Giant Primrose Sunflower

The five "Giant Primrose" sunflowers that I started from seed this past Spring are just beginning to bloom. Each bloom of this variety has soft yellow petals that surround a chocolate colored center.

None of my plants have reached the 8-12' described on the seed packet, but that could easily be because I transplanted them, instead of direct sowing them. Sunflowers dislike disturbance,
but I was afraid the chipmunks or rabbits would eat my freshly germinated sunflowers if I planted them directly in the flowerbed. Three of my plants have grown 6-7' tall and that pleases me, as I do love tall sunflowers. This is a vigorous, branching variety and would make a great screen. I am excited for the next few weeks, when my plants hit peak bloom and are covered with pretty yellow discs.

More Seed Starting and Transplanting

Today dawned wet and grey. I was hoping for a few breaks in the day where I could do some of the outdoor gardening things on my list. But it wasn't to be. So instead I focused on what I could accomplish inside, where it was warm and dry.

I began the day by transplanting my 20 "Ukrainian Purple" tomato plants. In three weeks, my little plants have gone from tiny transplants with no true leaves - pictured above - to 4" plants with two sets of trues leaves- pictured below. They have now filled up their 2" cells and the tray is getting crowded.

So today I moved them all into 4" X 4" individual pots, hopefully their last home before they get transplanted into the ground. As per usual, this project took much longer than I thought  it would. But I did add 1 tsp. of the new organic tomato fertilizer that I bought yesterday, up at Garland's Nursery. Besides fertilizer, it is also suppose to contain mycorrhiza fungi. Hopefully it will help give my plants an extra boost as they grow in nursery pots underneath the lights.

After I finally finished up with the tomatoes, I turned my attention to the next round of seed starting. But before I could do that, I needed to add the second tier on my new grow light tower. That went fairly smoothly and soon I was ready to start seeding some 6-pack cells. I started with "Gift" zinnias, a pretty red annual I bought from Hudson Valley Seed. I am planning to grow this variety in the "kitchen garden overflow" area, along with the cantaloupe. It gets a ton of sun there and I am hoping they will attract hummingbird and butterflies. I seeded 24 cells and then placed them on the heat mat. Then I filled six 2" pots with potting soil and planted "Giant Primrose" sunflower seed from The Seed Savers Exchange. I am planning to plant these in our new rose flowerbed and maybe also put a few in the sunset flowerbed.

When I was finished, the sunflower pots joined the zinnia cells on the first tier of the tower. I am hoping between the heat from the grow mat and the heat radiating down from the grow lights, that both of these newly planted varieties will germinate by next weekend.

After I finished that project I got out the bags of lilies that we picked up at Garland's Nursery yesterday. Since we won't get these guys planted at least until next Saturday, I wanted to get them out of their bags and temporarily potted up in some half gallon pots. I was really happy to find that all of the lilies bulbs were in good shape. You can never fully tell by trying to look at them through the plastic bags. We ended up with 3 "Casa Blanca", a solid white oriental lily, 3 "Salmon Star", a white and orange oriental lily, and 2 "Lilac Cloud",  a fully double pink and white oriental lily. If they all perform well this first year, we should have one amazingly scented flowerbed sometime in July.

Giant Sungold Sunflower

The first bloom has opened on one of my "Giant Sungold" Sunflower plants. Back in May, I purchased a 4-pack of this variety at the Food for Lane County Youth Farm Plant Sale. To be honest, I had no idea what "Giant Sungold" looked like. I just thought it was  probably a tall variety with a traditional open center framed with golden petals. Well, I was completly off on that guess! "Giant Sungold" is a full-size version of "Teddybear" sunflowers. Now that the first plant has bloomed, I have to say I an kind of taken with this sweet, fuzzy bloom. It wasn't what I expected but it is still bright and cheery and embodies Summertime.

*Today is the 3rd day in a row we have broken the record for the day's highest recorded temperature. Today was only 100, cooler than the last two days and tied with Wednesday. Thankfully, after today, it is suppose to start cooling down. Four days in a row of 100 degrees or higher is enough for me.

Planting and Germination

After a rainy start to the day, the sun broke out by mid-afternoon. After I got home from a very long day at work and had dinner, I jumped right back into my dahlia potting project. I was able to work for a little more than an hour and got an additional 29 dahlias planted. So that gets me up to 126 total at this point.

I also checked on all of my seedlings as I put them back into the greenhouse for the night. After 8 days, I now have 14 of the 20 "Ring of Fire" sunflowers sprouted. 

The squash aren't doing as well. At this point, the only squash to have germinated is one "Waltham Butternut". Surprisingly, the watermelon are doing much better. 3 of the 5 "Early Moonbeam" that I planted have germinated. Maybe it all comes down to seed freshness. All of my squash seed is at least 2 years old but the watermelon seed is from 2014. It is too late in the calendar to start any more squash from seed so I will have to resort to purchasing some plants if I don't get any more to germinate in the next few days.

Seed Starting

We had a nice Easter Sunday here today. The high hit 69 degrees and there wasn't much in the way of any wind, so it felt quite pleasant outside. After returning home from church I decided to start the first of my seeds. Each year I have grown one new variety of Winter Squash. This year I am trying  "Corazon de Chirique" from Baker Creek Seeds. This squash was found in Panama and needs a long growing season. Since I can't easily extend the end of my growing season I need to work on the front side. So, I am trying to get the seed started now and the plants into the ground by early May. This should get me 5+ months before the powdery mildew expoldes in October. I want to grow two plants so I started three peat pots, each plnated with a seed. I also planted 6 smaller peat pots with the sunflower "Gloriosa Polyheaded" from Seeds of Change. This seed is a few years old and Seeds of Change no longer offers this variety. My fingers are crossed that my plants germinate and mature so that I can save some seed this year. The weather forecast is calling for cooler temperatures and rain off on on this week. I have put the seed tray into the warm greenhouse and will keep a close watch on it.

The "Last" Day of Summer

Tomorrow if officially the last day of Summer. Once again, how fast it has gone!

For me, certain flowers really represent summertime. Among those are Zinnias and Sunflowers. Happily I have both of these plants growing in my garden and as Fall quickly approaches, they are just beginning to bloom.

My two long rows of "Persian Carpet" Zinnias are really starting to look good. Almost of the plants are in the process of opening their first bud. Soon, they will all branch and the row will be a sea of color. This variety is so easy start from seed. For an investment of only $5-6 dollars, you can get a 20+ foot row of brilliant color that will last until the first frost. The more you cut, the more they bloom.

My July sowing of "Bright Bandolier" sunflowers is also beginning to pay off. About 1/2 of the flowers are now in bloom and I have a nice mix of yellow and deep red blooms. It is interesting how much taller the red sunflowers are then the yellow ones. I love how the three rows look this time of the year, back-lit by the late afternoon sunshine.

First Sunflower

The first "Bright Bandolier" sunflower opened today. As you can see, this plant is a cheery, bright yellow. "Bright Bandolier" is a mix, so I will also have some deep, solid red blooms to enjoy as well. Nothing says Summer quite like a sunflower in the garden.

The Dahlia Garden in Early September

Monday was the final day of the holiday weekend and I finally had some time to work in the garden and take some pictures.

While the garden is not at peak bloom, I am certainly seeing more and more color each week.

As you can see,  many of the plants are quite tall this year. I got horribly behind on my garden "to-do" list this Summer and at least half of the dahlias weren't stopped in a timely manner. Hence, lots of tall plants this year. At least this doesn't affect bloom quality - you just might have to look up to see them!

I can't decide if I should keep "Jac's Julia" for another year or not. It doesn't produce many blooms, but the ones it does certainly are pretty.

"Clearview Debby" is a new-to-me variety this year and I just love it. I will definitely be saving my tubers this year and planting a lot more of this variety next year. It's a BB sized formal decorative in a light blend of lavender and white.

"Lolita" just glows in the garden, especially on an overcast day. 

"Camano Susan" a BB sized semi-cactus in orange.

"Bracken Sarah" is such a soft beauty. A BB sized formal decorative in a light blend of yellow and orange.

I have wanted to grow "Hollyhill Tigress" ever since I first saw it at a show. It's quite the striking variegated waterlily.

"Creekside Volcano" lives up to its name. Hot colors!

This "Crazy 4 Jessie" bloom is only about half open but you can see how pretty it is going to be. A BB sized incurved cactus in a dark blend of dark red & yellow.

A young "Embrace" bud.

Two plants of "Lakeview Glow"

"Sorbet" a B sized semi-cactus form in a dark blend of white & purple.

"David Lam" a dark red collarette.

"Purple Sparkler" a purple and white collarette.

"Odyssey" a miniature ball in a light blend of lavender and white.

"Fidalgo Julie" a stellar in a dark blend of orange & red.

"Cornel", a red ball. I have grown this variety for years.

This is a new variety for me this year. "AC Rooster" is a red stellar.

"Higgo Wonder" a BB sized laciniated in a dark blend of purple and white.

Martina" a white & purple dark blend miniature formal decorative.

Joal Louisa" a white waterlily.

"Tioga Autumn" a B sized laciniated dahlia in a light blend of pink and yellow.

"Embrace" a bronze BB sized semi cactus.

"Chimicum Les C" a dark red miniature ball.

There are now nice size buds on the "Bright Bandolier" sunflowers. It won't be too long before I finally have some sunflower blooms in the garden.

I am excited to have my first blooms opening on the "Persian Carpet" zinnias. 

There were quite a few bees working the first open female flower on the "Mini Jack" pumpkins. It looks like I won't have to worry about hand pollination with this group.

Now that the rabbits have finally quite munching on the morning glory plants, I have some blooms to enjoy! Above, a "Scarlet O'hara" and below a "Grandpa Ott" flower.