Rogue Gardening

Rogue gardening? As if there were garden police ensuring all plant and planting laws are enforced? Well, of course not. But it might surprise my friends and fellow site visitors, who have an inkling of just how anal I can be, that I tend to break the rules a little bit when it comes to gardening.

How so?

Rogue Gardening Admission #1: I crowd my annuals. If I'm planting annuals, it's because I've grown them from seed or because I want some color bang for my gardening buck. When you plant from seed, if you succeed, you tend to get a lot of plants. I don't want to let one single plant go to waste. So I don't pay much attention to spacing "regulations". Sure, I realize some plants spread outward while others grow upward. And I pay attention to that. But I've been known to crowd my annuals a little bit so I get the most "pop" in my beds.

Rogue Gardening Admission #2: Full sun, whatever! When you live in Central GA, you know that it's going to be hotter than blazes from May-October, at least! I've got some partial shade/partial sun areas that I fill with full sun beauties. They do just fine. The spot gets more than 4 hours of sun a day and it's warm. The plants have never complained, turned colors, or failed to bloom, even from seed. They get plenty of the blazing Georgia sun, and I'm almost willing to bet these plants actually do better than some I plant in the "proper" sun spots, because they actually get a bit of a break from the blaze.

That's all I'm going to admit right now. I don't want anyone deciding I'm just too edgy quite this early in this blog's history!

Sweet Seedlings...

This year I have big plans in several beds around my yard. But my budget isn't proportional to my plans, so I'm starting the majority of the goodies I'm intending to plant from seed.

I've grown from seed in the past, but never to this extent. There's something really exciting about the daily check of the tiny peat pots or the mini greenhouse set up, knowing that soon, hopefully soon, you'll see little green shoots. Then you continue to watch, to pamper, to cajole those little green shoots until they're ready to be placed in their more permanent locale.

My starter enterprise is located on my front porch. It gets just the right amount of sun, and allows for gentle rain while at the same time providing protection from any heavy rain that might dislodge the tender growth. Here are some sunflowers that are coming along nicely in their peat pots.

The warm spell we enjoyed a few weeks ago really jump-started my operation. I've already been able to transplant some nasturtiums and cosmos seedlings into their spots in my annual beds, and they've taken quite well to their new homes. Here's another batch of nasturtiums that are more than ready for transplanting.

I'm hoping for a short break from the much-needed rain over the weekend. That way I can plant some of the seedlings that have matured on my front steps. I've made a good start with some alyssum, morning glories and daisies, along with the nasturtiums and cosmos.

Happy planting, growing and enjoying everyone!

Happy Spring!!!

First let me share with you that the Master Gardeners are having a plant sale next weekend at the Georgia National Fairgrounds (April 4th and 5th). You will find all kinds of cool stuff and pretty good prices. There is an entry fee but I don't think it's more than a couple of bucks.

Now for today's topic, these days everyone wants more bang for their buck and that includes gardening. Here are a couple of tips, beware of buying violas and pansies right now. They're a nice splash of color and the gardening centers are selling them but it's toward the end of their season. I love the violas especially (see picture below) but you'll be pulling them out of the ground in a couple of weeks or so because the heat will tear them up.

Secondly, you will get more mileage out of your wallet and your greenery if you buy perennials. These plants by definition come back every year as opposed to annuals which only last for one season and they're done. Some good perennials to plant in our dry area include coreopsis, black-eyed susans and gerbera daises. Speaking of daisies, a couple of local nurseries have gotten shipments of the stunning long stem gerberas. These plants are like the Cadillac of the daisy family. They run about ten to fourteen bucks per plant.

Well that's it for this go round. Hope you like the new blog area on the site.