Yearly visit to Garfield Park Conservatory

Every year we go to this paticular show around Easter for their spring show. They always have something new and interesting to look at and consider.

More Narcissus from the block…

Tomato 2 week later

We took the tomatoes from the grow lights and have placed them in the south facing window so that they can continue to grow and get used to natiral light. Even though we really wamted to get these in the ground this weekend, maybe depending on the weather, may have to delay a week. Under the grow lights now are the cucumbers and also Nasturtiums. Day 3 and some of the cukes have already sprouted.

Hellebores next door

Commonly known as hellebores, the Eurasian Genus consists of approximately 20 different species of herbaceous or evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Many hellebore species are poisonous which I suspect is why they are pretty rare to come accross, especially in a urban setting such as ours. The species known as "Black hellebore" causes tinnitus, vertigo, stupor, thirst, anaphylaxis, vomiting, catharsis, slowing of the heart and finally, collapse and death from cardiac arrrest. All parts of the plant are toxic, with the roots having the most concentration of toxins.

Getting started on the summer garden

This year we really want to have as much planted in the ground as possible before May even gets here. The winter weather this last season was really warm, and we are confident what ever we seed into the grown now, the second week of April, will be just fine. Temps are in thr mid 70s, maybe even 80 next week. For those more delicate, or that we dont want to direct sow into the ground, we start inside. These are the tomato sprouts, so far we have: Brandywine Heirlooms, Bodacious Hybrids, Cherokee Purple (these were really nice last year), Pink Brandywine, and a Super Sweet Cherry Mix. Think we did 6 of each variety, after a week and a half, all have sprouted and look great. We will give them the next 2 weeks to continue to grow and strengthen, after that, outside they go. One other note, this year we came up with some new grow lights, these have actuall switches on them so you can specify the light blend you are looking for depending on the stage of the plants growth. Red, Blue, White, and or Full spectrum are available.

Vanilla flowers at the Conservatory

The vanilla bean plant is actually a orchid that grows as a vine. Its only one of about 100 climbing and terrestrial orchids. It can take years before one even shows signs of producing a flower, and once the flower blooms they only last for the day. This is the first time I have ever seen the actual flowers on the vines, very cool. They are almost 4 inch's in length, and in the wild rely on natural pollination such as the Melipona bee species found throughout Mexico. Vanilla grown in other places for commercial use have to be hand pollinated, and all within hours of the flowers opening.

Early spring bee's getting a head start on the season.

Narcissus, also known as the popular Daffodil

Some of the first bulbs to come up om the block, quite the variety. There are many more, but heres a few for an idea.