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It’s time to start your seedlings gardeners!

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I meant to get started planting seeds indoors earlier this month, but it’s been one delay after another, most specifically _ I came down with a cold – my first in about 15 years!

So, this weekend I’m going to be getting out my seedling trays, and then I’m going to go down into the basement and find the two boxes that I keep seed packages and seeds that I’ve picked off of plants from my garden. It’s cool and surprisingly dry in our basement so it’s the perfect place to keep dormant seeds and even plant bulbs or corms like the four Cannas that I currently have down there.

I just have to decide where I’m going to put all my newly seeded trays. I think I’ll probably put them upstairs in our spare bedroom. It faces south so the containers and hopefully seedlings will get off to a good start with lots of sunlight. I do have a couple of grow lights that I can try to dig up out of the basement if I need them, but when I’ve grown seeds indoors in the past they’ve done well in that room without the need of additional lighting.

Have any of you started seedlings indoors for your garden?

I’m glad that we only have 6 weeks of winter left. I can’t wait to get outside and see new plants coming up in my garden beds. Oh and the crocuses! They’ll probably come up in my lawn by the last week of March like they normally do … perhaps earlier this year since we’ve had a fairly mild winter with barely any snow … so far anyway!






Perfect Beauties

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I’m jonesing for Spring …

Purple fringed tulips

Can you tell?

In just three or so months, sometime in April or early May, these absolutely lovely fringed tulips will bloom in my garden. I can’t wait.

I adore these purple beauties.

I also enjoy photographing them. I think almost every picture I’ve taken of any of my fringed tulips has turned out quite well. They are just very photogenic flowers.

Unlike some of the other hybrid tulips I’ve planted in my garden, Angelique for example – which have all but disappeared or reverted back to standard tulips, these ones seem to have naturalized in my garden. The clumps are growing and spreading.

I think I have three or four areas in my garden where these lovelies bloom their pretty little heads off. I must remember to dig up the tulips when they are finished bloom this spring and plant some of the new bulbs in other areas so I’ll have even more clumps of fringed tulips. I meant to do that last year, but didn’t.

If I’m smart I’ll dig up some of my other spring flowers and tulips and move th new bulbs and corms to other areas of the garden as well.

BTW please read the post above this one as I’ve made a suggestion that GTS members check in here each week when they’ve made a new Green thumb post. I’d like to know if you like the idea or not.

Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information. GTS participants remember to check in at As the Garden Grows each week so that we’ll know you made a new post!

Crocosmia not blooming well

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Crocosmia is a very pretty summer flower that often bears orange or fiery red flowers on vertical stems.

I mentioned that I grow Crocosmia in a recent post and said that some of my clumps were getting quite large and crowding out other plants.

What I didn’t realize was that if the clumps get too large, enough that individual Crocosmia begin to crowd one another that their blooms will suffer.

If you find that your Crocosmia are blooming poorly do think about dividing the clump. Poor bloom and a thick stand of foliage are two indications that the Crocosmia needs rejuvenation.

In the early spring dig up the clump and divide it gently into several smaller portions.

If you examine your clumps you’ll notice that there are two different forms of roots and new growth. You’ll find that some corms have produced underground stems with roots (stolons) that are destined to send up new shoots. Detach and plant these tiny new plants on their own. The other form of growth that you’ll see is a chain of corms along a slender root. Keep these chains attached as you replant for best success.

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