Seed Order 2013

Since doing my seed inventory last week, I decided I could fill in some holes to round out my garden this year. Here's the run-down of what I ordered.

1. Caballero Pepper - I've been wanting to try some chiles, and this is a variety of poblano.
2. Ancho 101 Pepper - more chilis...maybe I went a little overboard? This one is supposed to be sweeter.
3.  Watermelon (faerie hybrid) - This is a yellow-skinned, small watermelon meant for smaller gardens....hopefully that will hold true and I won't have a yard full of watermelon vines!!
4. Tomato (Lemon tree) - from the pictures, these actually do look like lemons. Supposedly they have a lemony flavor as well.
5. Tomato (Maskotka hybrid) - This one is a cherry tomato that is supposed to grow well in containers. These will go on the back deck.
6. Dwarf White Sugar Peas - a bush habit pea similar to the ones I grew last year
7. Pole Beans (Tionfo Violetto) - these guys are purple! I'm really interested to see how they taste.
8. Cayenne Pepper - because my husband REALLY likes spicy food.
9. Beet (Touchstone Gold hybrid) - a yellow beet.
10. Echinacea (Purpurea, Pow Wow Wildberry) - These I will sow in the next week or so (indoors) and hopefully will have some coneflowers in my near future!
11. Sage
12. Lavender (Munstead) - This one is an experiment. I've heard that lavender is difficult to grow from seed, so we'll see how this goes.
13. Feverfew - this herb is supposed to have medicinal properties regarding pain relief and fever reducing. It is also supposed to drive pests away when planted around roses. Guess where these are getting planted?
14. Zinnia mix - I didn't plant these last year, but two years ago, the flower beds were nearly taken over by the 6 foot tall zinnias! I had cut flowers all summer long, and the more I cut, the more they grew.
15. Marigold (Tiger Eye)

What are you planning to plant this year?

Blueberries and Tulips

I think I mentioned a while back that I ordered a dwarf blueberry bush called "Sunshine Blue" from Park Seed Co. Well, it arrived this morning and when my husband brought the box in the house looking confused, I got really excited. We went to Home Depot to get some potting soil and I went to work!

Here is what the bush looked like when I pulled it out of the box. I was expecting a bare root transplant, but I think this was probably easier to work with.

I already had a large container from an ornamental banana tree that outgrew its welcome. I took that up the hill to the garden area where it will get plenty of sunshine and filled it with potting soil.

Then I placed the baby blueberry, filled the pot the rest of the way and watered it well to settle the soil.

I'd say it was a success! Here is another picture...

While we were at Home Depot getting soil, my husband spotted the blooming flowers. We ended up walking out with a lot more than we'd planned! But he continually surprises me with the things he points at and says "Ooohh I like that! We should get some of those!" We left with some white and purple violas (I'm going to have to retake my pictures of those....will post tomorrow!) and some dramatic red tulips.

Do you ever buy flowers on a whim? What is growing in your garden?

Seeds have arrived!

My seeds arrived in the mail yesterday afternoon. I ordered from Park Seed Co. based in Greenville, SC (not too far from the family home). I find that it is less expensive than Burpee, and allows me to put some money into an economy that is, if not local to me in Nashville, is local to the economy that the rest of my family operates in.

Since it's raining and thunderstorming today, I think I will take the time to chart out exactly when I need to start the seeds for them to be ready for transplanting at the proper time.

Where do you order your seeds from? When do you start planting?