| Project by Iris43 | posted 1023 days ago | 1150 views | 0 times favorited | 8 comments |  |
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Out and about the garden this morning, I took some pictures of some of the annuals that I started from seed early this spring. A couple I was disappointed with and won’t plant again and a couple I definitely will grow again.
The first one is the strawflower pictured in the first zoom picture and here,
Perhaps it is the type I grew, but while these flowers have an interesting bloom, it is almost insignificant compared to the size of the plants and unattractive foliage. I’m glad I tried it but will not grew it again.
I like these little African daisies better but the bloom is very small and the plant sprawls in every which direction. They are not even very attractive in the window boxes bc the foliage is so skimpy.
I like the colour of them but the calendulas that I rec’d from Bon have the same yellow and orange colours and have larger blooms and more upright foliage. And I will grow these calendulas again next year.
A plant that I definitely will grow again next year is the coleus! I love how it has taken off, the variety of the foliage and the number of plants from one package of seed. I got over a hundred plants, many I gave away. The ones I kept are wonderful…..even though the earwigs seem to like them as well and some of the plants have lost leaves to the earwigs. You can see the damage has not detracted from the appearance of the plants.
Morning Glories have always been one of my favorite flowers. The old-fashion purple/blue MG have tendency to take over a garden (almost as bad as it’s cousin, bindweed) unless one is diligent in removing millions of seedlings each spring from an area where they have grown the previous year. :) I was ecstatic when I found the hybrid ‘Heavenly Blue’ does not re-seed itself in this zone. It means I have to re-plant each year but that takes such little time compared with searching for and pulling millions of unwanted seedlings. Now this year I have found and planted a small bush morning glory. I planted two types; ‘Tricolour Ensign Mix’ and ‘Sunny Skies’ in my window boxes. I am very pleased with the bloom and foliage. The plant is upright and sturdy, and the flower very beguiling. I guess I’ll have to wait to see if it reseeds itself. The directions on the pkg. instructed to dead-head to keep it blooming until frost, so maybe there won’t be any seeds to self-seed.
Everyone that has grown this malva, ‘Zebrina’ has warned me that I won’t need to re-plant them next year. They self-seed abundantly…..I hope so bc I like these these flowers too. This is one of the winter -sown plants. So far they are well behaved, nice upright foliage and attractive flower.
This last one is not a flower but I will grow it again as it has done so well. I admit I am looking forward to tasting it. Amish paste tomato. :)
I am pleased with all the results of my early sowing and look forward to trying new varieties next spring. Perhaps I’ll even try some perennials from seed. (Heaven knows where I would plant new preennials!)
-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'
8 comments so far
sharad
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1544 posts in 1354 days
hardiness zone 11
posted 1023 days ago
Iris, very neat coverage of new flowers in your garden. I have sown a few seeds of mixed calendula about a month back and they have sprouted. From your pics I get an idea as to how they will look. Coleus looks attractive. Can it be grown in a hanging basket? Tomatos also look very healthy. Waiting to see more from you.
Sharad
-- Bagwan-- “If someone feels that they had never made a mistake in their life, then it means they have never tried a new thing in their life”.-Albert Einstein
Radicalfarmergal
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3982 posts in 1400 days
hardiness zone 5b
posted 1023 days ago
Great photos, Iris. Isn’t it fun to try growing something new? I really like the Calendula seeds I received from Bon too. They survived our hot dry weather this summer and are blooming nicely like yours. I hope they reseed for me but I am going to collect some seeds just in case. I have some malva Zebrina growing in my yard since I moved here. It is very well behaved and grows well among chrysanthemums.
-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi
Iris43
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hardiness zone 5a
posted 1023 days ago
I’m glad to hear the good report re. the Zebrina, Robin. Everyone else has warned me that I will be sorry for starting it. :}
It has been fun trying these new annuals. I have so many perennials in the gardens that I didn’t know how I would use so many seedlings when they started to come up. :) But some did not perform as abundantly as promised so using them turned out to be not such a problem. The ones that did really well, I shared…..so that worked out too. I will collect seed from the calundullas as well as they were definately a success. They just keep flowering despite the heat and lack of rain.
-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'
MsDebbieP
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hardiness zone 5b
posted 1021 days ago
I really enjoyed reading your review of each of the flowers.
I was surprised at the “no” for the strawflower – because of the amazing photos you got but then you showed how they were minuscule compared to the stems/leaves and I can see why you would pass on it next year.
I think you’ll love the Amish paste.. well I shouldn’t really say that because most of my tomatoes were picked green last year so I don’t know if I got a really good taste test of the Amish Paste—but I do love the size and texture of the fruit.
-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)
Bon
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7357 posts in 1917 days
hardiness zone 5a
posted 1021 days ago
Nice pictures Iris.I love the coleus.I didn’t grow any this year and I really miss them.How did you like the tri color MG.Mine didn’t do too good at all.I got 3 really skinny plants with one flower on top of each one.
-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more
Iris43
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3685 posts in 1767 days
hardiness zone 5a
posted 1021 days ago
This is the first time I have grown coleus from seed. I thought they would be difficult to grow and they are not! To answer Sharad question about growing them in a hanging basket…...I have a couple plants planted in the side of the planter that is shown in front of the tree with the fushia. They are growing fine but are not draping, as you can see. They turned themselves and are upright.
I will grow them again and I plan to look for more varieties.
Bon, I do like the bush MG, both the tircolour and the sunny skies. They are not the robust plant the climbing vine MG is but it is a nice little plant in my window boxes. I also plant chocolate MG this year and they too are growing nicely. I have seen very small buds on the plants and as soon as I have a bloom I’ll be showing it. :)
-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'
Weedwacker
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297 posts in 1064 days
posted 1008 days ago
Well done Irish on the annuals. You won’t have to worry about saving the Calendulas they self sow sort of like Nastursiums. Very dependable annual. They can take a huge amount of dry and heat. I hear my mother in my head when I talk about that plant. She always got the pronunciation screwed up, she pronounced it like “Cal en doo laws”.
-- Margaret, Eagle Creek, Oregon. A garden is never finished.
jroot
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4812 posts in 1767 days
hardiness zone 5a
posted 1008 days ago
That is good to know about planting the coleus from seed. I am thinking that they would look nice under my Ivory Silk Lilac that is so thick very little light gets through.
-- jroot ....... Southern Ontario .......... grow zone 5A ...................."Gardening is an exercise in optimism." ....... . . Author Unknown