Sunday, February 27, 2022

Digging Holes


I spent much of yesterday working in the garden. I'm trying to get all my foxgloves into the ground -- the ones I grew from seed that have been overwintering in plastic pots. As usual, I have too many. 

While working I noticed that quite a few things are blooming -- like the Polyanthus (above)...


...and crocuses of various colors...



...and jonquils...


...and our ornamental plum tree.


Here are some of the newly planted foxgloves. I got 13 of them done, and I have about ten more. I may keep some of them in pots, and may give away a few at school. I think we have a few coming up naturally, too, so we should have no shortage of foxglove blossoms this spring.

I know I have said this before, but I am never doing this again. Faffing around with all those microscopic foxglove seeds and seed trays and pots is exhausting. I have a few more seed varieties to plant when the weather gets a bit warmer (zinnias, datura, corncockle, hollyhock and some wildflower seeds we got in the mail) but I think those can mostly be planted in situ.

I'm going to take it easy today. We're back at work tomorrow!

40 comments:

  1. So beautiful. Never doing this again? I’m not quite convinced. But I’ll humor you.

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    1. It may be a coping mechanism to tell myself that!

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  2. Foxgloves are brilliant at re-seeding themselves and I rather like that randomness - not quite knowing where they will crop up next.

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    1. I like it too, but ours don't re-seed as well as I'd like. We might get one or two but if I cultivate them we get dozens. (Which is also the problem!)

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  3. A lovely array♥️
    Pirate has just acquired some Auriculas as in the first photo..I really like them..now he has to build a Theatre to display them!! Just like in Victorian times!!

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  4. We did yard cleanup yesterday because the weather was nice, though cool. Still, we saw several things s[routing and blooming and growing so Spring is in the air!!!

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  5. Whether you do or don't bother with your foxgloves this next winter, you will still have a most remarkable garden.

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    1. We are definitely fortunate to have this outdoor space.

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  6. Our snow is finally melting away but nothing blooming yet as it has been too cold here. I enjoyed seeing your lovely blossoms!

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  7. At my place in the Pacific Northwest the foxgloves spread themselves willy nilly. I wonder what the difference is.

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    1. I don't know! We occasionally get some that come up on their own, but they don't re-seed here as thoroughly as they apparently do elsewhere. Maybe it's our soil?

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  8. The first flowers of spring are such a delight.

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  9. Your flowers are so beautiful there. It really looks like spring is happening in a wonderful and colorful way.

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  10. I can't believe spring is busting out everywhere but here!

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    1. I can't either -- seems like you'd be ahead of us!

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  11. What beautiful flowers, Steve! You definitely have a green thumb! Back to work for me tomorrow, too. This week off went by super fast.

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  12. Crocuses are one of my favorites.

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  13. I love seeing all these blooms especially when I know it's still chilly there. Certainly chilly by my desert-dweller standards.

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    1. Yeah, the early flowers don't seem to mind the cold at all. I'm not sure what's supposed to be pollinating them, though. I haven't seen any insects to speak of!

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  14. I really wish I had a place to have a garden, but I am planning on a patio garden. Mostly herbs and some easy to grow plants because we don't really have a lot of sun.
    Have a wonderful Sunday before the work week. xx

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    1. A patio garden is a great solution! You might need sun for herbs, though.

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  15. I did no planting but I did mow and start on some weeding. My body is feeling it!

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  16. It's snowing here, so no yard work for me!

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    1. Well, managing the snow counts as yard work, right?

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  17. It's starting to look like spring there! Such lovely blooms. We got some much needed rain yesterday and we're still having wild temperature swings (70s in the day, but below freezing at night). Do you think you'll have any more frosts?

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    1. Those are some crazy temperature swings. We could have frost right up until the end of March, but given how mild this winter has been it doesn't seem likely.

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  18. Spring not here yet. Sunshine and icy winds. Just a few daffodil stems up the street. It's great to see your garden bustin out all over.

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  19. Pretty pretty! I took a couple of photos of blooming things yesterday (phlox & forsythia). I tried to photograph the henbit but I wouldn't crouch down far enough to get a good photo. I noticed on my way home from my dad's that some of the fields are turning green. Ah spring - can hayfever be far behind?

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    1. Our forsythia isn't out yet. That usually comes in March.

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  20. I planted foxgloves once and very few came up and those that did weren't much good, they never got to flowering stage. I wasn't entirely surprised, most homes I've rented had very poor soil. Your polyanthus is very pretty.

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    1. That's a bummer! And foxgloves are usually pretty tolerant of bad soil. We have very heavy, clayey soil and that can be a problem for seeds getting started, I think -- which is why I've been starting them in pots and then planting them out.

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