Spring is starting to snowball in the garden and the greenhouse. Here are some random updates from the last week.

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Today brought a perfect representation of March weather: sunbreaks with intermittent downpours, thunder, lightning, and then a quick deluge of hail! I started garden chores around 9:30am and got a lot done today despite the weather challenges.

I started out by planting some 3-packs and 4-packs with snap pea seeds. My hope is to give them away to neighbors when they sprout and get a little growth on. I may use some to fill in my own pea trellis if the seeds planted directly don’t put on good growth.

I also raked away some mulch along the front of the native garden and sprinkled thousands of native annual and perennial seeds in a band about 10″ wide. My hope is that a bunch of different types will germinate and grow and I’ll get a sense of what grows easily in this neighborhood so I can put some seed mixes together to share with neighbors. I’m hoping for a grassy meadow-type effect with lots of wildflowers thrown in. The seeds certainly got watered in well enough, and hailed-in, which may or may not benefit them!

I scraped a lot of debris and mostly Douglas fir cones from the sidewalk next to the memory garden and pulled some big fir branches out of there, as well, and moved them to the native plant garden so they can decompose there.

All the scrapings get added to paths and mulches around the garden–while it looks like dirt, it really is compost from the fir needles, leaves, bark, and other debris that drifts onto the sidewalk. There is more clean-up to be done in this garden, but it can wait a week or two. Blooming now, the tail end of snowdrops and crocus, Colydalis solida, Erodium pelargoniflorum ‘Sweetheart’, and Iberis sempervirens.

I moved from cleaning up the sidewalk to trimming way back a couple of Rose “Alister Stella Grey” growing in the raised veggie garden. I had started these from hardwood cuttings and they are doing really well, but are in the wrong place. I cut them down to stumps and may try to remove them to pots this year and give them away. I trained a thornless blackberry on the trellis the roses had occupied, so that should be a little more fruitful this year.

Already a bloody mess after tackling the roses, I moved on to the blackberry in the next bed over and pruned it back to a strong framework. It was a tangled monster, but looks a lot better after some courageous pruning.

Some more clean-up followed. I trimmed the Echinops ritro old stems down to the ground and cut the prunings into short lengths and left them on the bed, just in case insects were nesting in there. I also pruned the roses Bonica Improved and Collette a bit to hopefully increase the flowers this summer.

About that time a rain squall came in and chased me into the greenhouse where plenty of work awaited. The main project was to water everything. I pulled about ten watering cans full of water out of the rain barrel, but it was raining so hard, I don’t think the resident goldfish even noticed! The big project was to rearrange the plants and pull any Clivia from under the benches that are spiking so they will be front and center for their bloom show. I was very disappointed in the spike numbers I found this year. A large percentage of the plants do not have spikes and I don’t know why. I was more attentive to them than usual last year and they all seemed pretty happy coming into the greenhouse. I watered them all (first time since November) and am hoping some of them will spike later. I have one more shelf of Clivia plants to review next weekend, but right now there are only about a dozen spikes.

The good news in the greenhouse is that the Cymbidium orchids are spiking madly–at least six plants have a spike or two each, and opening the greenhouse door during the day seems to go a long way to keeping the humidity down and the aphids in check.

Yet to bloom are the Veltheimia bracteata bulbs. They slowed down during the very cold weather. Now they are stretching a bit every day.

When the rain stopped, I ventured out and deconstructed the plum tree and cherry branches that I cut a few weeks ago in the orchard garden. It takes a lot more time to cut them all in small pieces and spread them around the garden rather than packing them in yard waste, but I know it will be an investment the bugs and birds will appreciate. I chopped other pruned branches, too–and there is more to do in the coming weeks.

A highlight of the orchard garden is the Hellebore that sister Cate gave me a few years ago. It has quite a few flowers and seedlings all around it.

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The last task I undertook was to cut back the rose at the end of the driveway. My goal was to get it down to a nub, but I was mostly done removing all the long canes when lighting hit, then thunder, then Leon yelled at me to get my ass in the house. A minute after I stepped inside, the sky opened in a monsoon of rain and hail. It was awe-inspiring and a bit scary. The sun is out again now, but I’ve got dinner to make and housecleaning to do–the wayward rose will have to wait for next weekend.

Today, I cycled some of the seedlings from the heat mat/light garden to the greenhouse. Specifically, there were about 36 Incarvillea sinensis “Cheron” seedlings that I potted on into large six-packs and put in a tray in the greenhouse. I also transplanted about a dozen Heliotrope “Marine.” And there were twelve Stipa gigantea seedlings that were transplanted, as well.

None of the succulent/cacti seedlings are big enough to be transplanted yet–they will get moved to the greenhouse in their seedling pots and given a year to fill out their pots before being moved on. That includes Kalanchoe, Albuca, Lewisia, Gasteria, Lobivia, and Haworthia.

Some other seedlings are making an appearance after a couple of weeks. Heuchera seedlings are starting to show, as well as Fragaria vesca seedlings. And about six seeds of the Greenhouse Lottery Mix from Chilterns have germinated.

I spent today planting more seeds, as well, including native plants and herbs:

Valeriana officinalis

Armeria maritima

Aquilegia formosa

Aruncus dioicus

Allium cernuum

Sidalcea hendersonii

Sisyrinchium idahoense

Big Leaf Lupine (L. polyphyllum)

Erythronium montanum

Lupinus polyphyllus

Maianthemum racemosum

Armeria maritima

Aruncus dioicus

Fritillaria camschatcensis

Tellima grandiflora

Tolmiea menziesii

Sisyrinchium idahoense

Sidalcea hendersonii

Allium cernuum

Sambucus cerulea

Sambucus racemosa

Holodiscus discolor

Rhododendron occidentale

Oregano, Common

Parsley

Thyme

Summer Savory

Chives

Fennel

Dill, Bouquet

Chamomile

Dahlia Bishop’s Children

The herbs are in the house under lights; the natives are all outdoors in pots or six packs.

When all the seed planting was done, I decided to package up the extra seeds and offer them up for free on Nextdoor. I had already shared a bunch of seeds with brother Tim, so it makes sense to share the extras locally. Within two minutes of posting, a neighbor had responded. I’ll keep doing that as I plant all my seeds this year. It seems like a great way to share the love.

All of the transplanting and seed-planting took up most of my time today. I did get to glimpse a few bright things in the greenhouse, though, and tomorrow I will work in the garden proper to bring some order after all the winter storms.

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My favorite surprise today was finding the below Forsythia cutting blooming on a lower shelf. I took this cutting at my brother’s request and it is for him, so I will pass it to him soon. I had forgotten how cuttings carry the maturity of the wood they came from into their new life, so even very young plants can bloom.

I spent the weekend in Happy Valley, OR with good friends and new homeowners, Dean and Brian. They want to have some fruits and vegetables as part of their landscape. This weekend, we planted some fruit trees, raspberries, and blueberries. I’ve provided them with seeds, as well, to get the vegetables and herbs started. Below is the original plan. I’ve strayed already from it, but it will surely still be an amazing space.

Above is the garden as I left it yesterday. Another interesting before picture is the lot just behind their home, which will be developed in the next six months. I scoured the plants to look for gems, but only found some feverfew plants and dug one up to add to Dean and Brian’s herb bed. There was a bamboo spreading around that might have done well in a pot, but I decided not to try it. There was also a purple-leaved lilac-like shrub that had been covered over deeply in fill dirt but was pushing up from a stump. None of the suckers had roots within reach, so I left that one go, too. It may have been a Weigela.

Closer to home, the seeds I’ve planted are producing some nice results on the heat mat.

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The garden is showing signs of spring, though I haven’t done any clean-up and things are very rough and tumble at the moment. The crocus are blooming.

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I found the time and energy today for some more seed starting in the house and in the veggie garden.

I struggled last time I planted seeds inside with the seed starting mix being dry. This time, I mixed in a big bag of sand and then poured some water directly into the bag with the starting mix, then left it to stew overnight. When I dug into it this morning, it was silky and moist and perfect.

In this seemingly optimal mix, I planted a fun mixture of seeds from Chiltern’s called the Bargain Basement Lottery Mix of Greenhouse Plants. One of the “seeds” in the packet was actually clearly a small green bulb, so that was exciting. I’d say there were at least ten different kinds of seeds. I potted them in four recycled yogurt containers with plastic covers.

I found some leftover Penstemon hybrid seeds from Chiltern’s so those got planted today, as well. Penstemon’s are one of those seeds that might start right away, but might also need a cold stratification. I thought it wise to get the process started, just in case they need to go into the fridge for a few weeks later on. There are three plants from this mix in the memory garden already and I’m looking forward to adding more.

Quite a few years ago, I grew some Heuchera’s from seed and gave the progeny to my friend, Diane, for her “pool garden” ( a converted swimming pool). So, I know I’m able to grow these plants from seed. This is a mix of Neueste hybrids from Chiltern’s that are supposed to have amazing foliage and nice flowers. They will end up as patio plants and gifts should any of them germinate and survive.

The last indoor seeds I planted today were two types of alpine strawberry, a yellow and a red. These are heat-sensitive, so I put them in the windowsill opposite the heater. I’ve had a lot of success with these in the past and I plan to keep a few and give the rest away. Fragaria vesca is considered a native plant here and a very beneficial one to insects. These seeds and the photos below are from John Scheeper’s Kitchen Garden Seeds.

The other seeds I planted today were pea seeds that I put out in the raised veggie bed under the trellis Leon made. I also planted five four-packs with the extra seeds that I had soaked overnight. I’ll leave those outside to sprout and fill in as needed if there are blank spots under the trellis.

I managed also to get the rest of the area around the potting table cleared out and organized. It was a pleasure to work out there today and transplant some native seedlings and sow pea seeds. I’ll be spending hours and hours out there this year and feel so lucky to have that space!

I am so anxious for spring to be here that I examine the seed pots several times a day! If a watched pot never boils, I’m surprised that any of my seeds have started at all.

Right now, I have one Gasteria seedling, one Albuca spiralis, two Lobivia, one Lewisia, ten Stipa, ten Heliotrope, and about twenty five Incarvillea. None of the Crassula, Haworthia, Aloinopsis, or mixed cactus seedlings have ventured forth yet.

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Today felt a bit like spring, with some bright sun and mild temperatures. I found some energy to go out and do some clean-up around the potting area and plant shelves near the house. It takes just the right mindset for me to tackle the dozens of pots that need to be organized and stored under the potting bench and around, but I found the energy today and hope for more tomorrow to clean up the rest of the area.

I have hundreds of pots. It seems like overkill, but I also have big plans for plant propagation. I’m not getting rid of any pots just yet! I do think I need to replace the board that makes up the wood shelf–the bow is getting a little extreme!

There was a fascinating fungus right in front of the potting bench that I need to research.

One advantage to COVID-19 forcing me to work from home is that I am close to the greenhouse. I bought a wireless thermometer/hygrometer last week and I can visually see that the humidity in that amazing green space is way too high. Now, I can open the door during the day to let some fresh air in and close it back up at night so that I’m paying to heat the entire neighborhood. The humidity gets close to 100% during the night, but I can get it back down to 60% during the day with the door open.

The Cyclamen coum seedlings are blooming beautifully in the greenhouse.

About eight inches of snow stacked up at my house over the last three days. Gardening has remained an indoor activity. It’s a good time for seed planting and planning for warmer days.

I neglected to mention a favorite plant in my previous post–Heliotrope ‘Marine.’ To my nose, Heliotrope has one of the best fragrances of all flowers. I haven’t grown this plant for many years. For me, it tends to be a bit persnickety, both in germinating and growing the plants on and also in keeping the plants growing and blooming. I’ve also failed at keeping the plants ticking over in the greenhouse in the winter–they are truly perennial in warmer climates.

The seeds are from Select Seeds. Here is what their website shows they will become:

I made the mistake of not soaking the seed mix for a few hours before I planted the seeds–a little anxious, I guess. I’ll not make that mistake again–it takes so long to get the pots to pull enough moisture in from the bottom to be appropriately moist!

Today is Valentine’s Day and here are a few flower pics from the house and greenhouse.

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My earliest attempts at seed germination this year failed miserably. For whatever reason, not one seed started. I had planted Sinningia seeds, Rhipsalis, Euphorbia, and Kalanchoe. I think the Euphorbia seeds might still be viable, so I will keep them in their tray and keep watering, but I’ve given up on the others–it’s been about two months. I made the mistake of using previously used potting soil for the Sinningias and I suspect there were bugs or pathogens that kept them from sprouting. I have no idea what caused the Kalanchoe’s to not germinate. It’s possible the seeds just weren’t viable.

The second round of seed starting was about two weeks ago. I used seed starting mix combined with gravel for this round. These were seeds from an Etsy seller, Unusual Seeds. The below photos are from their postings.

So far, there are just a few seedlings. Three of the Kalanchoe thyrsiflora have sprouted.

One Gasteria seedling is showing itself–a plump little green ball at this point.

I also planted Lobivia seeds and one of them is germinating. This isn’t a great photo, but the reddish seedling stands out in the gravel mix.

None of the Albuca, Haworthia, or Crassula seeds are up yet, but I’m hopeful.

Today, for the garden/patio, I started some other seeds. These were from Select Seeds and I’m excited to get them going. I’ve always been thrilled with their seeds and plants. The below photos are from their website. I started Lewisia “Elise Mix”, Viola “Chicky Chicks”, and Stipa gigantea.

In addition, I planted seeds for Incarvillea sinensis ‘Cheron White’ from Chilterns. Chilterns is an amazing UK seed house. They have a little bit of everything and their seeds have led to a lot of success for me in the garden. The below photo is from their website.

This was a snowy day and it was fun to get some gardening done indoors while the snow piled up outside.

Back in November, I potted up 100 iris reticulata bulbs for forcing. I didn’t bother to get the cold frame set up. Instead, I just put them on shelves around and kept an eye out to make sure they didn’t get too little or too much water. My investment paid off immensely Through much of January and February. I was also able to gift some pots to family and friends as an easy-to-grow early spring.

My takeaway from this exercise is that it should be repeated–it is so easy and inexpensive and it brings much joy for a long stretch of time.

There is a fun aspect to winter in the greenhouse that I often forget–the surprises that come when I only look around in there once a week. Today brought a perfect example. I opened the door and happened to look at the right shelf to see my hardy cyclamen seedlings blooming for the first time.

These seedlings are about three years old and two of them have formed bulbs in the small pot. I didn’t want to put them out in the garden for fear they would get lost or eaten–they are pretty diminutive.

Viewing them close up is a benefit to keeping them in pots in the greenhouse.

Between the two bulbs, there are at least 4 flowers coming, so I’m pretty excited! And my micro lens picked up the pattern inside that flower that I never would have noticed from the side or top.

The memory garden looks a mess, with lots of branches having fallen from the big Douglas fir and the garden’s edging having been ripped out by man or beast at some point. But the plants don’t seem to know. Already, there are snowdrops, crocus, Iberis, and strangely, a rose!

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It feels an awful lot like an early spring…but I’ll wait to see what February brings.