Cottage Garden Seed Swap and Chat #40

i like to hear the answer ta that one too. found some day lillies seeds, put the pods out ta dry....an nothing has happened! makes me wonder if indeed they are what i thought they was! i beez so confoosed!!!

jsxtiger, you need to wait to take the pods off of the daylilies until they are popping open and have turned brown they probably haven't finished making seeds yet :) Soon as the seeds are ready you pop them in the fridge I don't think it's a good thing for those to dry out all of the way.

Neal I have you down for some of those white annual salvias along with La, I just hope all of this rain doesn't mess with my seed collecting on them lol This rain has been a trip this week I bet you are getting a lot too cause it's mostly south of us but we are sure getting our share! I just went out to empty the trash and it's the first time I've been out in two days except for getting the mail LOL And I have to go to the store to get envelopes before sending for those seed baggies I have looked everywhere and need to replentish them for this year :)

I can never get my pots to look like the ones in the pictures! But don't you think Neal that those bush violets will go in your sky garden just perfect for next year? My front porch is so small and it's so hard not to put too many pots on the front porch and since I had that tree cut down I don't have as much shade as I use to it's like not enough shade for the shade plants and not enough sun for the sun plants I need a happy medium on the porch. I want to put pots on the front porch but end up with no space to walk when I do so this year I lined the front walk with a lot of them then it made it hard to walk on the walk lol My neighbors said it's hard to walk up to the house without stepping on plants lol That's a good complaint for me except when dogs get lose and rip my plants out of the pots when they are running around trying to get away from their owner lol I've had that happen a few times this year lol

I've got to tell you about another plant he he he I planted these 'Diamond Frost' plants in three places in my yard for the first time this year. One is in a hanging basket and still going strong, another one is by my moon garden with creeping tyme, tuinks lavender pets. and lantana and Tx. muley grass, white profusion zinnias and dusty miller and it really looks great they say it only gets two feet around but mine is at least three feet around and just beautiful! This picture is almost just like my plants by the other side of the sidewalk but have red and purple salvias and the purple dome asters in front of those the DF is the one in the bottom right hand corner I have purple veronica and lyme grass and another medium grass where they have theirs it's almost just like my plantings :

http://gardenwright.typepad.com/the_plant_sluts_garden/2009/01/cool-plant-of-the-week-diamond-frost-euphorbia.html

This is another annual that I will buy cause I can't get seeds off of it, as long as they have it for sale! And it's drought tollerant too no drooping at all when we don't get any rain doesn't phase it at all :) Now I did have to water my basket of it though, a lot I may just keep it in the ground from now on.

I finally got a bloom off of my moon vine out front I just waited too long to plant it this year.

wow! thanks, LeBug! dud! (poor me)

Your welcome jsxtiger :) Any time you have questions about seeds just let us know and maybe we can help you along the way :)

....before i fall over the fence! lol thanks!

I seem to have good luck with the illumination begonias in these pots. Have some of the Browallia up there with them, some lobelia fountain blue and crossandra. One out of the 5 baskets always dies... not always the same one either. But the others are full enough I don't really notice :)

Lost my balance in these though, the begonias have taken over. Earlier in the year the petunias and geraniums were holding their own, but they're in decline now.

The small bright orchid spots toward the right are geranium tornado orchid, and the tall things all the way to the right, not in the boxes, are Lebug's tall pink begonias...

LEA --

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=6753696

Image for my Blue Salvia

Terese, do those salvias have a purple stem? They look like the victoria blue farinacea salvias I just love those I might have a few seeds here of those hold on to some seeds for me if you can and I will look later to see if I have any in the fridge seems like I do have a few in there but thanks for thinking of me those would be perfect for my red, white and blue theme :) I'm not ready to hit that drawer of seeds in the fridge yet I'm afraid they will attack me wanting to get outta there and be planted! LOL shhh they don't know I'm collecting more to visit them :)

I would have to say that this is my favorite salvia:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2871/

It's such a shame they aren't a perennial and they don't reseed in our areas either Terese so hold onto some seeds they are a little difficult to collect aren't they lol It seems like you have collected scads of them and when you get them all together you don't have much at all lol Seems like a lot of salvias are like that :)

Pretty, pretty! So, I'm still looking to figure out what goes well with salvia? Anyone have any ideas for things that might offer a different texture in the hummer/butterfly garden full of salvia, and a mexican bush sage? I know they like the Zinnias too, so that's a start...

I had one salvia once - a purple one, which isn't my favorite color, and it would get really bushy and then flop over, and I didn't like that much. Also it smelled like sour sweat. I didn't like that much either, so I finally gave it to my neighbor, whose favorite color is purple. Do all salvias smell like that? And do they all have the same habits?

The only thing blue that I still have blooming is the Black and Blue salvia. It didn't get nearly as big this year as in other years (only about 1 foot high this year) - I think it was a bit too shaded this year.

And I've got the weirdest thing with some Amaranth that's still going in the front - the bumble bees are literally hanging out on it. Seems like I've got about a dozen of those things just hanging upside down on the blooms, I think it got too cold and rainy for them too quickly and they're just sorta stuck in my yard...not sure how long they'll last there before either the weather gets them.

Lea, you read my mind about that Farmer's Market - LOL! The one sis signed up for is fairly strict that the stuff sold there has to be from your farm. Even plants that are sold must either be started on the farm (gotta get my nursery license upgraded) or if you buy it for resale it has to live on your farm at least 6 weeks before heading over to the Market. So...I'll be starting seedlings for the Market. We've figured we'll stick with a few basic perennials (which I started this year, and am hoping they survive the winter to get to a good size) and some veggie seedlings. The area has a lot of aging hippies, so we're thinking of heirloom veggie plants - which means sis and I get to sit with the Baker's Creek catalog and OOHHH and AAHHH over that for a while before we get down to business and figure out which heirlooms we want to grow. Sis also has this bright idea that I'm going to build a clay oven and make clay oven-baked bread for the Market. I've told her to slow down a bit - if we're gonna be using the kitchen that's got to be inspected, and I haven't even got the paperwork for upgrading my nursery license yet! She's just a little bit excited....

herbspirit, do you know what kind of lupine you have?

ajntexas-

it's wild lupine - Lupinus perennis, native to my area of the country.

Lea -- YES that is what i have.

My neighbor plants blue salvia with orange Profussion Zinnias. The combinations sounds kind of odd, but it's really quite striking. I meant to copy him this year but ran out of space. Next year maybe.

My coveted, long-anticipated corkscrew vine is finally blooming! I sure hope the first frost holds off long enough for me to get to enjoy it....AND get some seeds from it.

Robin, that's very exciting! I can't wait to hear all the details of your move and new projects.

I have a picture of my Yvonne's tcs. : )

Robin, I was wondering about all the rules of the FM but it sounds cool if it has to be seeds that you started I like that idea :) If you get heirloom tomatoes I can go in with you on those I would love to have some heirloom tomatoes I keep experimenting with tomatoes and just can't find tomatoes that do good here! I just have a black thumb when it comes to tomatoes lol Can't make my mind up when I look at seeds either then I end up buying too many :)

Your sister is going to keep you so busy you won't have time to come over LOL

My grandson is coming to spend the night tonite :) First time :) I'm getting ready to go pick him up so will be back tomorrow evening I guess after I take him home just hope he doesn't get too bored staying with this old lady so he will come back LOL I told him if he did get too bored he wouldn't have to come back that I would understand just wish I could get him outside but it's going to rain up until tonite maybe we can get out tomorrow.

Does anyone know if/what the difference is between a nicotiana affinis and a nicotiana alata? I have a lime colored nicotiana marked 'affinis' that looks a lot like the alata in the plant files. Can't find an affinis lime... some sites have them marked as both. Wondering if they're synonyms...

Stunning - Meredith!!

mine did not look so good ... I'll have to work on that for next year.

Lala_Jane, kin ya show a pic of those corkscrew vines? i be confoosed cuz the ones i have dont look like ones in PF.

Tiger, "corkscrew vine" and "snail vine" are used interchangeably for 2 different plants, Vigna caracalla and Phaseolus caracalla (pardon spelling, I think that's at least close). V. caracalla is the really fragrant one, but both are pretty.

oh............................! thank you, critter!

Wow meridith.. Yvonne's sur e do look pretty. How many plants do you have in there to get that nic eful look? The young lady sure is cutie too. : )

Perenniallyme
We did miss your big rains, but finally got a bit yesterday. REally just a bit :(
tcs
that salvia is really beautiful. So far I haven't done well with the blue ones unless they are potted.
lebug I have the black and blue salvia, some lobelia and a sparce lizzie for blue color right now. I love the lizzie but it does take forever to get from seed to bloom. All these are in pots or baskets.

Would anyone want these marigold seeds? I could liberate seed pods from a local park that is closed for the season.
Don't know the name, definately the small variety. Not very tall.

tcs, are your blue plants annual or perennial?
If perennial I wouldn't mind having a few seeds if you have extra to share?
Thanks, Maxine

LeBug, I too planted the 'Diamond Frost' for the first time this year. Love it!!! I only planted it in a couple of planters. I've looked 'many' times to find its seeds ... no luck. :o(

Kelly, nice pictures!

Lea, For blue flowers I have Mealy cup sage and Ageratum 'Leilani Blue' blooming right now. You know of course they are more purple than blue.

Be careful of the Ageratum 'Leilani Blue', the seeds go everywhere, and at this time of the summer I have plants all over my garden, but I love that, so I let them go to seed.
I save a few seeds and start a few early so I have a little patch of them blooming earlier. But they come back each year even though I put down preen. Well, only a few manage to come back, but after the first batch goes to seed in July, then they start popping up everywhere.
They are annual, so I don't worry about it.

This year I have a small area of my garden I'm in love with right now. I have Pink Double Click Cosmos and Sea Shell Cosmos (both Oinked for I think), Purple wave petunia and the blue Mealy cup sage and the Ageratum leilani blue of course, all blooming together. Only thing I'm missing is a white flower.

Lala, I tried the corkscrew vine once, got just a couple blooms, then frost, just not worth it for me.

Meredith, My Yvonne salvia doesn't get that tall. Do you do anything special??? Maybe I should get a couple of your seeds. lol Great picture by the way.

toofew

Hmm, I'm going to have ageratum everywhere in the spring if they survive our winter... good thing they're so pretty! I'm looking forward to planting them in the right spot next year. Underestimated how tall they got this year, and had them in a few weird places :)

Does anyone save seed from impatiens? A friend had to show me the pods hanging up the branch, guess I was focusing on around the flower, and hadn't noticed... still learning! So, my pods are all green, I'm assuming that they will eventually brown and there will be seeds in there? Do they need to be bagged? Are they ever worth saving, or mostly hybrids that won't come true? With all that people use impatiens around here, it sure would be great to grow them from seed!

toofew, Sounds pretty, let's see a picture! I'm thinking I want some white alyssum in front of my leilani blue next year?

Meredith, are you saving seeds of the Yvonne's? I'd definitely like to get some!

Kelly, Impatiens have seed pods like Touch me Nots (Balsam), that pop when touched and throw the seeds everywhere. The pods still have some moisture in them when they're ready to burst, and turn yellowish- if you wait till they brown, the seed has probably already been dropped. I've never collected the seed, but have found volunteer seedlings before (when I lived in the woods where it was moist and shady).

I'll have to try some of that blue ageratum next year. What conditions are you growing them in?

Kelly, impatiens are one of those I never seem to find the seeds on, but I have a packet that someone sent me from 2003 and I grow only about 10 plants of impatiens each year, and the seeds from that 2003 packet are still germinating. (hows that for a run-on sentence)
The white alyssum sounds like it would look very nice.

Neal, the Ageratum 'Leilani Blue' grow in Full Sun here. I've never tried them in my partial sun area. They don't seem to mind if it is dry or moist. They grow to around 15 inches in height. They say they are a good cut flower, but I find they begin to drop petals with in 36 to 48 hours, so I don't use them for my vases.

I don't seem to have any pictures of the leilani blue, except this one with my 'Eye on America' daylily. I think I posted this picture last year.

toofew

Full sun here too. Some were in window boxes (too tall, won't put them there next year) and some were in the ground. I wish I'd kept them better trimmed this year, because they did seem to recover nicely when I finally got around to it. I was just wanting to collect seed on everything, and didn't know what I could cut back and still count on it flowering again! Seriously messy garden year.. but lots of seeds ;-)

Oh, Neal, was it you that was looking for geranium pinto salmon in the spring? I did manage to save some from mine over the summer. Not a lot, but a few small packs.

I don't think so, I've never really considered trying Geraniums, or rather Pelargoniums (I do start hardy Geraniums from seed). As well as they do in dry conditions, I should be considering them. Are you going to try to overwinter the plants? They overwinter easily if you have space, either to keep growing or store them dormant. Cuttings that don't take as much room may be an option too.

I've thought about cuttings, but don't know how to go about it. Don't have room to store them. Working on getting a shed, but I suspect that would still be too cold to overwinter them, as it won't be heated at all...

Maxine

Kelly, the shed probably would be too cold for them. Cuttings now, before the cold weather sets in would probably have a better chance of rooting. They need a medium with good drainage and air circulation to keep them from rotting. Some people prefer sand for rooting them, and rooting powder or gel would speed the process. Once rooted, they're best kept on the dry side through winter. Mine usually throw a few blooms throughout the winter without much care. As well as you did with your seedlings, I'm sure you'd have no problem getting some rooted and keeping them going.

Once, you get the seed, when can we start planting?? I know we do't start them all in the house. But things like Hibiscus?
Am still collecting seeds.