Geraniums, 1 week.

One week has passed since the last entry, and all 6 seeds I planted germinated.  They are doing very well, and in fact, this plant seems to grow the fastest amont all other ones I planted.

Roots are already growing out of the peat pallettes, so I will have to transplant these seedlings to pots sometime soon....

Buds, already!

I kept busy planting other seeds and weeding after rains and forgot about Paperwhite for a few weeks.  Yesterday (10/30), I noticed some buds!

 I planted the bulbs on 10/3/10, so it has only been 27 days.

Today (10/31/10), white flowers were popping out of the thin skin.  If I am  lucky, I will probably see the flowers tomorrow.  How am I excited!

Other Plants In My Yard

There are some plants I planted before starting this blog, so unfortunately, I don't have record of them. 

These are Pentas, aka Egyptian Stars. 

These are Plumerias.  I heard it will take about 2-3 years to see flowers when Plumerias are grown from seeds.  Sigh-- it's a long wait, but I know I will enjoy seeing them grow every day.

Of course, I have a Japanese Maple (Bloodgood) tree. While I want to achieve the 'cottage garden' like setting, I want to grow plants that remind me of my home.  So there.

This is the top tip of my Avocado (Haas) tree.  It is about 5-ft-tall and planted on the slope of my hilly backyard.  New buds are coming out here and there, and the tree seems to be happy as far as I see it.

Forget Me Not is doing fine.

It's been 15 days since the last entry on Forget Me Not.  Thanks to the rare heavy rains we had in the last few weeks in San Diego, my plants are doing well. 

In this picture, the 2 middle ones and bottom left one are Forget Me Not.  They are doing pretty well.  I will probably need to plant them in the yard - I have to decide where.

Primrose (Showy Evening)

I've actually tried Showy Evening Primrose earlier and successfully planted it in my yard but forgot to keep journal of it.  I just promised my bestfriend that I would give it to her to fill her nearly 3-acre yard, so I sowed the seeds again.

These are the Showy Evening Primrose seeds.  Very tiny, but each seed can grow to rather a tall plant.  I sowed them on 10-17-10.

Today, 10-24-10, is the 7th day, and a couple of the seeds germinated.  Look at them - seedlings are as tiny as the seeds.

SEED INFORMATION:

Seeds I bought: Ferry Morse's PRIMROSE - Showy Evening (Oenothera Speciosa)

Seeds bought from: Home Depot

Origination of the seeds: USA

According to the package:

*  Days to germination: 21-28 days - Mine took 7 days.

*  Days to bloom: 120-130 days

*  Plant height: 8-14 inches

*  Grows best: Sun/Partial Shade

*  Recommended planting season for San Diego: February -March - I planted in October

Sweet William

I like fragrant flowers.  I've heard Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) smell nice, and I heard it is easy to grow, even for beginners.  Also, I felt Dianthus is a must-have flower for me because of my Japanese heritage.  Dianthus is called "Nadeshiko" in Japanese, and "Yamato Nadeshiko" (Literal translation: True Japanese Dianthus) refers to an idealized Japanese women.  So, why not?

These are Sweet William seeds.  They are not too tiny, so I was able to count and sowed three seeds in each peat pallet.

One week later, I started to see seedlings.  Stems are very long - why is that?  Is this normal?

Another week past, and the seedlings started to have true leaves.  Very cute :)

After a few days from the picture above, I planted the seedlings in the 6-pack container I saved from other plants I bought previously.  I hope the extra room for their roots will help them grow faster.
 

After about a month since the seeds were sowed, Sweet William seedlings are slowly but surely growing.  This picture was taken today, 10-17-10
SEED INFORMATION:

Seeds I bought: Ferry Morse's SWEET WILLIAM - Double Dwarf Mixed Colors

Seeds bought from: Home Depot

Origination of the seeds: France

According to the package:

*  Days to germination: 5-10 days - Mine took 7 days to germinate

*  Days to bloom: 60-90 days

*  Plant height: 6 inches

*  Grows best: Full Sun

*  Recommended planting season for San Diego: September - April - I planted in September

Geranium

My mom had Geraniums in our yard, and I didn't like the plant because the leaves smelled funny.  However, as I see them in my neighborhood, I must admit the flowers are pretty.

I bought a packet of seeds that was on sale from an online seed retailor called Thompson & Morgan.  

These are the Geranium seeds that I bought.  Don't they kind of look like little bugs?!  I will plant all 6 and see how many will germinate.

2 of the 6 seeds I planted on 10/17 already germinated on 10/22.  It took only 5 days!

SEED INFORMATION:

Seeds I bought: Thompson & Morgan's GERANIUM - Vogue appleblossom

Seeds bought from: Thompson & Morgan

Origination of the seeds: Holland

According to the package:

*  Days to germination: 7-14 days (at 70-75F) - Mine took 5 days (10-22-10).

*  Days to bloom: N/A

*  Plant height: N/A

*  Grows best: Full Sun

*  Recommended planting season for San Diego: January - March - I planted in October (10-17-10) 

Day 16 Paperwhite is growing fast!

Since the last entry a week ago, green tips of all 7 bulbs emerged from the soil.  This year, we are having much more rains (very unusual in San Diego), and plants seem to be very happy about it.

The tallest one is about 3 inches high; I am amazed by the speed of their growth!

Calla Lily

Calla Lilies look so elegant, and it must be one of the most popular flowers used for bridal bouquet.  I would love to have them in my yard, just because.  I planted 2 bulbs in the backyard (full sun) and 2 in the front yard (partial shades) and see how they grow differently.  It's too bad I forgot to take pictures of the bulbs, and I didn't note when I planted them (although I remember it was at the end of August).

 I waited for a long, long time to see this little guy!  I think I waited almost a month.  This one is from the back yard.

Once the tip was out of the ground, the Calla Lily started to grow very fast.  This was taken about 3 days later.

These are from the front yard.  They came out about a week before the bulbs planted in the backyard.  These are probably a week old after sprouting.

 A few days later from the picture above.  Being happy and growing fast!

 

About a week after the above picture (today is 10-17-10).  Look at them!  The leaves are open and big; I wonder when I get to see the flowers :)

More Gaura.

Two more Gaura seeds germinated, and I am happy about it.  The first sprouted seedling has grown a bit and even turned its color to green.

On October 16th, one week after germination (left seedling that was the first one germinated).  The right one has just sprouted a couple of days ago.

Blanket Flower Is Happy.

It's been about three weeks since I sowed Blanket Flower seeds.  Some never germinated, but thanks to the recent rain and the mild weather of San Diego, the ones that did are doing well.  It looks like plants love rain water much much more than city water.

It's about an inch tall and has 3 true leaves.  While other seedlings will eventually be transplanted in the ground, I want to keep this one in a pot so I can place it by my living room window. 

Hello, Freesia!

Today is the 12th day since I planted the Freesia bulbs.  Finally, I found a green tip out of the ground, and I got excited. 

Can you see it??  This is one of the three bulbs I planted in the backyard (Full Sun in the morning hours, North facing).

I am looking forward to more of this!

Day 8 - Paperwhite blubs emerged!

Day 8 after planting the bulbs, Paperwhite started to grow out of the ground.  This makes me very happy!

Can you see the new tips?  They are cute, aren't they??

Platycodon

Platycodon is beloved flower in Japan, and it is one of the Seven Flowers of Autumn.  In fact, my father's family seal contains Platycodon (is called as KIKYO in Japanese), so I wanted to grow it in my garden.

These are Platycodon seeds.  I sowed three different kinds: HAKONE BLUE, MOTHER OF PEARL and FUJI BLUE. 

After about 1 week from sowing, Platycodon seedlings emerged.  (I forgot to label which is which - I will have to wait for the flowers to know!)

After waited another week, I transplanted the seedlings from seeding pallets to bigger pots.  I want to see the flowers already!  I hope they grow fast now...  (10.08.10, Day 14 from being sowed)

Blanket Flower and Forget Me Not

The seedlings of Blanket Flower and Forget Me Not look very happy, and they grew a little since the last entries.  I decided to give them more room to grow, so I transplanted to a bigger container.

In the 6-pack container, I separated and planted seedlings of Blanket flower and Forget Me Not.  I hope they survive the transplant!

 Blanket Flower seedling with 2 true leaves (about 3 weeks after the seed was sowed)

Forget Me Not looks happy.  Also 3 weeks after seed was sowed.

Gaura

I bought a 2-gallon pot of Gaura when Home Depot had them on sale.  I planted it on the slope of my backyard, but the plant dried and died fairly quickly.  I read that Gaura will come back in spring, so I am hoping it will.  In the meantime, I collected the seeds and sowed them (the Gaura seed should only be placed on top of moist soil, never to cover them with soil as they need light to sprout).

 The Gaura seeds I collected from my dying plant.

 After 14 days, from one of 5 seeds, one 'hatched'.  A tiny red seedling emerged!

Paperwhite

Another kind of bulbs I planted was Paperwhite (Narcissus).  I remember my mom planted them by the front door, and I loved how they smelled in early spring.  As a young girl, I used to squat to smell the flowers - suddenly, I get nostalgic - so, why not planting them?

I am sorry about the blurry picture, but this is a bulb of Paperwhite - it's much larger than a Freesia bulb.

The instruction says the bulbs need to be planted in 6-inch deep.  Wow, can they really manage to shoot out of the ground if they are planted so deep?  I wonder how lont it will take?

Noted on the craft stick is the date (10-4-10) I planted the bulbs, and I placed some wires so I wouldn't accidentally dig the site. 

Freesia!

I noticed at a local home center that they were selling bulbs.  I remember seeing some paper bags marked "Mom's bulbs.  Don't touch, don't eat" sitting in the fridge when I was young.  Hm...do I have to do that too?  I did some online research and found out that I may not have to, thanks to the warm climate San Diego offers.

OK.  No digging in the winter, so I shall try bulbs.  I picked FREESIA bulbs.

Freesia bulbs.  There are 10 bulbs in the package I purchased, so I planted them at several different parts in my front and back yards.

The instruction says the bulbs should be planted in 2-inch deep and need a 4-inch space between each other. I dug soil and planted the bulbs 2-inch deep. But isn't a 4-inch space too sporadic?  I decided to give about 2.5 inches of space.

One of the spots I planted the bulbs.  I used a craft stick and noted the date (10-4-10) I planted.  I am so looking forward to see rhe sprouts!

Forget Me Not

"Forget Me Not" has been one of the flowers that I have always liked and wanted to have if I had a yard.  Well?  Now I have my own yard!  I shall plant the seeds and hope they grow to bear those tiny pretty blue flowers.

These are the seeds - how tiny!  It's hard to believe one seed will grow to a plant that bears flowers as I've known.  Again, I used the peat pallets to sow these seeds; I used three pallets and sowed three seeds in each one.

About a week after sowing the seeds, seedlings emerged from the peat pallets.  It's hard to see in this picture, but they are fuzzy!  8 out of 9 seeds germinated - I am happy!

SEED INFORMATION:

Seeds I bought: Ferry Morse's FORGET ME NOT - Blue Bird

Seeds bought from: Home Depot

Origination of the seeds: USA

According to the package:

*  Days to germination: 10-14 days - Mine took about a week to germinate

*  Days to bloom: 70-150 days - Mine took about 7 months (210 days)!

*  Plant height: 12 inches

*  Grows best: Sun/Part Shade

*  Recommended planting season for San Diego: September - April - I planted in September

Blanket Flower

These are BLANKET FLOWER seedlings.  I can't remember exact date when I sowed the seeds, but it's been about a week.  I used JIFFY brand peat pallets, and they seem to work very well to help seeds germinate fast.

I sowed 18 seeds about a week ago, and 6 of them have germinated so far.

Two more seedlings in another peat pallet.  Can you see the true leaves? 

Think Green!

Welcome to my blog!

I never knew how to take care of plants, and every time I tried to grow something, the plants/flowers/herbs turned brown and died in a few days.  Yes, my thumbs are very brown.  I never imagined myself tendering garden, but recently, I am, sort of, compelled to spend more time thinking of plants.  Why?

Because I bought a house - my first and very own house with yards.  Sadly, the property had been neglected for a long time, and the yards were covered and filled with ugly weeds when I moved in.  My house has the least curb appeal, if any, compared to my neighbors', so I am very much determined to raise the bar.  Hence, I have made the first step into an unknown world of GARDENING.

In this blog, I will share my projects and progress of my yards.  I hope that my brown thmbs will soon turn into green!