show us beginners your blooms

notmartha - those burgandy and peach daylillies are GORGEOUS!!! i've never seen them before.
so pretty!!!
stephanie (sjonesartist)

notmartha--What a gorgeous daylily!! If you get tired of it, you can send it to live at my house. ; ^ }

Don--I understood that you weren't using real wicks in the AV pots, but didn't know what term to use for the water soaking in through the portion designed for that purpose. Yours are so pretty. I'm wondering if it would be possible to buy pretty ceramic pots that cost less than the official AV pots, and get the same effect.

I have not been really happy with myself doing a little bit of wicking, so have been bottom watering only. I am just getting to the point where my AVs are starting to bloom. I was not able to take care of them last summer and fall and I lost a tremendous number of them. The people taking care of them for me let them sit in water for days and days, thinking that way they would not have to water again for a while. I am rebuilding and loving the process, but it will be a while before mine look like yours and Allison's.

I am curious about those living in zone 10 as to when you grow dahlias...i love them, but would never even think that i could do it here....do you grow yours in the winter because you don't get freezing weather? This winter we are getting another arctic blast just as we are cleaning up from the last one 10 days ago...
have to go back to jkoms' sites and look at all the 'prettys'
Jkom............what a project you have accomplished.........thanks for sharing such a big treat..........not a bad photograher either(LOL) as I need some lessons in taking pics...
Isn't this fun on a cold rainy day here>>>

This message was edited Jan 29, 2007 4:40 PM

Paul, how incredible...which cultivar is that petunia???? please share with us....it trails soooo far.

This message was edited Jan 29, 2007 4:42 PM

Enjoy

My coleus did really well last year.

Paul

These were started from a cutting

Paul

I can'r wait for spring

Paul

paul-gorgeous-- those coleus don't look like the run of the mill that I'm looking at in a seed catalog.

somebody hogged all the dahlia pics already :) that's alright I have others

flax and cosmos, low maintenance

Those coleus have been gathered from all ovet the place. Some I bought some were cuttings given to me etc.
I save "mother plants" of each variety and over winter them in the basement under lights. Around the first of February I start cuttings to transplant in the spring.

Paul

Limelight and Tardiva hydrangea

lillies

One of my Shasta Daiseys

garden border

Beautifl Paul!
Diane don't feel bad those plants I gave them all away. Last Summer I sold mt stands, lights sold some plants gave most away I just can't take care of them.
I just have a few favrites, siz new ones I got from Bluebirds a few weeks ago from a Christmas Gift Cert. , I do have some Gesneriads and Begonias. The Gesneriads I do Have are ones I had a long time they keep giving me babies !
Are you going to Play Bingo ! New game starting soon :))
Here is some of my Chirita babies !.

don't know the variety of this hibiscus. I received a pencil sized cutting in a quart milk jug, 10 years ago, which I rooted and planted.

Allison

We're coming down there for the month of March. We've rented a place in Tarpon Springs.

Any good gardens to see that time of year?

Paul

Oh their babies of Chirita sinensis 'Hisako' and here are their flowers.

Beautiful DeannaV !!!
There is Cypress Garden, Sunken Gardens, Tarpon Spring is fun down by the Sponge Docks all the cool little stores, boat tours , lots of great Greek food .
There are more gardens seems like I've been bed bound so long :((
Bush Gardens is fun like an amusment park with gardens, plants, animals rides and shows.
I think in the Largo area there is a botonical ( SP) Gardens. A friend Jan " Jannich" visited some when she was here last year and took pictures. I think if you do a search if will bring up many more !

This os a new flower that brightened my day on Sunday ! I grew this by leaf ! She;s so beautiful with the whitest snow white flower with deep,dark purple .

OK - just one then

Beautiful !!

One of my favorites - Trumpetvine and Company - Dax

Salvias, Agastaches and Echinaceas are favorite plants of mine!

Here is one of my new favorite Salvias, which I grew for the first time, last year. And, it won't be the last!

This is Salvia microphylla ‘San Carlos Festival’! I really love it! I took this on 10/22/06. I plan to plant it again this year and in the ground this time.

Marilyn

edited to say that I've thrown away that rusty looking plant holder. I used it for the Hummers to perch on. I'll put a new one its place for 2007.

Edited to say that I've been growing plants mainly to attract the Hummers and Butterflies and it's rewarding!

This message was edited Jan 29, 2007 6:46 PM

This message was edited Jan 29, 2007 7:16 PM

1Gardengram, I buy all of my AV self watering pots on ebay. Not too often, as I wait until I find one at just the low enough price, and with shipping costs that are not too high. You can get lucky sometimes. Ü

Don

Another one of my new favorite Salvias planted for the first time last year. This is Salvia 'Wild Thing'. I love it so much that I have 4 plants of it! Beautiful!

Marilyn

Beautiful everyones plants wow so beautiful!

these pictures plus starting seeds and cuttings have just made my day a verrrrry bright one....didn't even know some of these plants existed....love that white cosmos and the bright pink salvia.

beautiful pictures all of you- I am not as good as you guys~~~
Deanna- I just ordered tithonia. In your picture, it looks(nicely) bushier and with larger leaves than I thought, I was picturing a lankier tall thing for some reason. Or am I getting the zinnias mixed in there? Love your combination. Would you say tithonia is bushy?

sallyg mentioned a wonderful idea of putting an old mailbox in her garden to keep some labels and small gardening tools. Look at the mailbox I won at an auction and nothing to do with it until now.....can't wait to put it in the yard somewhere among the flowers.
sallyg, tithonia gets very bushy and Torch is my favorite cultivar...

You can also get AV pots at places like Home Depot. I would think HD prices would not be as much as Charley's.

When I say I live in the middle of nowhere, I mean it..............this will be the biggest challenge yet to make beautiful gardens out here.........hope this pic is not too inappropriate to show you what I have to work with along with the rattlesnakes, coral snakes, wild hogs, etc. I am having fun starting a big giant project of gardening once again. These are some of the deer being raised down from my house.

This message was edited Jan 29, 2007 8:49 PM

bettygail, I love the mailbox!! and what a great idea.

do you have a pic of your home and yard area?

Maybe, we could collectively come up with some inexpensive suggestions for "Flora-scaping".
The whole project will seem less daunting, if you can concentrate on the area close to your home, than expand out from there.
You have a wonderful venue, with which you can incorporate lots of the themultiplying "prairie look" flowers, like cosmos, prairie daiseys, coreopsis, tithonia-so many.
Oh! and speaking of the Tithonias, they got to 6 ft. tall, at least-and extremely bushy-probably a 4 ft spread to each plant(1 seed). They all but choked out my zinnias!

Deanna

Al--I knew you would not be able to stand it for long!! ; ^ } You always have such pretty pictures to share.

Paul--I came to Florida for the first time last year and went to Cypress Gardens. I drooled my way through two whole days of flowers, waterfalls, more flowers, birds, more flowers, butterflies.....etc., etc., etc. It was the prettiest place I've seen.

Sally--You are absolutely not allowed to sell your self short here. Do you think we would post pictures of our "messes"?

Betty--I envy you living out away from town like you do. What pretty country!

I moved in last summer and too hot to start gardening..when fall came, i got lazy and took over the veggie garden for flowers............now I am ready to start around the house....I will take pictures tomorrow unless it is raining like they said it would............maybe you all can help me....getting excited already just thinking about what i have seen on this site so far..just remember I can't put anything up against the house that is a ground cover or low growing. The rattlesnakes are too bad....keep trying to think of climbing things or window boxes, etc................thanks and i will be waiting for you, Deanna.
I grew over 800 plants from seed in the fall and am germinating and growing as we speak....will grow even more this spring.

This message was edited Jan 29, 2007 9:30 PM

Wow!

sounds like you have big plans, already!!!

Another new favorite Salvia, being planted for the first time last year, Salvia 'Indigo Spires'. Beautiful! A 'must have'!

Taken on the evening of 10/9/06. Closeup pic.

Marilyn

Again, another new to me Salvia that's a favorite! My husband really loved it last year too! It was planted, along with another just like it, along the driveway, where he and I got to see and enjoy them all the time. They were planted with other Salvias and some Agastaches.

Salvia leucantha 'All Purple'. Taken early evening of 10/3/06.

I'm going to want to plant it every year in the ground. Beautiful!

Marilyn

I have been growing Indigo Spires for years.......yours is a beauty....it really needs to get away from the afternoon Sunday here in zone 9 in Texas...otherwise, they just keep growing up and out to the side....my brother's plant gets over 10 ft. tall and 10 ft. wide every summer.

Another beauty! This blooms late for me in my zone 6 garden. I usually have it in a large potted container on the patio, but I might have to plant it in the ground next time, because I think it will bloom sooner.

Extreme closeup of Salvia elegans (Pineapple Sage). Took the photo late afternoon of 10/3/06.

Marilyn