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.

Starting to spring clean downstairs...

We have quite an accumulation of differnt pots, varying in size, color and material. These are the ones we took out from storage today to let them get rained on, cleaned out making them ready for planting here in a week.

Spring first blooms...

We still havent loaded up our collection of Dahlias from last summer, its just a matter of taking the time. Walking down the block this morning, it was a bit shocking to see the variety of bulbs that are halfway up, some are already blooming, see below... These are what have came up so far. Early Crocus, Yellow Daffodil and a strain of "Two colored daffodil".

Purple/House Finch

In the winter, the Northern Cardinals, Sparrows, Chickadee', and Junco's dont leave for warmer weather. These Finch's are the same. One difference between the Finch and others is that they can and do come in packs, large groups to feed. And no matter their small size, with superior numbers they hold off all other birds, even doves who are 3-4 times their size until they have had their fill at the feeder. These Finch prefer to nest in areas that are thick with conifers, deeciduous trees and or shrubs. (AKA my neighbors out back.) They love sunflower seeds, as well as seed from thistle, dandelion and other weeds. In the late summer, like the cardinals cherries and mulberries are favorites. The males, who have a red color(books say "raspberry") which results from feeding on a diverse diet. (Not just weed seeds). When given a choice, females usually select colorful males over duller rivals, as colorful birds are usually older and make better mates than young inexperienced males. These guys came by the other day right after the cardinal had left, as you can see, they travel in packs giving them the numbers advantage at the feeders.

Our male cardinal/ice storm

So behind us we have a cardinal couple who whenever they can come over and help themselves to some of the Black oil and striped sunflower, hulled sunflower and safflower seeds. They really enjoy dried fruits, cranberries, blueberries, the book says 33 different types of wild berries we put out. This is the male, he came at a paticular time when no other birds were even out, durring the ice and snow storm that came through yesterday. As i walked into the bed room i heard him chirping, not expecting to see him on my window sill, he is extremely figgity was able to get off a couple of quick shots before he noticed me and flew away. He Must be stocking up, this entire weekend and week will be in the single digits and feel like, with the wind, negative 20-30's. They have several different pleasent sounds (chirps) and songs they sing, along with their bright, unique coats which makes them stand out even more. Unlike most songbirds, both male and female cardinals sing, the female has a softer song. Males often feed the female during courtship and while she incubates. Females build the next in dense shrub; both feed the young.

Holiday flowers, Christmas-New Years

I still have all the flowers from summer to log in here, almost done and as soon as they are finished, they will be posted. In the meantime, These are the holiday flowers raised this year durring December-January. We always plant the classic dark red "Double Dragon" Amarylis. In addition, this year we had some "Apple Blossum" (the pinkish white) and my favorite, first time having them, the all white, "White Alfresco's). As you can see these have many more layers and can grow to be larger than the usual red ones. We will save these bulbs for sure, packed away with all the christmas gear. Along with the Amarylis, we did the Ziva Papperwhites and Carnegie White Hyacinth, even a few tulips just to add to the color of the collections. Instead of the usual ceramic pots, went with these small wooden box's that have no lid on the top. Lined them with plastic, then filled them with a mix of garden soil, potting soil and Spagnham Moss. They turned out better than anticipated. And even after the blooms, the plants continue to grow, several of the Amarylis have sprouted new flower stalks along with the Hyacinths...