Apparently I’m a Hibiscus Farmer

I am not a farmer.  As a matter of fact, any legit farmer might be offended that I use the word “farmer” at all.  To all farmers, my sincerest apologies.  I think my only saving grace might be the inclusion of  the word “experimental”.      And that’s what it’s all about.

I didn’t start off with a plan this summer.  Over the past few years I’ve been breaking away from my desire to over-tend (aka: overkill in the garden) and just do my best and see what happens.  More of a “you win some, lose some” attitude.  Tomatoes are the staple.   Cucumbers are always planted but cucumber beetles are a constant battle  Everything else is fair game.   Experiments abound.

Typically I have one or two Hibiscus on my deck.  Last week I posted about a clearance sale at Walmart.    Initially I brought a couple home.   These poor things were parched.   Can you say '”bone dry”?   With a little TLC, in a few short days they were looking  good.

And then…..

I had to go back!    There were still some left but this time they were saturated.   The pots sat in liners that had no holes!   Not to be deterred, I bought ten more.  Does that make it a farm?  For me it does!  They all have to fit on to my deck……and taken inside for the winter! 

I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

During the transportation of these babies I broke off a good size branch so it’s been dipped in rooting hormone and potted up. 

Hopefully I’ll have another one for my collection farm.

The Experimental Farmer, Experiments – Fertilizer Friday

I’m joining the weekly Fertilizer Friday meme hosted by the wonderful Tootsie.  You can pay her a visit too!   By clicking here.

Last summer while visiting my daughter in her city apartment I decided that she needed a little color on her mini balcony.    I visited the wonderful Atwater Market and came home with a tomato plant and a couple of daturas.  At the end of the summer when the plants produced seed pods I brought a few home to try my hand at starting  my own this year.


I started them in peat pots on April 30th, 2010.  Fortunately they “took” (hurray!) and have become quite lush.  But as all of us know, leaves are nice but bring on the the blooms!  A week ago today when I took a peak, this what they looked like…..

A bud!    Yahoo!

One week later…

Five times the size in just one week!

Another of the little experiments that I recently decided to attempt was one that I came across on one of my absolute favorite blog “Chickens in the Road”.    (If you haven’t been there before, you should run there right now.  The blog’s author, Suzanne McMinn, describes life on a farm – the animals, making cheese and butter, recipes, etc.  She has a phenomenal writing style with a great sense of humor.) 

OK.  Back to the experiment.   I grew celery for the first time last year.  I got teeny tiny celery starts (1 inch tall) from a local farm.  I planted them and all went well.   I harvested 4 or 5 celery and they looked pretty good.   Not tight and chunky like the grocery store kind but still pretty good.  A short while ago Suzanne posted that she was growing celery.   But using a method that had never occurred to me.   She cut the base off of her store bought celery and planted it!  So that’s what I did on Monday.




This photo was taken today….

Just 5 days old!  How cool is that?

One last quick thing.  I can't speak for other areas but in my neck of the woods, Wal-Mart has hibiscus on clearance. 

Just $3!

And that’s my story for today! Have a wonderful weekend!

Fertilizer Friday

Hot! Hot! Hot! – Fertilizer Friday

Oy-vey!  It’s been hotter than Hades in this neck of the woods.   Stifling, thick air.  Buh!

Gardening has not been a pleasant activity.   Hubby has been kind enough to water the veggie bed and I’ve been tending to the potted plants. 

I’m keeping my posts “short ‘n sweet”.    Lest I am consumed by the heat monster.  Never to be seen again.

Concord grapes

 

Hydrangeas are acting very strange.   The bloom puffs are small!

Peas have arrived.  Purty, eh?

Zucchini is “working it”!   My fingers are crossed.  Curcurbits have been having a rough time the past few years.

Blanket flower.

Brugs are doing fine!   The sticks from a few weeks ago are coming along quite well.  Despite my reservations.

Remember this?   Well we now know the color….

Tada!  Perhaps not my favorite color but love that it’s a double.

(P.S.  Walmart has the 6” pot marked down to 1/2 price right now.  Just $3 here.  So I bought 2 more today.)

Feathered friends.

Tufted Titmouse.

My little chickadees.

Alas, the silliest creature of all……

Smudgie.  Settling down to "chill" in a pot.  Kooky cat!

That’s it for this week.    But there’s much, much more over at Tootsie’s blog.   Check it out.

Catching Up on Fertilizer Friday

 For the first time ever this post actually has something to do with fertilizer!  Imagine that!

So… on May 21st I took this photo of my brugmansia.  I didn’t have high hopes for it.  The 3 that I have were mere twigs and just behind schedule IMHO.

So with the passage of a few weeks and lots of water and fertilizer…

I am hopeful!

A day or two ago I posted about my 2 newly acquired hibiscus plants.  One is pink but the other was not tagged so the color is a mystery.   

But the proverbial “cat will be out of the bag” in a couple of days.   A flower is ready to pop!

And to everyone back home…..

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

I’m linking to Tootsie’s Fertilizer Friday.  Pop on over for more garden beauties.

Hibiscus Love

I have a confession.  I am mad about hibiscus.  They come in such beautiful colors and the blooms are just so magnificent.  I can imagine myself in a tropical island brimming with them.   Now that would be a dream come true!

I recently had a beautiful coral colored hibiscus that I got from a local nursery.    My daughter Lindsay’s friend Brandi works at a florist/nursery and I popped in to say hello one day.    While chit-chatting I noticed a lonely hibiscus looking withered and worn in a spot under the stairs.    Naturally I asked about it.  “Oh, it’s full of bugs.”  Brandi said.  “So you’re throwing it out?”, I asked.  “Yup.”, she said.  So it was MINE!

I took it home, set it out on my deck and gave it a work over.   I plucked off the dead leaves as well as some of the older ones.  Over the course of last summer the “ugly duckling” grew from about 2 feet tall to about 3 1/2 feet tall and produced lots of beautiful blooms.  Like this…



Then when the seasons began to change, I had to bring it inside to over winter it the best that I could.  I don’t have any sunny rooms in my house so I knew for sure that there would be no more blooms.    So all of it’s energy went to getting taller.

In March, Ms. Brandi popped in for a visit and spotted the ugly duckling.  Her jaw dropped.  “Is that the one from the shop?”, she asked.  Indeed it was.  Now about 4 1/2 feet tall – lush and green but bloom-less.  She offered to take it into the shop to put it in the greenhouse.  I thought it would be a great opportunity to kick-start the blooming season since the proper weather for tropicals in the northeast was at least 2 months away.  Apparently a lot of customers liked it too!  Last month while Brandi was off for the day, one of her co-workers sold it.  For……$65!  C’est la vie I guess.

So I have been hibiscus-less so far this year.  Until yesterday!   I was in my local super-market yesterday and I found this…

A variegated hibiscus!  I didn’t know they existed!

It wasn’t in the greatest shape but it was a “Manager’s Special” and for $9.99 who could resist!

A pink one at that!

So after some plucking and watering, I’ll leave it alone for a few days.  Don’t want to completely traumatize it!  Then repot.  And pluck again! 

Oh, and I got another one today.    It will be given the royal treatment tomorrow, weather permitting!