I am on track with my seed starting so far this year. I soaked and planted five more species this past Saturday. Most of these seeds were purchased from https://australianseed.com/ and I’m borrowing their photos here. They are:

I bought a bunch of the Acacia seeds to share with friends Arliss and Mike go fight some erosion at their home in Parker, Arizona. I’m trying to grow some myself, too, so I can tell them how to start them.

A nasty white mold was forming on the soil of my seed pots after a few days, but I scraped it off and added some lights, and that seems to have done the trick.

The first seeds to come up are the Hardenbergias–about five or six of them are showing so far! I’m hoping to pass some seedlings to brother Tim to try outside in West Seattle.

Last week, a much-needed break from classes began. My first “fun” chore was to inventory all the seeds I have left from years past and set a plan for each kind. I was planning on this being a 15-minute quick task. About three hours later, I was finally on the last packet of seeds, the SIXTY-NINTH PACKET!

I immediately promised myself I wouldn’t buy any new seeds (a promise since broken) and that I would plant each and every kind of seed I already owned and give them each a fair chance at reaching their plant potential. To meet that goal, I pretty much have to plant a packet a day for the rest of my life…

My seed starting window (my seed incubator) had to be reassembled after a summer dismantling. I accomplished that today. I have a plant tray there with a heating mat, all on a table. Three sets of LED lights will get clamped around the edges so I can adjust the light levels.

Well, after the seed incubator was all up and running, I couldn’t help but get excited and want to plant some seeds. So, first I planted the seeds that followed me home from Hawaii, graciously ignored by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture at the airport. A bunch of them were from the Foster Botanical Garden, and some were from the house we rented. They honestly could be almost anything. It will be fun to see if any of them come up.

The incubator still looked pretty empty, so I decided to try some of the Australian seeds that I ordered last year. I picked five different seed packets and while I wait for the various stratification strategies to kick in, I’m typing this blog post. Here’s what I’ll be starting:

Acacias are one of my favorite tree families, and I’ve always wanted one for the greenhouse. Acacia baileyana “Purpurea” is the cultivar I’m going to try. I had to hot water scarify these. If any of them germinate, I expect they will grow pretty fast, so I could end up with a blooming plant in my lifetime.

Another plant I’ve always wanted to try is Hardenbergia. I just hot water scarified a packet of Hardenbergia violacea “Purple” seeds and hope to get one started this way for the greenhouse.

Every once in a while I’ve seen Kangaroo Paw plants for sale at local nurseries. I decided I would try to grow some from seed. These are Anigozanthos manglesii. The seeds supposedly benefit from smoke treatment because wildfires are common where they naturally grow. Luckily, rather than burning the house down trying to meet their needs, I bought some instant smoke treatment that I can just sprinkle on top of the seeds when I plant them, and when I water, the smoke works its magic.

Another fun Australian shrub is Hakea drupacea, the Sweet Scented Hakea. I thought this would be good for the greenhouse, too. This one likes smoke treatment, too.

Lastly, I want to try something really showy, so I’m planting a packet of Telopea speciosissima. I’m soaking these seeds now and will also smoke treat them, just in case.

Nothing is better in the heart of winter than planting seeds and watching them grow…its like bringing spring a little early.

To get the incubator put together, I had to venture into the greenhouse. It is so stuffed at this point that I have to maneuver like a Cirque du Soleil acrobat just to reach the back. And pretty much every seedling that will come up is destined for the greenhouse. I’m not sure exactly how that’s going to work!

I flew to Oahu on December 4th and spent a week there with my friend Linda.  We stayed on the windward side of the island in a beautiful little house.

There were spectacular views and lovely grounds from this little Indonesian cottage. 

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We found a lot of wildlife at the house, too–lots of birds, including wild chickens, mynas, shamas, egrets, and bulbils.  There were lots of frogs around the little pond, and big snails came out at night.  I saw bright pink apple snail eggs on foliage in the pond, too. We had geckos in the house and outside.  There were guppies in the pond, too, so I dipped some out into a fishbowl and kept them on the table inside for our stay there.  One day, I caught a gecko eyeing the guppies with suspicion.

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We took an excursion with amazing friend, Dean, to the Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu.  As many times as I have been to Honolulu, I had never been to this garden.  Surprisingly, Dean had never been there, either, and he’s lived on Oahu most of his life!

We saw some amazing plants and trees in this garden.  Highlights were the big trees, including the Kapoks and the Baobob, and the Quibo.  The palms were great, especially the Talipot Palm, which you will see blooming below. The “baby” Talipot doesn’t have a trunk, but is huge and has hooked thorns.  The conservatory had myriad treasures, including my first Amorphophalus titanum sighting (not in bloom, but the leaf was impressive enough!), and a giant anthurium, orchids, bromeliads, and more.

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I was working on college coursework the entire trip, but one day had some free time to go to the beach.  Of course, that ended up being the rainiest, windiest day!   Here are some photos from that excursion.  The plant is an interesting beach pea we found, and the cat is a feral cat at a fun restaurant we ate at.

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I had brought a book to read about the paintings and travels of Marianne North in the 1800’s. She was an amazing, prolific artist.  Dean bought me a book on the William Hillebrand, who founded the Foster Botanical Garden, and who had a major impact on Hawaii’s flora and fauna.  It turns out that Hillebrand had met North during their travels.  In addition, she had painted a blooming Talipot palm, which is what we also saw at Foster–it was blooming for the first time after 51 years there!  

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I’ve worked hard the last six weeks to get all of the plants I had grown or purchased for the Armando Garden planted.   It was slow, physical work moving all the bark off and then back on the garden, and digging holes in the packed soil.  But, it is done for the year.

The newest half of that garden doesn’t look like much–all the plants are smallish or completely dormant.  But they hold a lot of promise.

The best gardens are typically built by using multiples of good garden plants and large groupings.  I feel an urgency to plant special plants that I’ve always wanted to grow, so I added a bunch of those in the garden.

Here are some of the interesting highlights from Annie’s Annuals:

Euphorbia characias “Dwarf”

 

Below is Glaucium flavum

This is Knifophia thomsonii, which I had in a pot all summer and it sent up two flower spikes, despite the cramped quarters.

Anthemis sancti-johannis

Aster “Harrington’s Pink” (I did group 3 of these)

Geranium pyrenaicum “Bill Wallis”–I grouped 3 of these, as well.

And this scented pink, Dianthus “Scent First Coconut Surprise”

I also set out what I believe to be a Yucca rostrata that I’ve been nursing along in the greenhouse for about 3 years.  I would love for it to look like this one day:

And then there are the bulbs that I planted from John Scheepers.

Tulip Antoinette–I planted 20 of these in groups of five.

And these somewhat similar “Flaming Purissima” tulips, also 20 planted in groups of 5.

I planted 25 of these Camassia quamash bulbs, in 3 groups of 7-9 bulbs.

I have one of these in a pot that has bloomed beautifully for years, so I thought I’d try planting some in the Memory Garden.  There are 25 bulbs in 3 groups of 7-9 bulbs.  These are Corydalis solida.

I’ve always loved Hyacinths, but usually in pots.  I had a lot of ground to cover, though, and 20 mixed-color Hyacinth bulbs, so I went ahead and planted them in groups of 3-5.

And the big, later blooming lily bulbs, Lilium “Black Beauty”.  I planted three bulbs in one group and two of them as individuals.

And these Fritillaria persica bulbs, which I planted in a group of 3 in the Memory Garden and another 2 in the driveway bed.

Last, I planted another Fritillaria in the Douglas Fir bed, this one Fritillaria raddeana.

I am hopeful that we’ll have a good, wet winter that will water these plants in, and enough cold to chill the bulbs appropriately.

I believe the memory bed has over 300 plants/bulbs in it.  Half of it is looking pretty full and lush, and the other half is newly planted, but should still provide a lot of blooms and beauty next year.

One thing that I gave up on is trying to perfectly design the garden.  There is no perfect design, anyway, and I only have so much time, so I just planted what I had in a way that made the best sense at the time.  The great thing about gardens is that no decision needs to be final, so if things don’t work out well, I can shift things around and I intend to add things for years to come to fill in the blank spots.

 

Here are some quick pics I took around the garden and greenhouse today.

Streptocarpus are blooming generously in the greenhouse after finally getting a little attention from a delinquent gardener.  They are very forgiving.

This is such a vigorous cultivar that I’ve ended up with several of them–they root very easily and bloom magnificently over a long season.

Dozens of flowers on these plants!

Another view.

Angelina Jolie is not my favorite actress, but she’s trying hard to be my favorite Streptocarpus!

Not sure which cultivar this is, but it is striking.

Brother Tim gave me a small plant of this Chrysanthemum several years ago, and it was neglected in the greenhouse for several years.  I finally took cuttings from that original plant and put one in the garden in front of the greenhouse.  It has turned out to be an excellent addition and bloomed at just the right time when everything else was packing it in for the year.

Different view…

This plant has quite a few flowers–not covered the way some of the florist mums are, but definitely showy.

The rose Europeana has one last flower.

Asters are still making some waves in the driveway bed.

Another view.

The witch hazel is bright yellow right now.  The leaves will be gone in a few days–this is a short-lived show.

A full view of the witch hazel shrub–you can see that the leaves at the ends of branches are already gone.

Ceratostigma blooming quietly in the orchard bed.

Osteospermum “Akila” have responded well to cutting back and feeding, but they won’t get flowers again before frost.  I’ll move them into the greenhouse and hope they make it through the winter.

I bought the Nemesia in this window box early in the spring.  It has been much more resilient that I would have believed–this box is tough to water and keep moist.   I pruned everything back last month and it is growing back beautifully.

Pelargonium “Petals” really shines in the autumn after getting all those amazing leaves through the summer.

Not in my garden, but worthy of note–these are Boston ivy-clad walls at North Seattle College.

My absolute favorite new greenhouse plant is this Thunbergia from brother Tim.  It has grown really well and bloomed endlessly.   I will try to get cuttings of it, and figure out a way to grow it and show it off for next year.

Another newer Streptocarpus–lots of netting and frills on this one.

This is the first time this Streptocarpus has bloomed.  It is pretty fun–no two flowers are alike!

Another view–this is a true blue, too, which I can never get enough of.

I’m excited that the aster starts that I received from eBay last year have grown and bloomed beautifully.  Here are some images of them showing off in the Armando garden.

 

I was able to spend about ten hours last weekend on the greenhouse and potting bench.  I can’t remember the last time I was able to carve out that much time for the plants.  Every plant got some much-needed attention.  Here are some “after” photos.

Here are two of the new Streptocarpus plants that I started from leaf cuttings last year.

 

The stem broke on this one, so I had to lift them up to get a photo…great color and patterns, though.

Another view.

One of the smaller seedling Impatiens that I grew from seed getting its first flower now!

Pristine white Streptocarpus named “Angelina Jolie.”

Another Cape Primrose from the leaf cuttings I got from an eBay seller last year.

This pot of Pleione orchids has gotten really crowded.  There will be dozens of bulblets in a month or so, and I’ll peel them off and pot them together in a separate pot or two.  I think it will take about three years for me to get blooming size plants from the bulblets.

The big story with this part of the shelf is that I threw away the original Sinningia leuchotircha caudex.  I had that plant for ten or so years and it had gotten huge, but a few years ago, all the buds died out at the top, and it never recovered.

This shelf contains an assortment of bulbs–Hippeastrums, inlcuding seedlings of H. mondonii, Habranthus robustus, Watsonia, Ferraria, and a few unknowns from a mixed seed packet.

Another view of one of the bulb shelves.  The Veltheimia bracteata bulbs are here, too.  They didn’t bloom last year for the first time in a long time, so I added some more fertile soil under and over the root balls without disturbing the roots.

This shelf has cactus, Gasterias, and an Aloiniopsis rurbrolineata that I grew from seed five or six years ago.

This is the Streptocarpus shelf–probably ten different plants, most of them are ten or so years old, but still productive.

Some plants not shown clearly in these photos that I potted on or divided include the hybrid red and white Hippeastrum that I’ve had for a long time.  Not only does it bloom every year,  but it sets seeds, and the seedlings have sprung up in pots all over the greenhouse.  I must have more than a dozen bulbs of this hybrid now!  There were offsets as well as the seedlings.

Also prolifically seeding around is the Hippeastrelia hybrid.  I potted all of the seedlings in separate pots and in good soil.  There are about a dozen pots of these now, too, and I divided the original pot of bulbs, which was very congested!

Other seedlings I potted on are Agapanthus praecox–I got five seedlings from the plant I grew from seed about seven years ago.

This view shows the Strelitzia reginae, Sinningia tubiflora, and the three divisions of Impatiens flanaganae, a tall tuberous type.   I also divided the old butterfly amaryllis I’ve had for 20 years.  I has only flowered once or twice in all that time!  The bulbs were pretty small, but seemed healthy enough.

This corner of a shelf has some vines tangled up, including an old succulent one that I’ve never identified, Thunbergia alata, and Eccremocarpus scaber.

This lower shelf has two Billbergia nutans, with Clivia miniata hybrids that I grew from seed in front.

More Clivia seedlings.  These are all mostly blooming size now, and I expect they should bloom next year.

Another Clivia seedling.

This shelf is pretty empty, with just a Bowiea volubilis and a pot with stock geranium plants.

Another bottom shelf with Clivia seedlings.   Hoping for a great show come March/April.

Here is the massive Coelogyne cristata that I’ve had for ten or so years.  I did not repot this plant.  I’m not really sure how I will when the time comes, but it bloomed well this year, so I’m hoping it will again next year and I can deal with repotting it afterwards.

Since the last post I did before September was May 27th, I’m adding some photos I took with my phone in June and July.  I’ll include some assessments here of the plants I started from seed this year.

Brother Tim had the great idea of growing vines up Leon’s “Pod” sculpture in the driveway bed.  He started a pot of morning glory seedlings and we potted them on into a bigger pot under the sculpture.

I was worried these would never grow and bloom–they took a very long time to get going.  I guess they were waiting for warm weather.

Every morning when I left for work, these flowers cheered me on.  By the time I got home in the evening, they were gone!

Amazing color and shape.  These have always been one of my favorite flowers–I’m not sure why I haven’t grown them at all lately, but I’m glad Tim brought them back to me.  And they looked great on the sculpture, too.

These vines wanted to be vigorous, but the pot constrained them.  Next year, I will plant them directly in the ground with lots of food and love.

The other vine that I grew up the same sculpture was Eccremocarpus scaber.  This one turned out to be a yellowy orange color.   I like the grace and strength of these vines, but like the morning glories, they need to be planted in the ground and not in a pot, to realize their full potential.  Next year!

Close-up of the Eccremocarpus buds.

The Petunias have been amazing all summer–I just cut them all back last weekend to see if I can coax another round of blooms.    I liked the Osteospermum flowers, but they didn’t last long.  I tried cutting them back, as well, but so far, no new buds.

Poor picture–the phone camera doesn’t like the glow off the very white blooms (but I do!).

I’m very happy with how the Begonia “Funky Pink” plants worked out–I hope they will winter over in the greenhouse as well as the Begonia boliviensis  that

Our Easter lily came back with a few fragrant flowers, and one of the Dahlias was back, too.

My Hemerocallis never put on a big show like some I’ve seen, but the flowers are gorgeous for a little while.  This on e is in the driveway bed.

Abutilon x suntense blooming in late spring.  I ruthlessly pruned these shrubs after blooming to try to give them some shape, as they are very leggy and top-heavy.

Restrepia guttulata blooming in the greenhouse this spring.  They outdid themselves this year, with four flowers on each of the two plants.

A few freesia laxa flowers.

I had purchased some miniature Gesneriads last year from an online shop, The Violet Barn.  It took them about a year to get going, but these two finally started blooming.

Not a great photo, but you can see the color and shape of these miniature violet flowers.  They are a gorgeous hue, but they don’t open fully, staying cup-shaped until they dry up.

The roses on the Jeff Tangen arbor bloomed beautifully this year.  I believe the red one is a root stock for a hybrid tea, but I like it when it blooms and it pretty much disappears after that.

Another view.

And another.

I was so thrilled when this little beauty bloomed.  This is a rose I grew from seed, but I have no idea where the seeds came from!  But I love the color, the fragrance is lemony and bright, and the hips, which are on the plant at this writing, are an almost-black burgundy color.

Another view. I hope to make this plant into a bonsai.

An early Impatiens flower from one of the seedlings.

The Epiphyllum hybrid that I’ve had for so long (20+ years) from brother Tim had an amazing, huge flower this year.  The photo doesn’t capture the neon nature of this pink flower.

Another view.

The driveway patio pots blooming madly in early summer.  At this point, the Dianthus and the Osteospermum are all blooming.  Neither hybrid lasted long in the summer heat, but I’m waiting to see if chopping them back and cooler September weather will revive them a bit.

A different view showing the Hakonechloa macra aureola plant that we’ve had for so long.  It makes a great foil for the bright annuals.

A better view of the pinks, Dianthus “Raspberry Parfait.”  My disappointment in these plants is not because of flower or form, but I just wanted more flowers for longer.  This was an unusually hot summer, so I may try them again to see if they do better given cooler conditions.

 

 

Here are a few photos from around the garden this weekend.

Here’s a fun combination–garlic chives and rhubarb.

I’m excited that this rhubarb has taken hold after more than a year…I will be able to harvest some next year.

Himalayan blackberries in the raised beds.  They produced really well this year, mostly because they got a little water.  The wilder ones in the neighborhood did not have good berries this year.

More blackberry pictures–I really love these berries!

The wonderful arboretum rose is blooming really well–its second big burst of the summer.  The fragrance is amazing, as always.

Close up of a rosebud.

Phlox “Laura” is my favorite visually, but there are others that appeal to my nose more.

Asters remain unfazed by the dry, hot summer.  They are putting on a real show now in the various gardens, especially the Armando garden.

More asters in the driveway bed.

More arboretum rose pics.

One drawback this year has been that the old flowers cling to the vines, along with the new buds.  I think rain and wind usually help clean the plants, but we haven’t had any of that, so they cling on much longer.

More phlox pictures.

And more.  I had cut these back in early June, which made them branch out and bloom a bit later.  The pink blooms are much more fragrant than the lavender/whites.  I’m glad I have them planted together!

I’ve been taking a few pictures all summer, even though I haven’t had time to post.  So, here are some updates on the patio pots planted with seedlings I started early this year.

Here’s a fun mimulus blooming again after I trimmed it back.

Some of the “Funky Pink” begonias are doing better than others–these are blooming really well in a pot with the New Guinea impatiens.

Another photo of the begonias I grew from seed eight months ago.

Coleus finally getting going on the back patio.

Another coleus, showing the flowers coming on.

My favorite in this series of photos–this is a mimulus and impatiens that should be clashing, but actually look really good together!

Another view of some coleus leaves.

Back patio view.

The petunias have been the workhorses of all the sunny pots.  The color range was limited, but the individual flowers/plants were stunning.

These photos don’t capture the depth of the purple/blue color.

The flower form is impressive, too.

The white petunia is impressive, too.

Again, not a great photo, but the red is very pure.

Only one of the New Guinea impatiens survived, but it is a winner.  The flowers are about 2-1/2″ across.  The first flowers opened in August.

Another view.  I’m really hopeful this one makes it through the winter in the greenhouse.

This pot was planted with the tiniest, weakest coleus seedlings. They came into their own recently, in August/September.

I’m not as fond of the star-marked impatiens that I grew this year as I  was of the solid colors I grew last year.  The bi-colored ones are showy, for sure, but a little too busy for my taste.

Here’s a showy coleus growing strong on the back patio.

The coleus got pretty tall this year, which I like.  They also bloomed, which I tried to curtail, but nature won out.

Coleus, mimulus, and impatiens on the back patio.  There is something so cheerful and random about mimulus flowers–they always make me smile.

I love using Pelargonium papillonaceum for foliage contrast.

Pelargonium “Petals” provides more leaf contrast in a sunny pot on the driveway, here with Anagalis monellii.

The true blue Anagalis flowers are impressive, but the plants were less so…spindly and weak.  I think they needed to be grown on in cooler temps early on.

Truly, truly blue.  The “Cola” series Pelargonium provides a nice contrast.

The flowers of Dianthus “Raspberry Parfait” were large and gorgeous.  Their bloom season was pretty short, though, so I trimmed them all back and am hoping for a second bloom before frost.

Salvia “Lighthouse Purple” took a while to get going, but they were impressive in flower, with a long season of color.  I have more seeds that I will definitely grow again next year.