tcs1366 picture (Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #17

I'm in, most of my incoming seeds will go to Want2bee who lost her garden in a flood. i have plenty to give and need very few.

Maggie

Maggie -- if Want2bee or any other flood victims want to place a "wants/needs" seeds list... them some of us who have a lot to share/donate will know what to pack up.

I have a lot of Gaillardia [Goblin, i think], Black Eyed Susan, Cosmic Cosmos, Brazilian Bachelor Buttons, Purple Morning Glories [though southerns may not want those - being invasives] and if the zinnias make it thru our cold snap in a few days... i should have tons of those too.

Terese

I have some seeds for her too, but am holdign them for a few more days. She just suffered a lose in her family on top of the flood. I had planned to send her a dmail to ask her to join the swap and have fun picking stuff from the lists. Figured she would get a kick out of that.

wind -- if you havent see this thread yet... here is one on collecting zinnia seeds.
with images.... complements of Lala_Jane

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/909951/

oh, great! I had not seen that thread. Thanks tcs :)

I followed that link about zinnia seeds and Swallowtail Garden Seeds was mentioned. I am always browsing the selection they have, but I recently realized why I've never ordered there. The shopping cart does not work for me! I am the type that if I have two places to choose from I will choose ease over a few cents savings - so now I remember why I never ordered anything from them.
I was wondering if I am the only one that the Swallowtail Garden Seeds shopping cart doesn't work for? I added them into my allowed sites on both the pop up blocker and cookies settings and the shopping cart still did not work!

Meredith -- i too have been browsing their site a lot lately.... great looking stuff... but then i realize, "Why buy seeds when i can get them here for postage?"

I stumbled upon their site while looking for Yellow HollyHocks.... then I posted that i was looking for some Yellows, and low and behold, i now have them, along with a few more colors.

Meridith, I only ordered the one time this past spring, but didn't have any problems then.

Oooohhh, yellow hollyhocks! Hmmm....wonder how those would look with the black ones I have?

LOL _ Gemini -- I also got Black. I think it is gonna make a stunning combination.

Ooh..the hollyhocks will be like bumblebees for the bumble bees! I would love to see pics of that!!
I saw some yellows in a catalog somewhere and thought they looked adorable..If I had room for another bed, I thought they would look charming with "heavenly blue" MG's. scrambling through them. Someday, when I when the lottery I will have the money and room for all that I want to try....*sigh*

Speaking of heavenly blue MG...do the seeds come true? I'm not sure if I should bother checking for the seeds or not. I just did check on our basil seeds and just picked lemon basil seeds, they were ready. The few plants that didn't get harvested from Critter's Italian seeds are going to seed, but still not ripe.

I was also able to pick some eyeball plant seeds. It is a cute plant, didn't get very tall, it seemed to work nice and was interesting as a container plant.

This past season I didn't have luck with the poppy seeds that I tried to ws; is now the time to plant them for next season? We went round and round with advice, and I'm not sure if it was around now, or after December on top of the snow?

wind -- My HB come true. I think all my MG's did. [well, i only had two last year] but all the seeds i've gotten look exactly like the pics that are posted [say in PlantFiles]

this year i had 4 varieties; Heavenly Blue, GrandPa Ott, Split Personality and Star of Yelta ... all of which seemed to come true.

If i were you... i'd look for seeds on HB, you may not find many - if any at all.
I had posted something about this in the Morning Glory forum, as i was not getting many seeds - some pods were empty, some were mush... etc. And i'm out of seeds now... i had many request them.

as for Poppies... i just direct sow... i did have some that I WS'ed with success though.
I got A LOT of poppies seeds last year...

Trese

Just dropping in to let you know I'm looking forward to the seed swap. I've been collecting lots of seeds and once again I only have room for a few new plants so I'll be able to help out with extra seeds.

I pollinated some of my daylilies but since I won't have unsightly tags hanging in my garden, I only have the pod parent names. There's nothing too fancy or expensive but these are from some of my favorite flowers. Hopefully someone will want to grow these. I can only wish I had a place to grow them.

mao

oh THAT REIMINDS ME TOO... ops....

For some reason, i was collecting Stella de Oro Daylily seeds... i have a bunch, 20 or so.
Is anyone interested in them?

If anyone has Grandpa Otis mg seeds, I would love to have some . . .

cheers,
Seandor

Therese, great minds, huh! The yellow and black will be stunning!

artemiss, yes, like bumble bees! Oooohhh, and with black centered sunflowers too! You've inspired some fun ideas :-)

And speaking of Hollyhocks, do any of you have pure white ones? Just realized white hollyhocks are just what my Sky garden is needing.

Hi Seandor and Gemini,

I have them for you (Grandpa Ott's and white figleaf hollyhocks), if you like! Please send me d-mail!

Gemini I have som eof the double white seeds left. I had bought several packages a few month sago and didn't sow them all.

Now ya all makign me want to get some double yellow and black too if it come sin a double. I don't have a double yellow and love doubles. I have white and peach and just got in some of the one called fiesta time. wil have some extra seed from it. it a double that looks like a pinky rose color.

I love Hollyhocks and here a recipe I had posted aroudn on the forums somewhere back away for keeping them healthy so ya don't get rust.
Healthy Hollyhock Spray


Here is a recipe I have used on occasion. I got it from a Sharon Lovejoy column in an old Country Living Gardener magazine.

Healthy Hollyhock spray

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 T. canola oil
1/2 tsp. DW soap or Murphy's Oil Soap (I used Murphy's)
1/2 cup white vinegar

Mix with 1 gal. water and spray on hollyhocks every few days. I don't do it regularly, just when I see evidence of rust starting.


I think there is another receipe around too with buttermilk, but haven't tried that one yet that I cna remember.

Moa. If you have some of them Daylily seeds that you really would like to have grown, send em down, will try and grow them out for ya. I have penty of room and have plants I growed from seed from some other people here, so a few more won't make no difference.

Daylilie sis a huge passion with me. I see blackpearls and go crazy. LOL Glad you were able to get some. Most folks, especially those of in th esouth had it rough for pods this year with the heat and the droughts and the few pods ya did get barely had two or three seeds in them.

Alot of folks don't like Stella's seeds, but I do, ther ebeen sevral childen registered from them. Ya never know what you will get.

Meridith if ya having trouble with Swallowtail, send her an email. I usually the one who has tons of puter problems and I can order from her site, its buggcrazy's site that gives me the fit and don't to let me order.


Is it time yet?????? I am getting anxious. Spent all day yesterday slinging pots into the gh until my back gave out. Got that nasty wind and cold chil and frost in the morning.

Anybdy grow tuberous begonias before? I bought a bunch of clearance end plugs and they were all streched and a mess and I cleaned them up and pinche dthem back to try and get them to fil out. They haven't been growing in 3" pots for probaby more than a month which is not time enough for them to really do to much.

I thinking about bringing them inside, but wil only have ahuge kitchen table and the kitchen lights and a little sunight from window coming in to keep them alive.

Think that wil work? and anybody happen to know how big they have to be before they will make some tubers?

hi there
we have been busy hauling firewood in while the weather is holding. we have about two more cords to go. it is supposed to be 72 today. it looks like i need to be watering outside as it has been dry.
i do not think heavenly blue will cross readily with any other mg but i could be wrong. they are i.tricolor and the regular ones are i. purpureas.
the yellow and black hollyhocks sounds like a winning combo.
diana you could direct sow some poppies in the fall/winter and some in winter or late winter. direct sowing is best because they grow long tap roots that is hard to transplant later. they could be transplanted while small..so timing is critical.
i did collect a bunch of hollyhock seeds that are single if anyone wanted them.
i do want some daylily seeds for sure if anyone has any and/or lily seeds.
karen blue..oh darn about the woodchucks..i think i have more seed, just the matter of finding them.
tuink..the vita pep peppers, can i save seed from those?
lea..im getting some carpet from my daughter..ill be dragging those pieces in the garden soon. maybe they will smother those dang weeds.

pam

Pam, I think I'll have some lily seeds. Was there any kind in particular? I have some trumpets producing fat pods, and those are supposed to be among the easier ones to grow from seed. Also have several others with ripening pods, so I can save an assortment for you if you'd like.
Neal

hi neal

thanks for your offer ! an assortment would be great !

any kind of lilies orientals, asiatics, trumpets, daylilies..etc just make sure that theres an embroyo ( a swelling ) inside the seeds to know that they will be viable..it takes about three years to bloom. i am still learning about lilies and they take some patience before seeing blooms. im learning as i go i know seeds take much longer to bloom than plants or bulbs but i have a large area to plant so this is an avenue i can go cost wise.

i did experiment pollinating my lilies this last summer..i have a few that i bought as bulbs at 75 percent off last may..and i see three green pods..i hope they have something in there.. i have some lilies that i planted from seed two years ago so hopefully next summer they will bloom.

pam

Meredith, isn’t that funny how some of these sites you can get into and some you can’t, it always amazes me lol I can’t get tuink’s pictures up when she puts her photo album up, which I really hate missing out, but I can order from Swallowtail Gardens :) I’ve ordered from them one or two times but to me they don’t change their inventory enough, they always seem to have the same seeds, is that just me? Most of the seeds they have I can get in swaps, just my opinion :)

Wind, the part about the poppies and the snow is to pitch them out while it’s snowing then the birds won’t eat them all. I have no idea what time of year but we only have a couple of snows so I’m pitching mine out about Jan. when it snows then. I didn’t grow those pink profusion seeds out, I got them from a trade, hmm maybe I should grow some, I like the profusion ones, I had the white ones this year for my moon garden then I had an orange one pop up rather late in my nectar garden, I hope to get a few seeds from those but they came up kind of late, I just want enough for my orange garden for next year so far I only have one seed head that might be ready by the time the plant dies. I just hope I don’t forget about it.

Tcs, I never see the egg sacks, with the mantis, until later in the winter then I when I look around my grasses I usually see them, I’ve never seen them on any other plants that I have noticed, they always seem to go off to lay their eggs in the field, I’ve never seen any around the yard so close to the house for some reason. I have about five grasses out in front of the house and I’ve never seen any on those. Knock on wood lol I collected damp seeds yesterday and so far Patch hasn’t gotten into them, I put them up high on a chester drawers that has a fish tank on them that she doesn’t have any room to jump up there lol

I just saw it’s suppose to be 70 for Thursday then 67 for Halloween :) That’s more time to do planting! LOL Last year I was still outside in the dark under the street light planting on Halloween LOL I still have dahlias and elephant ears to get out of the ground too! This is the time of the year when I wish my obsession wasn’t so obsessive! LOL We won’t even talk about my garage, I can hardly walk in there now and need to clean it up so I can get all of my clay pots in there, the cats have knocked all of my plastic gal. pots and smaller all over the floor, I just bought a couple of totes to store some of them in and guess I’ll have to put string up on the shelves to keep my bigger pots up there lol They sleep on the web trays on the shelf. And somewhere in there I have a dead sparrow half eaten I just know, I doesn’t stink yet but I saw Stump with it the other day and haven’t seen it since :) I love these cats, I see dead voles, more than one every day lying outside somewhere!

Pamsue, you go girl with the carpet :) I’m not sure if the carpet smothers them out or just dries them out, the rain doesn’t get to the dirt underneath, I was going to put leaves under mine but I don’t think it would do any good it’s so dry under them even after the two inches of rain we got last week. You would think the rain would penetrate thru that carpet! Sometimes I’m thinking this carpet isn’t a good thing but that’s what I’m using in some spaces just because I have it and I can cover a large area with it without using all of my leaves :)

Lea, thats true about Swallowtail Gardens, and I realized yesterday I misspoke of them earlier. It was Pinetree Gardens that I ordered a bunch of stuff from at good prices. I wanted big, fully double zinnias (which isn't reliable with saved seed) and was really happy with the individual colors I got from Pinetree. I did get a couple of things from Swallowtail, but it did seem like most of the stuff they offered could be found in swaps.

Pam, yeah, I've been seeing several sterile seeds formed by the Oriental-Trumpet lilies- flat, like little stacks of post-its. Several of the Asiatics and Orientals have ripening pods. It will be interesting to see what does and doesn't produce. Not sure if they're going to finish developing before cold weather sets in, but I've got some Formosa lilies with pods. They were my first try at lilies from seed, and I just started them last year! If they can hang on long enough, I'll be sure to include some of those.

Thanks everyone - I am going to blame the fact that I have vista. I've been noticing a lot of problems with it lately, it seems like all the automatic updates they give ya makes it worse! I can't use rhapsody, photoshow and some shopping carts. That's only so far - who knows what else I'll find I can't use. : ( At least Dave's works great!! : D
I was just interested in a couple things from swallowtails, that were available in one color that's hard to do myself with saved seeds. Like the Red Cosmos for the hummers, I grew at least 4 different packs of cosmos last year and I saved all the seeds I could handle - however I didn't get a single red or one that was even somewhat close to it, so I thought I could order just that color so I know I'll def. get some reds. : ) It's mostly to see if they are more attractive to hummers, I only saw hummers at the cosmos twice and it was very briefly. The cosmos loved my yard and were so easy, and I figure I could grow them even if I end up renting cause they're annuals.
I was also tickled by those those Giant Dahlia hybrids - I know you don't get the same type from seed as when you order tubers, but I thought it would be fun to try them. Even if I have to plant them in someone elses yard lol. ; )
I noticed they seem to give a lot more seed than a lot of other places for the same money. Then I'll have left overs to share LOL : )

>>Like the Red Cosmos for the hummers,

all the "Red" that I had seemed to be more of a deep dark pink/fuchsia.

Meridith, I got a pack of those large decorative dahlias this spring. A huge pack of seed- I started a bunch and still have quite a bit of seed left. We had a terrible growing season for dahlias this year, but I did see some nice doubled blooms. I'd be happy to share these seed I have left over with you.

Tcs, I did get some like the color in your pic, they were really pretty. They had a darker center, it's kinda funny because I saw a seed catalog selling an 'exclusive' cosmo that sounded exactly like them! I got all mine from the swap! I got lots of pretty ones, I grew them all in a big clump so the seeds probably won't come true, but hopefully I'll get some like that again.

Gemini, you are so sweet! Lol it's funny I keep telling myself no more but I can't help it. I am a seed addict, I suppose there could be worse things to be addicted to though! lol .........
I guess you all are going to have to count me in for the swap!

Meredith -- i think most of my Cosmos Sensation came in a WildFlower mix i had purchased the year before.

The two colors of Pink really looked good together. and the tall ones were 4-5' tall.

the Whites were smaller.

Meredith, remind me in the spring, I have a double tall red dahlia that a real good friend sent me for this year, it was just beautiful, my favorite flower in the garden, if I have luck saving the tubers I will save you one and mail it then, I haven’t even dug them up yet, going to this Thurs. it’s suppose to be warmer then, you can even grow it in a pot instead of having to plant it in someone else’s yard :) I’m sure she won’t mind f I share with you. I would go ahead and send it out but I'm so dar n busy right now after I dig them up but I'm so darn busy right now lol Maybe in a couple of weeks then you can store it lol I've got enough bulbs to store and am thinking where in the world I'm going to put all of these, I don't do a lot of bulbs for this reason and here I am with two different cannas, several different dahlias from two people and elephant ear(s )LOL And not just one bulb of each LOL

Lea you are too kind : ) I'm sure I would love it thank you, but don't go out of your way for me.... please Only if you get around to it. I wanted to let you know, I have some of that Tall Skullcap seed for you. : )

I'm a little bummed out right now because my DH called and he seems to be fine now, but he's at the ER getting some tests done because he didn't feel right at work and almost passed out a couple times. He's been there since 4pm and I can't wait til he gets home. He doesn't want me to put the kids to bed until he gets here, but it's already past their bedtime now. So I hope he gets here soon. :

Oh Meredith.... you will be in my T's & P's tonight. The not knowing is always the hardest.

Terese

Meredith, you know how those ER places are they will keep you forever over a hangnail :) Don't worry about it until you know for sure what is up, you and your DH will be in my prayers tonite and I'll watch to see if you post anything, just have fun with the kids and tell them it's a 'special' night as not to worry them :) Take care :) Let us know what is going on when you find out :)

He still isn't home but I've been talking with him on the phone a little and he says he's feeling better and wants to come home - but like you said the ER keeps you there forever! I think they are waiting for his blood work to be sure he's okay to leave. Thank you guys for praying for and thinking of us. You are a great bunch of friends. : )
Now if me and the kids didn't have to be up at 5am it wouldn't be so bad... maybe I'll have to go to work late tomorrow.

Meredith, hope your DH is doing better now and can go home!

Pamsue, yes you can take the seeds out of the vitapep. But it's a hybrid so you may get something quite different, but isn't that the fun of it?

Morning evrybody!

meridith. Hope your hubby finally made it home and that everythign is ok with his results. men wil say they fine, just cuz alot of them don'tth epatience us women do for waiting. No offense to our men, but men like to get in and out of those places fast. Let us know how he doing, til then will keep him and your in prayer.

He got home about 10:30 and he said they told him they know his body is fighting something but they don't know what yet. He is scheduled to go back this evening so hopefully we will know what's going on by then. Hopefully it's nothing seriously wrong. Thank you for the support : )

Meredith,
Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Gosh, I can't believe he has to go back this evening, keep us informed Meredith I'm sure you will :)

Star, where are you going to grow all of these petunias lol I have quite a few seeds, are you growing other annuals too to plant in the courtyard? I haven't sent them out yet but you should be happy with the amount that I'm sending. I'm going thru my cups trying to make sure that I have all of them and getting them clean, I have a couple packs of seeds I need to get out to others and I have so many seeds everywhere I'm not sure that I have them all together of each one yet lol When I took my cannas out of their pots the other day, I took the purple pets. out of the pots and brought them in the house to clean the rest of the seeds off and stunk the tv room up for a while lol I don't like the smell of them at all lol Those and annual geraniums, that's one reason why I hate growing them downstairs they stink the whole basement up lol

Meredith, you and your DH are in my thoughts. Wishing the best possible outcome. Do you know if the red cosmo you mentioned was Cosmo bipinnatus (like in Therese's pic) or Cosmos sulphureus (the ones that are usually orange and yellow). There's a C.sulphureus called 'Cosmic Red' that is sort of a brick red with orange overtones. I suspect saved seed from them would result in a lot of orange flowered plants.


Lea, I know what you mean about the smells of some of these plants. I've got an overly sensitive nose, and have always found geraniums to be stinky. With petunias, sometimes its kinda pleasant to me, and other times it seems there's a hint of pee smell- eeewwww! Paperwhite narcissus are kinda like that for me too, when they first open I like the scent, then after a day or two it starts reminding me of the litter box, LOL.

"Meredith, you and your DH are in my thoughts. Wishing the best possible outcome. " Same here. I hope all is well.

Is anyone else starting to get itchy feet and want to start sowing seeds? This weekend, I started lily seeds and monkshood! My DH is convinced I am nuts! (I am going to try rose seeds too!)