouse they will already need a support.



I'm very glad that fuchsia, begonia and dahlia tubers overwintered well and I'm hoping that during the transportation the plants will not be damaged. The begonia and dahlia sprouted leaves, got bigger and taller.


Tonight I'll pack my 'treasures', tomorrow will be hard day, moving is not an easy thing in a car trunk. Hoping all will be OK. The spring is very late here, my plants are waiting for warmth in the garden, as I am. I think the climate changes, what do you think?
 

Saturday, April 22, 2017

Earth Day

Each year, Earth Day — April 22 marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. On April 22,1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies.
1990, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide.
Nowadays Earth Day has reached into its current status as the largest secular observance in the world, celebrated by more than a billion people every year, and a day of action that changes human behavior. 


I dug out some photos on my hard disk for this Earth Day:


I am happy we have the holiday Earth Day when we remember that our beautiful planet deserves careful treatment.

Friday, April 14, 2017

Garden Bloom Day, Mid-April

My garden in the middle of April seems awakened, in white and blue. This winter snow covered the ground for a long time so some flowers sprouted through the last snow in March. Now, in April snow completely  melted, although the soil is not soft, hard in shady spots.
As you can see on my photos, the old leaves are still lying, partly frozen. I hope next weekend I will be able to rake them and to clear the garden.
The first flowers are visible in many places, appearing here and there. Leucojum vernum is the first one popping near the terrace.


Crocuses opened their buds to sun rays beside the gazebo. The first bees appeared very quickly, hungry after long winter. The bees are hard working while crocuses are opened. These white, yellow and purple crocuses with orange center look so pretty on the brown background.



Here is light blue Puschkinia, that always surprises with its appearance. I planted many Puschkinia bulbs in one place, near the porch, but they spread and here they're in the front garden.


And the sunbeams gave them welcome.
As did the morning air
And scattered o'er their simple robes
Rich tints of beauty rare.

Soon a host of lovely flowers
From vales and woodland burst;
But in all that fair procession
The crocuses were first.

by Frances E. W. Harper 
1900

That's all flowers in my garden for now, I'm waiting for primulas, tulips, daffodils...and for warm sunny weather :-)

Monday, April 3, 2017

Perennials For My garden

I've thought I have to plant more perennials in my garden. Every year I spend much time growing annual flower seedlings. Not only time but I have to buy new soil, seeds, in spring all my windowsills  are full of boxes of greenery. So I decided to plant more perennials, maybe I'd grow them from seed or purchase seedlings in a garden center or a nursery. 
I show you what I've selected, perhaps you could advise me to add  more hardy perennials you have experience in growing. 

1. Penstemon


 2. Geranium


3. Artemisia (not sure)

4. Symphoricarpos (Snow berry)


5. Verbascum


6. Corydalis


 7. Stachys

When I traveled I saw these plants and I took pictures. I'm not sure I named rightly the species. 
What is your advice?, are they easy in growing? What could you add to my list?

Today it was an explosion in our St. Petersburg metro (tube) in the tunnel between the stations. This is a tragedy for the families of the dead and the wounded, not guilty of anything. Fortunately, my family and I are safe, and I very much sympathize victims and their families.