the kitchen is my workplace............take pictures later.............i am not about to work outside................have the kitchen pretty organized by now...................
Lin, that is why I am experimenting with sending the solo cups to Rain to see how well they travel.............it would be like you trying to send one of those solo cups you showed us of the trailer...............I just need to know..............because I do know that lots of people would pay the postage just to get babies close to ready to be potted up.............
***I just love to propagate from leaf..........
Strep Seedlings Update
here is how I have organized my kitchen and utility area so that I have every single thing I need to pot inside in the kitchen sink..............all dangerous chemicals still get stored outside in the storage building.........
I just took a bottom shelf for fertilizers, etc................(not many people would put their fertilizers below the spices) (LOL)
I found this little piece of furniture that has everything from strings, labels, sucker plucker, etc...........all in the right container....including perlite, vermiculite, etc..........water bottles............it is only 15 " deep and 24" across.........site on the side of the refrigerator and next to pantry........
These sit on top of an empty deep freeze (LOL) in the utility room off the kitchen........
This is an unused piece of furniture that goes to the floor............used part of the unseen area that has a rod to dry clothes.............plants are more important...........stilll have about 24" to hang wet clothes.......
This big container full of clorox water stays on the sink pretty much of the time so I can always walk by and drop string, containers, etc. in it anytime..........either in the sink or stays on the side of the sink..........
I am not working outside in this heat...........
You are one organized gal Gail! Wish I had your energy!
Karen
gee (blushing)...........no one in the world has ever called me organized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! not even one until you!!!!!!!!!!!! I fly by the seat of my pants and have all my life...............wait until I tell my adult kids you said this (LOL)
***********You haven't seen my desk in the office.............i hate bookwork or anything associated with it...........pay bills when they are threatening to turn anything off.............only like to play with house looking nice and my plants always come first.............waaaay before the house............
I am impressed! Wow! You have the perfect set up! To me that is the "Perfect" Kitchen!
:( waaaaaah, I need more space!
Lin, I actually organized it this way (the plant thing) but you need my oldest daughter around. She comes down twice a year and tears my house apart and puts everything back in order.........closets, drawers, everything. She, her husband and the kids are coming down the first weekend of August just so Tim can move furniture and put TVs up on the walls for me...to save space .............Ashley can make space where there isn't any..........she is the best........and could earn a living doing it if she wanted to. Her husband is the same way......I will have to show you after they leave (seriously).........Ashley has more small containers than anyone I know...........
********edited to say that Ashley organizes my house so well and I only have one.........i mean one..closet in the whole house...........except for the pantry.........everything else she has given a home under the bed, in a piece of furniture, etc.
This message was edited Jul 17, 2007 8:53 PM
Just for fun..............you all have to put up with me........i am learning how to use a new collage program.......it can ordered for under 25.00 and downloaded.........also can have a trial period of 30 collages free if you don't want it...........let me try to upload two I just made tonight.........had to take pictures first (LOL(
*****I don't know how but i am trying to learn..............I took these the other night ...........
now I made another one if i can locate it in my pictures.......
Lin, all my minis from spring are blooming...............are yours............we have some of the same ones........oh.........there is a Scarlet Red Sinningia
Ok Gail, those collages are too cool, the plants are gorgeous tool!! Please give us the link or name of the web site, I want to try it out!!
I could do nice plant collages but I'm thinking I could do some great ones with my grandkids too!!
You could have fooled me on the organized thing, that is a great set up you have there. I'd love to get something together like that since we have cold temps and snow on the ground more months of the year than not!! Maybe in my laundry room.....
~Brenda
This message was edited Jul 18, 2007 10:45 PM
Gail ... oh, I love the collages! Would love to find a download of one that is Mac compatible! The cute animations you send with your e-mails I could not download as it's not Macintosh compatible. :(
Hey, if you could rent out your daughter I could use some organizing! Wow! Only one closet in your house besides the pantry?? I don't know how you do it! I have a small closets in each bedroom, a linen closet in the hall, a coat closet in the foyer and the pantry .... and I'm not kidding ... it's like the old cartoons ..... open a closet and stuff falls out and bonks you in the head! Every so often I clean and organize but eventually end up just shoving stuff back in the closets in any ole' way and they get to be overloaded and messy again!
Your plants look great! Yep ... I have a couple of mini's that have buds! I think I have about 15 -20 AV's in bud or blooming right now. I am very pleased ... never had so many blooming all at the same time! Well, gotta run ... need to call the lady in the local AV club this morning. She has 25 more of those resevoir pots for me! I'm trying to get all of my plants on them before I go out of town in a couple of weeks.
Here is the site for ordering the collage maker............just don't forget that when you save it, save it to JPG..........or your computer won't recognize it and it won't get in your pictures.......that is what I kept doing wrong
http://ams-soft.com/collage/
Snowrose your strep babies are gorgeous.All of those from just a few seeds...Amazing..I love the variegation.Each one looks different.Can't wait to see all your blooms ; )
Thank you so much for the link Gail, and the tip about saving as a jpg! It'll be next week before I can try it out but I'm excited after seeing your great photos!
~Brenda
Morning Snowrose!
What a beautiful Strep!!!!! Must look for that one!
Joanne
cedarnest - glad to see you. Thanks. Fascinating how something that looks like a speck of dust has so much potential.
gessiegail - your collages are so nice of your lovely plants. Must be fun to do.
orkidlady - Good morning! I am trying to propagate more of Iced Canadian Sunset. Seems like a much slower process than violet leaves or maybe I am being impatient. Trying out different mediums to see what I like best. How are your violets? What have you been up to lately?
RainGazer
Jul 19, 2007
Snow, your 'Glitter Fountain' and 'Ramblin' Amethyst' are simply breathtaking! Gail is sending me a leaf pot of 'Ramblin' Amethyst' and I would love to be able to grow it to be as beautiful as yours. You said bright light, but cooler. I'm not sure how I'll achieve that, but I'll try. How close to the lights is your plant? You have some of the most beautiful AVs. I'd love to hear more of your growing tips and advice. :o)
Rain, they have so more growing to do...........before potting up.............just want to see how they travel...................
We are happy to have you back, Snowrose..................
RainGazer
Jul 19, 2007
They didn't get here today. :o( I just knew they would... I guess it will be tomorrow. Hope they don't take a trip like your ladybug pots did!
Them needing to grow more is fine. :o) I'm only thinking of where would be the best spot for them once they're bigger.
I always put chains on my Wally World light fixtures so the lights can be adjusted up and down depending on what i have on the shelf.................leaves always get closer to the lights.......about 10"...................
Hi raingazer. The variegation is better on Ramblin' Amethyst when the temps are cooler. If given a choice, grow on the bottom shelf where it is cooler if you have a warm room. In my living room in the winter, it doesn't matter if it's on a higher shelf as it is much cooler than in summer.
As far as distance from the lights, wish I could be specific but it does depend on ones fixtures and bulbs.
My growing methods for violets is very basic and simple. I grow all violets on wicks for even constant moisture and feeding.
Hi Snowrose,
Well I am taking some online Paintshop Pro lessons so between those and my babies....it is a full time job!
Other than that....hanging out....
I don't have too many Streps and vowed I wouldn't be going into them but they are so beautiful! I have propagated them and found that they rooted I guess at a normal rate as the violets do. I currently have Heaven Scent down and I can't wait for it to bloom....maybe by fall....there isn't even any baby yet though....LOL!!! This one has a scent or should I say, it is supposed to have a scent.
Wish me luck and I am sure yours will do just fine.
I am trying to get used to a Wacom tablet and my goodness it is hard...they say to give it a week....yikes!!!
Joanne
orkidlady, I keep saying I will take a photoshop class. Good for you. Must be fun. One of these days, you'll have to post some of your interesting pictures. Let us know if Heaven Scent really does have a scent. I know some of the strep species are scented like candidus for example.
So if I can jump in here :)))) My King of Kings strep is scented, to me it smells ever so faintly of roses. I waited and waited as I knew it was supposed to be scented and then when the flowers first opened I couldn't smell anything and I was disappointed but about two days later I was leaning over and watering them all and I could smell it. So the blooms need to "ripen" a bit I guess.
I also have Bristol's Sixth Scents and although I've only gotten a couple of small blooms I could detect a pleasant scent with them. Such fun...... The little pink plant in front in this picture is Sixth Scents..
~Brenda
Here is a nice bloom picture from my King of Kings, the leaves truly are huge!!
~Brenda
Good morning, bmedel,
Good to know the scented streps actually are. I have heard some people say they couldn't detect a fragrance. Is that Blue Mars (one of my favorites) in the first photo? I like that variety for it's large easy growing glossy foliage and large flowers also. Your picture is lovely, but I have found Blue Mars doesn't seem to photograph as pretty as it is in person. At least for me. Agree?
Oh, these Beautiful Strep Photo's are killing me! I have not learned how to be a good Strep Mama yet .... I do sometimes have problems with small plants ... seem to wilt and die before they even get a chance to take off. I have one medium sized Strep that has done well. It's one I got it from Starfly/Eunice late last year. It's name is Dibley's Gwen ... not the huge leaves like some I see in these photo's but it blooms for me and at least I haven't killed it! Oh, I might end up someday purchasing a couple of these beauties ... how wonderful that some are fragrant! I can just picture a plant stand with nothing but these Beautiful, Fragrant Streps all blooming at once!
Morning!
Snowrose it is Paintshop Pro.....I don't use PS very much at all.
I have very few Streps but the ones I do have are doing wonderful and I have them all growing in natural light and they seems to prefer that at my house anyway.
Attaching one of the tags I designed in PSP.
Happy growing!
Joanne
