Once More, With Feeling!

Log #22: Back in the Game..redux

2009-03-21T16:29:00.000-07:00

Vigna Caracalla planted......check!
Snapdragons planted..........check!

The VC vine is acting funny. My leaves were beginning to whiten and die. Needless to say, I got it in the ground immediately. Despite the leaves falling off, there is still new growth. A whole new branch has formed, so that's good news!

I love Snapdragons. I think these will be happy in their new home.

The Lawn....

Well, we got rid of our 20+yo tree. There's still a stump and all the roots we need to get out ourselves or pay for it.

The Mother Unit (as my friend says) decided she wants to just dig up the whole front yard, take out all the grass, till the soil, and put down seeds. ....
...
O...kay? Alrighty then... *scratches head* Whatever.

Our front yard, for the most part, will be a mess, except for the flower bed, which is doing just fine.

We have Bleeding Heart bulbs we plan to plant out in the backyard.

The Jasmines are starting to bloom.

My 2 grape plants are coming back again. As per usual, my Green grapes are moving along faster than the Ruby grapes.

Roma Tomato seedings are sprouting and coming along fine.

Growing seeds:
Sweet Peas
Green Onion
Bell Pepper
Mixed Flowers

Hmm...that's it for now

Picture Log #11: Time Keeps On Slippin'

2009-01-31T13:01:00.000-08:00

Okay...so a little over a year later...

Both my roses died. I was actually very surprised this happened. At first I thought it was the planter. I made sure it had good drainage. Apparently not? I'm not too sure.

I guess I'm surprised because these were my favorite $6 WalMart roses (if you recall, said WalMart roses in Joseph's Coat took the hell off when I planted them in the ground. I had great success with them), so I figured I'd get the same results. I didn't want to transfer them into the ground until after I saw they were growing in the planter. Guess that was pretty dumb.

So..the new addition to my household, the guy took it upon himself to UPROOT MY BOUGAINVILLEA AND SNAIL VINE! WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYY!?!!?! Fucking jerk.

New additions

Piss poor picture, sorry

OMG OMG VIGNA CARACALLA! CORKSCREW VINE!!! Thanks to Adam and Trish;)

It's a bad picture and outdated. The plant has been going through a growth spurt for almost all of January - which I'm very excited about. It's actually just been a long strand growing that has other limbs beginning to grow. It's so long it's wrapped up and down the stick I have in there (for being a gardener, I sure don't know many gardening terms. Sheesh).

I'm very excited to see how this will fair in Southern Californian weather. I want to put it outside in the front yard, but I'm afraid of how it will mesh with the SoCal sun.

Log #21: Back in the Game

2008-01-11T21:16:00.000-08:00

It's been a while, longer than I'd've liked. Too many things going on, but I'm back!

To catch up:

Bleeding Heart Vine,Moonflower,Roma Tomatoes,Gladiolus,4 o'clocks,WJ = gone

Rose bush is doing great! It was growing like a weed so I had to really trim it back.

Grapes ...well, the winter looks to have hurt them, but I believe they will sprout new leaves.

Jasmines still have not bloomed. We hope they will this Spring, if not, I am contemplating taking them down.

Royal Purple Bougainvillea YES! It is still there, and boy am I happy! I bought a Temple Flame Bougainvillea, but the heat killed it, which was a pity.

Recent additions:

Snail Vine - got hurt during the winter as well, but it's still there
Gardenia - why the HELL does my mother keep trying to grow this? It'll never bloom. Never.
Sage - I'm so happy I got this, it was a marked down plant, and I've been slowly nursing it back to health.

New additions:

7 seeds:
Chives, Rosemary, Bell Pepper, Basil, Oregano, Roma Tomato, Parsley

2 roses:
Silver Moon (I think it's called that, it's something Moon) - a silvery purple rose

I'm really excited about the purple roses. Purple is not just my favorite color, I swear it's a way of life! Purple just brings me joy.

That's it for now!
Don Juan Climbing Roses - red climbing roses

Thoughts

2007-05-27T14:39:00.001-07:00

First off, we have 2 buds on our rose bush! I can't wait to see the blooms, but I have a few weeks ahead of me yet.

Sometimes I feel crappy that all my plants aren't huge. Some die, and have to be replaced, so it seems my garden is always at a stop and go pace. Nothing I have is huge or fully grown yet. I hope that changes. At least my grapes are doing well.

I look at other people's gardens, and for a moment I'm impressed....but then I realize all they're growing are roses! Rose bush next to rose bush next to rose bush. I do love roses, they're hard not to like, but I don't feel impressed with rose gardens anymore. There's no flavor in a garden that is nothing but roses and they won't grow anything else.

I'd also like to say that my Morning Glories are really crappy. I get a bunch of pale colors, and the blue ones my mom planted haven't been growing. Talk about not having flavor. We're going to have to find a new thing to grow.

I'm getting a puppy soon, and I keep reading how all of the plants I'm growing are dangerous. Am I bad that I don't feel I should sacrifice what I grow? I feel the dog, although I'll love her to pieces, needs to know her place, and there's no reason why I can't grow whatever I want and teach her not to go near them.

I'm done ranting now.

Picture Log #10: Growth! Spring Has Sprung!

2007-05-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

Kale, African Daisies, Primroses, and Gardenia gone

Bleeding Heart Vine, now with a side of Moonflower [night blooming morning glory]!

I don't know why, but my mom decided to plant the Moonflower seeds I bought in the same pot as the struggling-to-hang-on Bleeding Heart Vine. Apparently the BHV is still alive, and we're getting tiny new growth. This will be interesting to see if the BHV survives.

Oh my, look at how my Ruby and Thompson grapes have grown. I'll eventually get a big trellis

Also, look at the surprise I found yesterday from my supposedly dead Flame [sorry for the blurriness]:

Oh, here's what I'm REALLY excited about
Roma Tomatoes

WOW! I may have another hidden one, but I believe I have about 5 tomatoes growing! I haven't gotten to grow an actual tomato since I discovered my love for gardening, so I'm excited about this. My mom wants to plant it in the ground, but the pot is big enough, and I feel it would only severely damage the plant now.

Rose bush:

The Gladiolus bulbs made me interested in planting bulbs. I haven't had a chance to get any more, but the results are great! It seems like such a strong and sturdy plant. Wonder how long it'll be before I get blooms?

Funny story, my mom decided to put the rest of my bulbs in about 2 holes. So now we have 2 holes with 6 or more bulbs in them, and they are coming up

Royal Purple Bougainvillea....lives! I honestly didn't see that one coming, but now that I think about it, I was kind of stupid to doubt it. Bougainvillea is a native plant here...why wouldn't it grow? One day we noticed "Oh em gee! It's still green AND it has blooms?"

It looks like the 4 o'clocks are making a return [hell, how many seeds DID they plant so long ago?]

Mom trimmed the Jasmines and put some twine up. In the middle you can see the 2 new plants I bought:

Here's the newest house addition. My mom and I had a guilty laugh that the tag said "Wandering Jewel"...we all know it's Wandering Jew, but..well, it just made us giggle. Sorry! No means to offend! Either way, we can still abbreviate it WJ. The plant itself looks very strong, even a little glossy. It's pretty...and purple^_^

That concludes this session.

Log #20: Ups and Downs

2007-04-24T23:44:00.000-07:00

Bleeding Heart Vine is doing poorly. All the leaves fell off, but it appears to still be alive. There is tiny new growth on it. At WalMart they have more, if all else fails, I'll just buy it.

Grapes:

Ruby is coming along just fine! It's still not growing at the rate of the Thompson grapes, but it's alive!

The Thompson grapes have gotten big. It's a joy to see everytime I look out the kitchen window. Right now it's slowing down on the growth, though.

The Flame grape plant I think may be dead. I haven't given up on it yet and keep watering...but nothing is coming.

Jasmine plants are doing fine. Not many blooms:( But the plant is healthy.

Kale is dying. I think I'll pull it out soon.

Morning Glories are growing, a lot. I bought Moon Flower seeds tonight and will plant them perhaps tomorrow.

Primroses seemed to have died. I think we over watered them. The red and orange ones have new growth, but my beloved purple ones may be seeing their end.

African Daisies may also see the same fate. But I haven't given up on them yet.

Roma Tomato plant is doing well. I've been pinching off the buds because I don't think it's quite ready yet, but soon I will let the buds grow.

The new rose bush is doing just fine! Growing more and more:D

I planted 1 Gladiolus bulb, and it has a strong sprout. Can't wait to see it develop. Not sure where I'll plant the others.

Royal Purple Bougainvillea is doing poorly. My mom planted it somewhere where there are no other plants or anything growing. It's barely hanging on:\ We have a few Bougainvillea plants on clearance at work, I may pick up another one.

Our big Gardenia plant that I forgot to post a picture of, is just still there. We've had a few buds, but I suspect someone may be picking them off. I thought I would've seen it bloom weeks ago...but no. It's a big plant, and it's still alive, so I guess we'll just wait.

The shrub on the side of the house with purple flowers is starting to grow wild. I am starting to not mind it being there.

Our grass is actually growing! We have a lawn again! It's weird.

Houseplants are fine...

What else?

OH! I am going to try to grow 3 roses from bouquet cuttings. There is this one rose in particular that is striped, it's lovely, but dying. I am trying to save it until I have the time to buy some more potting mix, and then I will do the coke bottle green house thing with them. Any comments/suggestion with that would be appreciated.

Picture Log #9: Now We're In The Swing Of Things

2007-03-27T02:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, this post is going to be loaded with pictures.

Lavendar, Hyacinth, Tulip, and yellow flower are gone completely.

I'll commence with the pictures!

Bleeding Heart Vine

It only has a couple of buds on it right now. Supposedly they grow in clusters. They're tiny white flowers with a purplish red in the middle.

Grapes:

Ruby

This one has a new sprout! It is not growing as fast as the other one, however.

Thompson

Flame has no sprouts. I think my yard is too small for grapes and I'm worried, but who knows? We may be able to pull it off. Perhaps the people behind us might not mind our grapes growing in their yard, hah.

Jasmines have been cut a bit

I bought two new Jasmine plants as well.

The Kale has a rod. Flowers are supposedly going to grow. Little yellow ones.

Our two types of Morning Glories are growing. Morning Glories are the easiest fucking things to grow.

We have a couple new colorful flowers in the front. Primroses I think they are called.

I think these are African Daisies.

My Roma Tomato plant is doing rather well. If all goes right, this will be our first tomato plant in more than 5 years to survive. We grow tomatoes in honor of my grandmother. Growing tomatoes was a passion she had, but she was too weak to fulfill it to a great extent.

So, guess what happened with my roses after we put them in the ground?

They started to grow leaves left and right! Amazing. I thought the plant was dead!

This bulb

will hopefully grow into this flower

I have 25 bulbs. I want to go plant a bunch of them in the back. I planted on in the frontyard. We'll see what happens. It was a lucky find, it was the last packet of that they had. I have never planted bulbs before.

Instead of posting the pictures of all my houseplants, I'll direct you to the post about them:

http://yougrowgirl.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7666

As I mentioned before, I bought two Jasmine plants and also a Royal Purple Bougainvillea, which I am very excited about.

I am contemplating trying to grow more things from seed, but I'm not sure. Will report later.

Log #19: Getting Excited Allover Again

2007-03-16T03:36:00.000-07:00

Whenever I see the tiniest hint of new growth in my plants, I get excited. I don't care if it's a dull, extremely easy to grow plant, it makes me incredibly happy.

The green grapes are coming along nicely. Many new, actual leaves on there now. One of the red grapes, I believe it's the Ruby one, I just found out today is barely barely starting to grow a little branch! That made my day. I was so worried that my red grapes weren't going to grow, but thankfully they proved me wrong! I think it's the little faerie statue my mother bought me;) I put it right next to my grapes.

The Morning Glory seeds are growing. We will have a big mixture of colors, I can't wait to enjoy them.

I told my mom a week or so ago to just pull out my Hyacinth and Tulips. The Hyacinth, I think, caught a disease. Oh well.

The Kale, Lavendar, and yellow flower-thing are pretty much dying. Actually, my mom pulled out the Lavendar. Such a shame.

Everything else is just fine. I will wait a little longer until I do another picture log.

Picture Log #8: It Seems My Mom's Gotten It Together

2007-03-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

Not to mention she took it upon herself to throw out almost all my old plants.

Surprisingly, I'm not too mad, though.

The green grapes are growing new little branches, chutes...whatever you call them, and it's so exciting!

So, instead of listing what all is gone, here is what stays from the old bunch:

My new additions [the grapes, yellow/orange rose, and Rhoeo Tri-Color]
My one plant that I thought was a form of Carnation, but is actually Sweet William

And that is it.

Here are the new additions. I'll start with the unknown plants first, that I am hoping people can identify for me as "for sure"

Lavendar? What kind?!

Someone said this is a Kale..

Now onto the others:

Carnations:

Floppy Hyacinth:

My dying Tulips [why are they dying so soon?]:

The orange/yellow roses. I believe they were called Joseph's Coat:

The new and old Sweet William [sidenote: the old SW on the right is the only plant that lasted strong throughout the frost that killed everything else]:

And probably the reason I'm not mad about the other plants, this Gardenia:

Oh my stars and garters! I forgot I recently bought a Tomato plant! It's healthy, no pictures yet. It's a Roma Tomato.

And there you go. The Gardenia has big buds on it, we're all waiting to see the blooms.

Picture Log #7: Get It Together, Andrea!

2007-02-22T23:15:00.000-08:00

Jeez, my last two posts haven't been anything to really read, nor was it really informative.

Let's get started! *cracks knuckles*

Starting from this last list of plants...

Calla Lilies: They were getting really big, but they died beyond repair in this shock of winter frost for Southern California. I am upset about them, but I am working now, so if I get too lonely, I can buy seeds or another plant!

Celosia: Oh, those are long gone away with. It was just too hard keeping them fuzzy. They were constantly getting muddied and matted down. They eventually died, and I wasn't the least bit sorry about it.

Hairy Evolvolus: Well, it's still brown now, but I think it may have life yet. I don't really like it, and neither does my mom. It's future is still in question.

Hibiscus: Not one of my plants was not set back by the frost. My lovely Hibiscus were no exception. I think there is still life in them, so I'm not touching it and just watering them.

Lavendar: You know, these confuse me. They kept the form strongly, but they are wilted and browning. Do I cut them back? I have no clue what to do with them.

Ornamental Peppers: Oh, they are both completely brown, but upon breaking off a couple of branches, there is still green on the inside! I will keep them and see what happens.

Pink rose bush: We haven't seen any blooms on this for a very long time, but the plant is still alive, as well as the White rose bush.

Morning Glories: Well, they completely died, but alas, there is new life! My mom planted seeds in there, and I'm not sure it will only be hers growing. Unfortunately, she only had the blue, which does NOT make me happy. I just don't like blue Morning Glories, sorry. I will buy some crazy colors and put them back in there;)

4 o'clocks: These had a very tragic death.
A couple months ago, we had a bad fire around our parts. It wasn't close to my house, but the air was thick with sickly yellow fog. I remember glancing in my backyard, and my HUGE 4 o'clock plant had completely wilted! It was just leaning to the side. My sister said it was the lack of oxygen and ash in the air. They never revived.

Tropicanna: As always, still growing. It lost some bulk from the frost, but it's still there.

Unknown Bamboo: Ugh, back to square one with this guy. Damn the frost!!!!!

Carnations: Yeah, still there. Actually, the fuschia ones in the middle stayed strong through the winter.

Snail Vine: I was upset with this one as much as I was with my Lilies. Right now it's cut down to the root. I'm not sure what will happen:(

New plants!!!

Rhoeo Tri-Color: This was a small plant I bought for $3 at my grocery store. Next thing I knew, it got really big! It's in a bigger pot right now. Can you guess why I bought it? Take a closer look..

That's right, it's PURPLE underneath! How cool is that?

My grapes:

"Flame" red grapes

"Ruby" red grapes

"Thompson" green grapes: This one is the only one with sprouts, as you can see the green spots in my white circle. I'm not sure why the other ones don't have sprouts, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I also have a Hyacinth, which is growing so wild, we had to put it outside! But no new blooms yet.

And there is the dark purple Tulips my mom bought me for Valentine's Day. They were nice for a day or two, then rapidly started to go yellow, but I see new leaves forming.

Well, that's it! I hope you all enjoyed this one!

Log #18: With The Chinese New Year Comes Life!

2007-02-18T12:57:00.000-08:00

Though some of my plants have perished, there is growth and birth!

The green grapes out of my 3 I just discovered are growing new stems [chutes?]. I am thrilled! I hope hope HOPE that my other red ones are doing okay.

There are sprouts in my pot of dead Morning Glories. I really need to cut the dead stuff off of the fence.

I think my yellow/orange roses are still growing. I feel new thorns on them.

Even though this is only a little bit, I am still so pleased.

Cheers to the Year of the Boar!

Log #17: Gone, Gone Away

2007-01-29T03:33:00.000-08:00

Oh, my lovely plants were killed this winter by surprising frost. We are not used to this in Southern California.

Sorry this will not be as detailed as usual, it'll have to wait.

I work now, at WalMart. Go me. This leaves me with very little time to do anything, and my days off are spent sleeping and doing errands.

I did have a chance recently to sneak back to the garden center at my job and buy some things.

My biggest project right now are my grapes. I bought this starter kit that had 3 kinds, Ruby, Thomas, and Flame. They are soaking in a bucket of water right now...I am keeping them in longer than I should, but I started late and had no light to go back and work with them. I am hoping they'll hold okay. Bad me.

I also bought climbing roses. I think they need to go in the ground instead of a pot. Also bad me.

At Stater Bros, I bought wonderful Hyacinths, and a Cyclamen plant.

Log #16: Ahhhtumn

2006-10-18T00:19:00.000-07:00

Ahhh yes, Autumn has arrived! Very nice and comforting. On my end in SoCal, this is the time for new beginnings and to plant seeds. A lot better than waiting until the Spring.

Along with CausticMuse from YGG, we are doing a grow a long of Delphinium. We probably still have a week or two to go until we see sprouts.

Alright, enough with the chat and to the update!

Calla Lilies: Are really getting big. I am so pleased.

Celosia: One of the two batches is better than the other. I don't really like them, they do not stay as fluffy as the picture below, when you water them, it obviously soaks them, but new..puff rods are growing.

Hairy Evolvolus: It's still healthy, though we haven't had any flowers to my knowledge for a while.

Hibiscus: These are doing well. It is really rewarding to see 3 of them bloomed at a time [though I still hate the pink!]

Lavendar: Ah, these are coming along beautifully. Oh! I need to find out how to harvest them!

Ornamental Peppers: The one that had more sun than the other really shriveled up. I cut off all the dead peppers and the dead leaves, but fear not! It isn't dead! Tiny new leaves are forming on the branches. The other one is semi weak, but it still has green leaves and has a few new buds.

Pink rose bush: No new buds, but the leaves are still fresh and thriving.

White rose bush: We got to enjoy one new flower, but it's gone now. No new buds.

Morning Glories: I shit you not, I went out there and talked to them more, and now they are just fine!! BUT! There is a bloody praying mantis that lives in them now, I think it stalks me. That creature scares me, it really does, and it seems to like to be wherever my fingers happen to be on that plant.
Update: I haven't seen the stalker for a few days now. *gives evil eye*

4 o'clocks: Just chillin in my backyard. It's a big bush now, very pretty when they bloom.

Tropicanna: Still growing! Man, when these finally bloom, it will be so rewarding.

Unknown Bamboo: I feel it's a good accomplishment! After nursing it, we have many new..chutes[sp?], two with leaves. Very nice.

Carnations: Eh, they're fine.

Snail Vine: It is pleasing to see many purple flowers at once. I really need to find something for it to climb up, though.

*sniffle* I miss my Fuchsia and Bleeding Hearts, AND I WANT TO GROW CORKSCREW VINE SOOOO BADLY! But for the life of me, $15 a pot!!! *pout*

Lawn and Weeding: I weeded a bit out in the backyard, I need to do it more, though. As for the frontyard lawn, the grass is growing again. My mom accidentally bought grass seed mulch..stuff, I am contemplating going out there and putting it down.

That is all!

Picture Log #6: Some New Plants

2006-09-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

Well, a few days ago my mother decided on a whim to go and buy a few new things. I would have updated much sooner, but Photobucket was down.

Let's begin!

Celosia
This is one out of 2 batches she bought.

Hairy Evolvolus
These have pretty violet flowers. They seem to only bloom during the day. We didn't plant this because I talked my mom into making it a hanging plant. Only thing missing is the hanging basket..

Hibiscus
Too much damn pink, in my opinion, but I am excited to see how these grow.

Lavendar
I tried to get my mom to plant this out back. I told her it will grow big, but she doesn't believe me. To compromise, she just stuck it in a big pot.

Ornamental Peppers
She bought 2 of these because of the purple for me. Sadly, purple is the first color they turn, then I believe it goes red>orange>yellow:(

Now for some of my older plant updates.

Calla Lilies
Look at how tall they're growing!

Pink rose bush
Now this is the rose bush I had given up hope on. Insects had eaten the leaves until they looked like Swiss cheese. As a last attempt, I just randomly trimmed off all the leaves a few weeks back, and when we go to plant the new plants, I noticed this! Can you not tell? All the leaves grew back!!! ZOMG!

White rose bush:Has 1 new bud.

Morning Glories:They look like they are dying, but I'm still getting a new bloom everyday. I feel I'm not talking to them as much as I was.

All other plants are doing well.

Picture Log #5: A New Canvas!

2006-08-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

So, finally, we hired the gardener to do our backyard, and he did a great job. There are just a few items that we need to put away. I'd better start planning! And this time, I'm going to keep up on it like no other! It'll be a lot easier since Fall is on its way.

BTW, thank you Hanna and Annie for your comments^_^ Indeed there is always next year..or..there is always next season, like Fall!

Anyway, refer back to this post

Now, the new blank canvas of a backyard I've been wanting!

Now these are the 4o'clocks that recently started growing. My mom told me a few years back, my brother and grandmother planted those seeds, and they barely came to surface, so I'm leaving them.

All the trash, it's gone!

And we just need to sort through that pile, and we're back in business!

More updates as they come!

Picture Log #4: The Wrath of Summer and Disappointments

2006-08-16T07:44:00.000-07:00

Summer has killed off almost all my seeds. Summer killed many of my plants, or dried them out.

I hate California summer.

Here summer is, closing to an end [almost], and here are my survivors. God bless them.

Here we have my Tropicanna that I've been nursing back to health. It's growing big, and I don't think the picture does the justic of the beautiful coloring of the leaves. I am waiting on pins and needles for it to bud.

Hi, little rose bush! This is my white rosebush. It started to bloom when the heat was immense. We only got about 2 beautiful roses, and by the time the 3rd one budded, it was already crisping and browning before it bloomed all the way. I have no buds since then.

Also, my other rose bush is doing poorly. It has been eaten up like crazy, all the leaves have a bunch of holes in them, it looks terrible. I may have to cut it back.

Here are some Carnations. I actually have 4 sets of different ones, but these are the only ones green and blooming [and they're my favorite]. I think having the fallen leaves around them really helps.

Here is my unknown bamboo. It used to have some green leaves, but they were crisping and falling off, so I eventually cut them back, and they are growing nicely again. I'm happy to see that.

Ah, my darlings! My Calla Lilies! The ones I am looking forward to so much to see them grow! The heat had not been kind to them. If you refer back to almost the beginning of the blog, you will see I bought these, in bloom, but they soon wilted. I cut them back to the root, and they grew strong and lush, but throughout the heat, many leaves crisped off, and this is what remains. It is doing a lot better from even just a week ago. I think in September, they'll be shooting up.

My Morning Glories! My only surviving seeds, which is now a thriving plant! I thought I was only going to have that fuschia color, but there's a wide variety. I have counted almost 6 different colors lately: Purple, Lavendar, Fuschia, Pale Pink [almost white], Pink, and a darker shade of Purple and Lavendar. I'm really pleased.

Ahem

Remember when I said I bought a Corkscrew Vine?

LIES!!!!111one

It wasn't a Corkscrew Vine at all! The picture lied! It's a regular fucking Snail Vine. I called the company and actually bitched about it, but they said they have no control over the pictures. I feel it was false advertising, not to mention they had the wrong Latin name, which they said is the only thing they're responsible for. Fucks.

Anyway, it's growing nicely, the flowers are pretty, and mom wants to keep it. Not sure where to start letting it climb, though, but I am still very determined to get a Corkscrew Vine plant. Believe me you, boy. I'll get one.

And now, for my tree. I've never talked about my tree or posted pictures. Here is my 20 year old tree and the crazy fucking roots.

And that concludes this blog entry.

Log #15: Is It Still Summer?

2006-07-19T01:57:00.000-07:00

Apparently it is.

My lonely Chive finally died. I don't blame it for letting go of the hot life.

Everything else is fine.

I am excited about buds on my Corkscrew Vine!! I can't wait to see them bloom!

And that, my friends, is pretty much it for now.

Log #14: A New Project

2006-07-10T23:56:00.000-07:00

I'll do the rundowns.

There is still ONE Chive hanging on for dear life! I am amazed, but it doesn't seem to be growing much.

Calla Lilies are hanging on as well.

Bindweed is taking over the backyard.

My Jasmines have no new blooms:(

Morning Glories are very good.

The white rosebush has a new bud, just barely opening. The other rosebush hasn't had a new bud in a month or so.

Fuchsia are dead, but there are some sproutlets inside the pot, so I'm not throwing it out just yetO_o

Tropicanna is doing well. Can't wait to see if it does get any blooms... ever...

And now, for the happiness!

I bought a Corkscrew Vine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!

Noooooooooooooooooooo!

2006-06-26T06:27:00.000-07:00

MY MORNING GLORIES HAVE A PINK BLOOM!

Hopefully, the main color of the flowers will be dark color, since this is the first pink I've seen out of 7 blooms.

If the flowers are mainly pink, I will destroy it.

My rose..............isn't looking so yellow anymore. It's looking rather white. Was I mistaken? Guess we'll find out when it completely blooms.

Picture Log #3: Blooms,Weeds, and Death

2006-06-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I'll go chronologically first.

Almost all my seedlings and my tomatoes have died. I have one single chive that seems to be holding on for dear life. The heat is terrible.

My tomatoes up and wilted. I pruned them to the branches. My step mother suggested yesterday that I do the deep watering, where I leave the hose on very low by my tomatoes for a half hour, so the water penetrates to the root. I think I may try that.

My Fuschia have also dried out, but I am positive they are not completely gone and will return towards the end of summer.

In other news, my Morning Glories have been blooming! We are on the third bloom. Each one of the three has been blooming one day after the other. The color is a rich fuschia, magenta, which ever you feel is a better suited name. Thank the gods it was not pink!!! I did have my heart set on purple, but this color is rich and will look great allover my fence.

Funny story:

I was flipping out because my Morning Glories would have a bloom, and then close up for the day, and then would die the next day, but the plant was thriving! So, I took it to my beloved You Grow Girl Forums, and they eased my soul and said that's exactly what Morning Glories are supposed to do! I had no idea and felt so stupid! But they were also nice and told me not to be.
Phew.

Moving along, I noticed this weed-like plant growing from my neighbor's backyard into mine with white flowers that resembled small Morning Glories:

I found out these are called Bindweeds, and I should probably get rid of them asap.

Okay, and for something I've been waiting for....

Drumroll, please...

...

My second rose bush has budded! The bud has not bloomed yet, but the green is starting to peel back and the color is!!!

Yellow!!! AND NOT PINK!!! I hope it might be one of those two tone roses, but I won't push my luck.

For fun:

Yellow roses signify strong feelings of pure joy, gladness, happiness and friendship, but were once used to convey jealousy. Friendship is the main meaning of the yellow rose but it also signifies familiar love and domestic happiness. Yellow roses also symbolize fun and freedom. Today, the yellow rose is used to embrace a new beginning, apologize or express sympathy, and to say, "remember me" , "I am sorry', or "I care." Yellow roses are appropriate for marking the beginning of a new life together or for starting all over again.

Well, the new beginning is a good reason to have these around.

Also, my Tropicana seem to be growing well, too.

Log #13: Looking Back

2006-06-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

Looking back, I'm not so pleased with myself.

I live in Southern California, for fuck's sake, and not near the beach, so almost the whole year is just hot for us.

I really didn't do my research all that well. I just wanted plants that I wanted, and did not take the time to research native plants.

What I have growing and their condition:

2 Sage. 1 on it's way, the other still in it's early stages. The good one seems to have its leaves shrivel if I do not water it in the morning. I have been having a CRAZY sleep schedule. I set my alarm for 8am this morning and did not wake up until 1:30pm. I don't even remember the alarm going off! Christ. Talk about feeling like a lazy asshole. I did have another Sage that popped up along with the on in it's early stages, but it died off a couple days ago.

3 Marigolds that I recently put into a pot of their own. The tallest is wilting, but it does that a lot, then pops back up. The other 2, I fear, are probably going to really die off soon.

1 Chive that seems to be well. There were recently 2 more. 1 I thought was going to make it, but withered away. Then later, another one popped up, but as I just saw for myself, had the same fate as the other one.

My La Roma Gold Tomatoes...well, I planted those in the ground, and it did seem to help. It's fairly healthy, though if I do not water that in the morning, the leaves start to wilt as well. There are a few blooms here and there, but they easily die.
Fuck.

Sage, Columbine, and Lavender seeds, I don't think I'll be seeing anything. Damn.

My Canterbury Bells and Snapdragons...it even hurts to type this out, but they have died off. I still have more seeds, so I am going to plant more in there and see what happens. I think one cause of them dying may be overwatering and too much heat. Not sure.

My healthiest grown-from-seed-plant is my Morning Glories, which are fairly easy to grow. I had a bit of a panic with rolly pollies aka pillbugs eating them, but thank the heavens my mom found some of my grandmother's insecticides, and just one use of that, they are gone.

My Jasmines are in poor condition due to spidermites, and in serious need of a good pruning. Just now, I sprayed some insecticide. We will see how it works.

Calla Lilies are okay. Good condition, not much to really report.

Now, for plants that have been growing out in the front.

The Tropicana I am trying to nurse back to health is coming along alright.

My rosebush that has been having blooms has ceased to have anymore. I'm sure more will come soon enough.

My Fuschia had no blooms for a while, but new buds have emerged! I think it had been in need of a serious pruning.

The few carnation plants we're growing [not the beautiful kind] are alright, as long as I dead head them often.

My small, pink Hydrangea are coming along with new blooms, well..only plant one of 2.

The orange flowers that you can see in pictures below are in the same condition as the Hydrangea.

My second rosebush that I said I can't wait to see what color it is has a bud! Too early to tell the color, however. I'm praying it is anything but pink. [wouldn't that be a surprise if it came out deep red or purple? man that'd be exciting!]

And that's pretty much that.

Mor reflections and lessons learned:
1) I bought my seeds at a good time to plant them. Bad of me, but I put off planting them for almost 2 months, and by that time, the heat was kicking in.

2) It seems a bit useless to try to plant anymore seeds. The heat is becoming too much, and I have no room to keep these in the house. If I want to plant anymore new projects, I need to wait until September, most likely.

3) Probably my most important lesson. It's all well and good to want to have the satisfaction of growing something from seed. It is satisfying and very frustrating if you haven't done all your research.
If you but a cutting, those are just as much work as planting seeds, except experts or what have you, were able to provide good germination environments, so I shouldn't feel any less of a gardener...or novice gardener, if I buy cuttings. IT'S OKAY AND A LOT SMARTER.

That is all for now.

Log #12: Slow but Steady..for the Most Part

2006-06-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

I transplanted my 3 Marigolds to an actual pot yesterday. They seem to be wilty.

My 1 Sage I was afraid I almost lost, but it's back to good. 2 other Sages popped up as well! The big Sage, I can already smell.

Snapdragons and Canterbury Bells are growing slowly but surely.

My Morning Glories are growing like weeds, but I'm having rolly polly problems. I need an insecticide.

I planted my La Roma Gold Tomatoes out back in the actual dirt after having finished off the huge bag of mulch in the same area as in Log #11.

Sadly, I think I am giving up hope on Lavender for sure, and Columbine for the most part.

Also, I made a new pot of Sage, since I was worried about only 1 growing, and I have only seen 1 tiny sprout.

That's all the update in me for now.

Picture Log #2: Growth!

2006-05-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

Here are my dying Bleeding Hearts:

My Calla Lilies that I totally cut back are coming along nicely, despite some brown around the edges!

Sorry this one is blurry, but here you'll see my Marigolds to the left, and my one Sage to the right:

What's the story, Morning Glory?

My first bit of mulching! Yeah, you can see the newspaper, I didn't want to overdo the mulch, but I probably have to put more:

Now for the front yard.

My poor Hydrangea:

The one of the two rose bushes that has blooms:

And just because, this is my favorite indoor plant we have, the Swiss Cheese plant:

In other news, I took out the Lavender and Columbine and planted those yesterday,

Snapdragons are sprouting!!! 2 in the tray where the Marigold, Sage, and Chives are, and about 4 in the big pot!

-sigh- Keeping fingers crossed for the Canterbury Bells...I really REALLY want those.

Also, I really want our other rose bush to bloom. I want to see the color.

Log #11: Mulch

2006-05-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

6 Marigolds are fine.
1 Sage is fine.
2 Chives seem to still be doing well.
I cut a few branches from the Bleeding Hearts. Not sure if I want to cut it all the way back yet or not.
Cut off the blooms from the Hydrangea.
Pruned may of the frontyard flowers, and it seems to have helped a lot.

I just got back in from test mulching. I was in the mood to do some yard work. I weeded the parts that I originally weeded in Log #1 again because a few have popped back up.
Note: Applying spray weed killer and then weeding really helps.
After that, I decided to just rip strips of newspaper, and laid them down in a test area. I then put enough mulch to mostly cover the newspaper. I really like black colored mulch.

Not sure what's going on with the gardener. We're really tight on money as of late. -shrugs- Well, I said I wanted to do it on my own anyway, right?

Edit:
In the tray I planted, 2 Snapdragons actually emerged! I just noticed them today.

I replanted my Morning Glories in a bigger pot. I did the same with the Roma Tomatoes.

I'm wondering if I'll see any action from the Snapdragons and Canterbury Bells I replanted.

Log #10: Re-Potting

2006-05-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

4-5 Marigolds are doing fine. I believe 1 or 2 died while I was in San Diego.
Only 1 Sage is growing.
1 Chive has popped up.
Planted Snapdragons and Canterbury Bells in two different pots. Canterbury Bells are in the tallest pot.
Calla Lilies are fine.
Bleeding Hearts are dead. I may cut them back to the root, but I'm not sure the spot is good for them anymore.
I may dump the two Easter Lilies I have growing [I did cut them back, not sure I want them anymore].
Fuchsia is okay. I believe it has a disease. While I was in Laguna Beach this weekend, the house next to use had a HUGE Fuchsia plant!It was pretty much a bush. Hum...
Hydrangea is dead as well, but they may pop back up if I cut them back a little.
Parsley is not growing at all.
Will be taking out the Columbine and Lavender seeds from the fridge soon.