Hostas are very popular for their foliage.  I certainly understand that.  But I’ve always thought their flowers have potential, too.  Here is the one in the Douglas fir bed doing the genus proud:

In the same bed, the lavender asters are starting their show.  I watered that bed today, which  inevitably led to rain falling from the sky.  It wasn’t enough rain to count, though, so I just kept watering.

The combination of sprinkler and clouds created some nice water drops on the Aquilegias.

Most of the poor shrub roses have been overwhelmed by bindweed, but this one stretched one branch out and bloomed again.

Below is a close-up of one of the flowers.

Here is one of the huge Prime Ark blackberries.  That is my thumbnail next to it for reference.  (And I don’t have tiny little hands like some people.)

While the sprinkler was running, I had a little visitor come in for a bath!  And this time I had the camera with me!

I was probably within 12 feet of this charmer, and that didn’t bother it at all!

Another view of the little bather.

And another.

Hippeastrum mandonii that I grew from seed three years ago. These were expensive seeds and I wasn’t confident that I could get them to grow, but they sprouted and grew nicely.  I actually sprouted them in water, which is what I read online.  Who knew?

Here is the potential the bulbs hold:

One reason I thought I might be able to grow Hippeastrum species from seed–the red and white hybrid clone I have set seeds a couple of years in a row and I threw them around into pots in the greenhouse.  Here are three of the offspring.  There are at least two others that I haven’t potted individually yet.  It is always exciting to find something that likes the greenhouse environment.

A luscious, somewhat shy gesneriad.  This from brother Tim from the gesneriad club sale from years ago.  It has fantastic leaves and gorgeous flowers.  I think this is a Kohleria–but no longer sure and didn’t see the label.  It has a significant tuber at this point.

Speaking of tubers–I wasn’t expecting to see a big one attached to this Aloinopsis rubrolineata that I grew from seed, maybe seven years ago.  It just seems to moulder away on the shelf in the greenhouse, so I gave it some new soil and a new position–maybe that will cheer it up.

Amazing surprise, as I was trudging through my greenhouse chores today, I moved the huge Coelogyne cristata hanging basket and right behind it, previously hidden, the glorious Sinningia tubiflora was strutting its stuff.  The photos aren’t great, due to the bright backlight, but I’ll try to get better ones tomorrow.

This plant has required a huge amount of patience.  It has grown well and filled a gallon pot with dozens of tubers.  But it has only bloomed once before, with just a few flowers.

Because it is hardy (or said to be), I have threatened it frequently with being planted outside.  But I can’t figure out where I would put it–probably in the Douglas fir bed…but not sure it would thrive in that dry, root-filled environment.

The best thing is that, because there are so many tubers in the pot, I can divide it up next spring and give some away or try a few in the garden.  The flowers are said to be fragrant, and I remember them smelling like vanilla the first time the plant bloomed, but this year I can’t smell them at all.  Not sure if it is my blind nose or the time I was sniffing them.

I believe there are three pots of Ferraria crispa now.  I got them from Ebay back in 2012–almost four years ago.  One of them grows pretty well, but to my knowledge it has yet to bloom (tough to be sure, as it is a winter grower and I’m not always looking in the greenhouse in winter).

These tenacious plants really needed repotting today–their roots were exploring outside the pot and the soil was completely depleted.  These are seeds from Africa that were the free gift with some other seeds I ordered.  There are two plants here, but they’ve grown together and I didn’t want to upset them by tearing them apart at this late date.

From Wikipedia, here is what the flowers may look like in another two years or so:

I bought this Vetheimia bracteata from Sky Nursery three or four years ago–it was half off ($7.50), which seemed like a steal for  a blooming-sized bulb.  Since then, it has spawned a pup.  It needs to be repotted, but I didn’t have the time or energy today–maybe this fall before it leafs out.

Another Ferraria crispa bulb.  These plants are really unusual, with pretty iris-like leaves and fascinating flowers.  Sometimes called starfish flowers.  There are a lot of clones that have different looking flowers.  I can’t wait to see what mine look like!

I ordered more than one species of Ferraria.  It is possible this is NOT crispa.

These seedlings don’t look like much right now, but these are some more winter growers.  This clump includes a mix of Babiana hybrids.  These are two-years-old from seed.  I divided the seedlings into three pots and they seem to be doing alright, though they haven’t bloomed yet.  Babiana leaves are pretty cool–all pleated and crinkly.

This cactus has been with me for what seems a lifetime.  It does get flowers in a double ring towards the growing end.  I think this may be Mammillaria matudae, not super happy in low-light Seattle, but muddling through.

Gasteria “Marble” that I’ve had for a few years.  This is a plant family that I can’t resist.  They are completely carefree and the flowers are interesting and the leaves are fascinating, too.

Another view.

And the tag.

Another Gasteria–this one came from brother Tim.  It is prolific–look at all those babies around the parent!

I will pot up a few pups this year so I have some extras to give away.

This is a Sauromatum venosum bulb that I ordered from eBay and planted in October 2014.  This voodoo lily is new to me and it will be great to see it bloom one day.

Originally from the Flower and Garden Show–I think from Edelweiss Nursery, these Freesia laxa (syn. Anomatheca laxa) have been consistent in coming up and blooming–and spreading seeds all over the greenhouse!

Another Gasteria–this one came from sister Cate many years ago.  It bloomed already and it is throwing another scape.

I only have one Pancratium maritimum seedling left–originally I had potted three of them on.  I’ve always dreamed of having one of these bloom in the greenhouse.  I really hope this one makes it!

This fuchsia plant, a cultivar called “Rijs” has charming, smallish flowers and has survived a sunny shelf in the greenhouse until now.  This one came from brother Tim, from a fuchsia sale he attended several years ago.  I pruned it back, gave it fresh soil and moved it out of the sun!  Hopefully, it will get back to blooming before cold weather sets in.

I lost two of my pitcher plants this year, but still have this–and it happens to be my favorite.  I need to make sure it has enough water all the time, which I haven’t been as good about this year.  It usually sits in a water-filled tray, but the water-filled part was harder to maintain this year for some reason.

This seems to be an iris seedling, but no idea what kind.  I grew dozens of seeds three years ago and this is one of the few left in the greenhouse.  It likes water, so I keep it with the pitcher plant.

Pelargonium “Grossersorten” cutting, with some small “Petals” cuttings in the same pot.

Leon got this Haworthia cutting from a friend.  It was a lot longer, but I cut it off where the stem was bent.  Right below the bend, there are fresh starts coming out among the leaves.  I think this will do well in the greenhouse and nicely complement the Gasterias.

I’ve had this Pelargonium for a long time.  It is possibly from City People’s on the back of Capitol Hill.  I suspect it might be carnosum, but it has never bloomed–maybe someday!

Here are a couple of Amarine bulbs purchased online several years ago.  Amarine is a cross between Nerine and Amaryllis.  These bulbs haven’t been super happy since I’ve received them.  I’ll move them outside this year and let them fend for themselves.

Pelargonium papilionaceae  cuttings.  My older starts of this species are five feet tall and bloom impressively in the greenhouse in spring.

Another old friend–this is Plectranthus forskohlii (I think).  These are impressive foliage plants, and they add lovely white flowers in late fall if the season has been warm enough.

I’ve kept two stock plants going for years now and I take cuttings as needed.  Unlike the closely related, warmth-loving Coleus, these plants do just fine in the cold greenhouse.

Here are some cuttings I took today.

My second stock plant.

There are so many Clivia seedlings in the greenhouse–I don’t plan to photograph and inventory them all.  However, this one actually and miraculously has a label!

I can’t seem to find pictures of this cross online, but at least I know it is a hybrid (or is claimed to be).

Another Quail x Nakamura seedling–these are three or so years old, but somewhat diminutive.  I will see if some fertilizer and tender loving care might help them.

Pelargonium “Petals” cuttings.  I always keep some of these  coming along, as they tuck into pots nicely.

More Pelargonium cuttings–not sure what color.

I’ll call this a memorial pot–it used to hold a fuchsia bonsai that I’d kept for 10+ years.  That plant died away last year, but three fern sporelings have popped up in this pot, including some type of brake-fern, a hardy male fern, and a tender-looking delicate other sporeling.

Another grand old friend–this  is a big pot of Oxalis triangularis.  If I remember, I will divide some bulblet out of this pot and plant them separately this fall.  These are really nice pot plants to mix among the green green greens that permeate the patios.

Some stalwart begonias have held on in the greenhouse for many years, including this one.  I think this is Begonia “Honeysuckle” and I think I bought the mother plant maybe in 2002 as a tiny pot plant to have in my office at work.  The leaves are attractive and the flowers are surprisingly showy.

Close-up of the flowers.

Another view.

And another view.

Leon brought cuttings home five years ago from cousin Brenda’s setcreasea.  Even through several moves, when we visited her in July, she still had a big pot of these showy, tenacious wanderers.

Here is one of the pots with the Pleione mixed bulblets.  I think I popped seven starts in this pot.

Here are some second-year offsets from the Pleione maculata in the greenhouse.

In the midst of my plant inventory and tending, Leon suggested maybe I could clean up the greenhouse for the party he’s having on September 3rd.  Because I’m working so much right now, I knew I couldn’t give the mess the time and attention it deserves to get it really organized.  Instead, I went for the “what they can’t see won’t hurt me” approach–I put up curtains made of landscape cloth!  Above is the before.

And here is the after!!!  Why didn’t I do this years ago!

My first thought regarding fertilizing my potted plants now in trays on the drip system was to drop some granular fertilizer in the trays. But then I found these in the greenhouse:

So, I dropped one of these in each tray and I’ll drop a bit of fertilizer in each tray, too, before I water again–probably tomorrow.  We’re expecting 88 degrees tomorrow, 91 on Friday and 93 on Saturday!  So, it will be a good time to test the system!

 

After visiting cousins Ralph and Brenda in Lodi, I was convinced that even I could install a drip irrigation system.  So, I ordered this from eBay:

Rain Bird Grdnerkit Drip Irrigation Gardener’s Drip Kit | eBay

I realized there is no way I can put a nozzle in every little pot outside and inside the greenhouse–that is probably close to 300 pots!  Instead, I figure if I put all the plants in trays and then get water to the trays, that should work.  So, I ordered a bunch of these:

Gardening Trays No Drain Holes Greenhouse Garden Plant Wheatgrass Microgreens | eBay

And then taking the simplicity idea even farther, as brother Tim and I started to move all the outside plants to the trays, I thought it might be easiest to only have the top trays receive water and then let gravity do the rest.  I cut small slits about 3/8″ up on two sides of the trays.  Not only will this allow the drip irrigation water to drain to the trays below, but it also would keep the trays from filling up too much during the wet season.

So, after all the plants were in trays (and there are some pretty cool plants that I’ve started and somehow kept alive), I opened the package and looked over all the pieces of the drip kit.

The concept is pretty simple and my gravity idea made it even easier.  I was able to hook up about ten feet of 1/2″ hose and  inserted four nozzles with the nifty installation tool.  The hardest part was figuring out how to “cap” the end of the  hose.  There was a figure-eight looking part that was supposed to be the tool, but it didn’t make sense until I figured out you just put the hose through one opening of the figure eight, then bend it in half and back through the other opening!  It worked like a charm!

So, I think I have successfully installed the drip system.  I have ordered a timer, too, so I’m waiting for that.  In the meantime, this will be a good (sunny) week to run the drip nozzles to see how long it takes to completely water the 16 trays of plants.

Next, I plan to order more trays for the greenhouse.  I will splice the hose and pass it under the gravel through the greenhouse door and then set up something similar to what I’ve done on the outside shelves in there along the top shelf that can drip down to the bottom shelf.  3/8″ of standing water seems about right to allow the pots in the trays to absorb enough, but not get too waterlogged.

Once all that is done, I likely will install some drip systems around the yard, too, that will make it easier to water everything.  We’ll see.

 

Here are a few more plants in the greenhouse.

Brugmansia grandiflora bulbs that I got from Strange Wonderful Things (Ebay) 3 or 4 years ago.  They survive, but don’t thrive.  I top dressed them.  Maybe that will help.

Here is the potential they hold.  I should work harder to grow and bloom them!

Here is a picture from years ago of what I believe is an Echinocactus.  It has HUGE flowers, but not every year.

Another of the cactus collection, with large-ish flowers, though I don’t remember what color.  It hasn’t bloomed for a while.

This was many years ago.  This cactus has grown substantially and it has grown horizontally, rather that upright.  The greenhouse doesn’t get enough sun to make cactus totally happy.  They survive, though, and they bloom sometimes.  This one gets rings of smallish cerise flowers around near the top.

Here is a seedling succulent–now probably four years old (picture is two years old or so).

Here is what Erepsia lacera looks like when it is happy.  I’ll have to work on finding out what it really likes.

Here is the tropical succulent vine I’ve had in the greenhouse for ten years.  Brother Tim got a cutting from it to bloom one year on his hot balcony, and it bloomed once for me, too.  It has fringed tiny flowers like a mignonette and is sweetly fragrant.

Here is a close-up of Albuca setosa bulbs.  I grew these bulbs from seed many years ago.  They bloom regularly

One of the Plectranthus cuttings from years ago.  I have kept a couple of these going for many years–they have handsome leaves and they will bloom in the autumn if kept in the greenhouse all summer.

This agave was smuggled from Spain when we came back from our trip 20+ years ago.  I want to send it to Lodi to cousin Brenda’s place–she can grow it in the ground and make it smile.

Oxalis triangularis regnellii.  I’ve had these for many years and they are a wonderful plant that doesn’t ask for much and give double rewards with amazing leaf color and graceful flowers.

These Dierama mixed hybrids are from seeds that I grew last year.  I have an affinity for these plants, but I’ve yet to get one large enough to bloom.  I’ll keep trying, though.

Another mystery seedling that came up last year.  I think it is from seeds from Arizona.

“Light of Buddha” Clivia that is really pot bound.  I’ll mix up some Clivia mix soon and pot on dozens of my seedlings.

Persicaria capitata that brother Tim passed from Bette Higgins many years ago.  I have two pots of it–love the leaves and the flowers.  I can cut these way back and they only get better looking.

Another brother Tim plant–this Chinese Wisteria has been with me for 20+ years.  This plant bloomed one time–maybe 15 years ago.  I remember it smelled like grape KoolAid.

One of the smaller Rhodohypoxis baurii divisions.

Tree peony seedlings.  The seeds were planted in 2013, but they came up last year, I think.

Fern sporelings that came up around the greenhouse.  I like to grow these on a bit and then plant them under leggy plants like the shrubby geraniums and tree fuchsias.

This seedling is labeled Libertia grandiflora.  I hope that is right.  Here is what it may look like someday:

 Another Masdevallia division.  This one isn’t quite as robust and I think that’s due to the orchid pot it is planted in!  All of the books and advice say that orchids should never stand in water, but the only way I’ve succeeded with these  is to grow them in a tray that I fill with water regularly to make sure they have enough moisture and humidity.  My Restrepia guttulata is also in that tray and it does really well there, too, even with the extra water.

I’m going through every plant in the greenhouse and potting them on and cleaning them up and throwing out all the empty pots.

I knew there would be some surprises!  Here are a few:

This was my favorite surprise.  I THINK this is a seedling of my Sinningia leucotricha.  You can see the tiny little caudex forming just where the stem meets the soil.

Here is a loganberry seedling–now in its second year.  Loganberry is a hybrid between a particular blackberry and a raspberry.  Rubus × loganobaccus.  The question I wonder is, does it actually come true from  seed?  Regardless, I’m a berry freak, so no matter what this cane produces in the next couple of years, I’ll probably love it!

I took cuttings of all the flowering maples last autumn when I put them to sleep in the greenhouse.  Many of them struck.  I haven’t done much with them since, but they are starting to bloom in gallon pots.  This is a cutting of the species that brother Tim gave me last year.

This is a second-year seedling of Geranium maderense.  The way this plant grows is interesting–it wants to use its old leaf stalks to hold up its main stem.  This is tough to accommodate in a pot, but I’m trying!  I’ve always wanted to get one of these to bloom–maybe next year.  It is supposed to be biennial, but things grow slowly for me…but they do grow!

These are three-year-old seedlings of Daphniphyllum macropodum from seeds borrowed from the arboretum.

This shrub came up from a seed mix called Andean shrubs.  It superficially resembles a currant, with some soft spines all over the stems and leaf buds starting from almost every leaf axil.  I looked around the web to try to identify it, but I was unsuccessful.  I’ll keep looking.

I am the worst when it comes to labeling–and these seedlings are from seeds planted years ago.  One is a palm tree, but I have no idea what the other one is.  It looks tropical, and somewhat like a citrus, but it is getting a strong branch from below the ground.  It will be interesting to see what it becomes.

Here is one of my two divisions of Restrepia guttulata.  The flowers are spectacular, but I’ve only had flowers develop once or twice.  The plants are growing well.  I need to read more and use more orchid food to see if I can get flowers more often.

Another labeling mystery–another second year seedling.  This could be a campanula.  Or almost anything else.  I suspect it will bloom next year–then maybe I can tell what it is!

One of three Rhodohypoxis baurii divisions.  I love these bulbs–they have nice, soft pink flowers and are low maintenance.

Ferns volunteer in the greenhouse pretty often.  Here are a couple different kinds that came up in one moist pot.

This seedling of Albizzia is about six years old…it keeps trying to grow, despite a fair amount of neglect.  I unwrapped some wire from it that was on too long–maybe that will help it grow a little better.

Here is one of the grape vines I grew from the seeds left over from giant grapes we ate at the cabin one year.  This vine is probably six years old.  I planted one of these out in the orchard garden and it is growing well this year–might get grapes in a year or two (or three or four).

Here is one of the Masdevallia divisions I split off two years ago.  There are three of them left.  They bloomed nonstop for a really long time (six months or more), but are finally resting.

I potted on about a dozen foxgloves–both the annual type, Foxy, and the biennial type, Apricot Beauty.  There were also 4-5 columbine seedlings, both Crystal and McKana’s Giant mix.  These will all go out in the Douglas fir bed next spring.

This geranium cutting was languishing in a 4″ pot, so I moved it on.  It is red with just a touch of orange–a tough color to mix well, but it is a bright light in the greenhouse where it doesn’t really have to blend with anything else.

Here is a pot with three Pleione bulblets–from the mix I got from an Ebay seller.

This is a scented geranium I bought a couple years ago.  the delicate leaves are like a more graceful chrysanthemum.  The flowers are even more delicate–just wispy, bright petals.  I grabbed a cutting off of it to see if it will root.

I started these cycads from seed about five years ago.  They are a bit anemic looking, so I moved them into more shade and top-dressed them.  Hopefully that will help darken them up and get them healthy again.

More label free mystery seedlings.  These are second year irids.  I suspect Dietes, but the leaves are bluer than the grandiflora that I grew from seed ten years ago.

Not a great picture, but this is the recently cut back Plectranthus effusus var. longitubus from Plant Delights.

Geranium “Petals”–cuttings that I just trimmed back.  One of the sprouts has reverted.

This cutting was growing nicely in the greenhouse and starting to flower.  “Petals” has amazing leaves–just incredible!  The challenge with this clone is the straggly growth.  If I had been more diligent with the pinching, I think this might have been an award winner!

Here is my main Pleione formosana group.  I started with one bulb about four years ago–and now it is probably 20 bulbs.  I’ve taken bulblets off the top of the old bulbs and potted them on.  In 3-4 years, I should have 30 Pleione flowers in the greenhouse!

The garden continues to be filled with berries (black and rasp) and flowers (mostly the annuals Leon added to the pots around the patios).

I plan to do some organizing and repotting in the coming weeks.  As part of that process, I decided to increase my favorite plants through some starts from Ebay.

There are sellers that will send streptocarpus leaves for cuttings, and I ordered a dozen of those.  Unfortunately, they landed right before I went on vacation.  I potted them up, but when I got back they already had wilted and some had shriveled up to nothing.  This is especially sad, as I received leaves of some awesome cultivars.  Hopefully some of the survivors will root, but it seems unlikely…I might need to order them again when I can take better care of them.  I’ve had great success with leaf cuttings before.

One of my favorite and successful greenhouse plants are the Pleione orchids.  I only have Pleione formosana, so thought I would try some different kinds.  One seller had a batch of ten bulblets for a reasonable price, and he has some nice species and cultivars, so I ordered them.  Today they landed and I potted them up.  Here are some Pleione pics to give an idea of what possibilities exist.

I’ll post another update this weekend, once I start to repot and get organized.  I expect I’ll find all kinds of treasures I’ve forgotten about.

The rain lilies in the greenhouse bloomed really nicely the last week or so–more flowers than I’ve had before.  These are seedlings I grew of Habranthus robustus.