| March 2, 2002 Started these seeds: 'Vintage Peach' stock, 'Easter Basket Mix' Alyssum, 'Annual Mixed Colors' statice, 'Blue Light' Jasione, 'Showey Evening' Evening primrose, 'Brilliancy' Maiden Pinks, 'Cherry Avalanche' petunia. Bulbs are popping up all over. First daffodil to bloom is 'Ice Follies' in the small back deck planter. |
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| March 9, 2002 Cleaned leaves/debris/winter kill out of pond bed. Pruned buddleia, clematis, miniature roses. Set viola 'Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow' out to begin hardening off. Planted 5 varieties of lettuce, in this order: 'Tom Thumb', 'New Red Fire', 'Simpson Elite', 'Red Sails', 'Green Ice'. Planted 'Pacemaker III' beets, 'Mokum' carrots, 'Yellow Granex', 'White Granex', and 'Burgundy' onion plants. Bought more plants: dwarf Rhododendron 'Dora Amateis', Dianthus gratianopolitanus (miniature Cheddar Pinks) 'Tiny Rubies', pink bleeding hearts, Astilbe 'Bridal Veil White'. More bulbs: more TBI 'Immortality', Babiana assorted colors, 'Top Mix' dahlias 'Sweetheart', low-growing decorative dahlia 'Purple Fairy', Mignon patio dahlia 'Yellow Sneezy'. Seeds: Forget-me-Nots 'Annual Firmament', aster 'Crego Mix', Sweet William 'Extra Dwarf Mixed', Swan River Daisy, portulaca mix, phlox 'Dwarf Beauty Mix', calendula 'Pacific Beauty', marigold 'Disco Mix', alyssum 'Rosie O'Day', bachelor button 'Blue Boy', California poppy 'Thai Silk, Mixed Colors', and bachelor button 'Cyanus Double, Mixed Colors'. |
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| March 10, 2002 Bought more plants: Shasta daisy 'Exhibition', Carolina Jasmine, Clematis 'Jackmanii', Dianthus Sweet William mixed (2), Delphinium (Larkspur) 'Belladona', Sedum (Stonecrop) 'Reflexum', Coreopsis 'Buttercup', Aquilegia (Columbine) 'McKanna Hybrid'. |
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| March 11, 2002 Placed several orders today. From Gardeners Supply: 2 compact self-watering patio gardens and 2 sets of copper plant markers. From Park's Countryside Gardens: Iris cristata 'Eco Little Blue', Rose 'The Prince', Tricyrtis stolonifera, Aconitum 'Napellus'. Looks like I'm getting a free gift of Lilium 'Lollipop'. Good. Already have a couple of those, but I'll try these in a container. From Wayside Gardens: Stokesia 'Blue Danube', Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, Verbena 'Sissinghurst', Perovskia 'Little Spire', and Tradescantia 'Zwanenburg Blue'. Checked the two geraniums (pelargonium) that I was trying to overwinter. Looks like so far they've at least survived. The scented one actually has started to put out some new growth under the debris. Zonal 'Frank Headley' has a couple of green stalks. White heath has been blooming for some time. The pink one looks like it may be forming blossom buds. Hardening off new plants and viola; putting out when I leave and bringing in when I get home. |
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| March 13, 2002 Deer eating newly sprouting foliage on bulbs and perennials and trampling in the beds. Spread dried blood as a deterrent. Set stored pots with last year's soil out to take advantage of next rain. I don't want to mix that much ProMix this year, so I'm recycling. Portable greenhouse taken to front porch to get ready for use. Put 'Painted Lady' sweetpea seeds to soak overnight; will plant them in a container with a trellis tomorrow. |
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| March 14, 2002 Cleaned leaves, etc., out of street bed and front porch bed. Lots of stuff coming up!! Yay!! Potted the dwarf Rhododendron 'Dora Amateis', planted the pink Bleeding Heart and Astilbe 'Bridal Veil White' in the back deck bed. Planted 'Painted Lady' sweetpea seeds. Planted Clematis hybrid 'Etoile Violet' and Clematis hybrid 'Mme. Julia Correvon' from holding bed into front porch bed. Planted viola 'Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow' in tiny bed next to the pentagon bed. Potted clematis 'Jackmanii' in pot for front porch. Bought more bulbs: TBI 'Babbling Brook', Lilium 'Yellow Stargazer', dwarf canna 'Apricot Ice', Scilla campanulata (for fall planting), dwarf canna 'Sunny Delight', calla lily 'Cameo', acidanthera, caladium 'Red Flash' and 'Carolyn Wharton', and 2 Christmas ferns. Noticed my dwarf lilac 'Josee' has blossom buds!!! I'm so excited about this! When planting in the front porch bed, I found the clematis ('Kermisina') I thought was lost during the water line replacement. |
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| March 15, 2002 Planted Carolina jasmine to climb up mailbox post. Planted sedum 'Reflexum' in front of mailbox post. Anemone 'Blanda Mixed' blooming. So cute!! Hope I remember to buy more of these next fall. A peony is sprouting. Don't know which one--label is gone. Lots of things popping up out of the soil. Potted up cannas and callas. Also potted up iris and lilium bulbs and put them in the cold frame for a few days. Planted Christmas ferns in back deck bed. Mowed and spread lawn food with crabgrass preventer. Planted mini Cheddar pink 'Tiny Rubies' in pond bed. Cleaned out pentagon bed and spread 10-10-10. |
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| March 16, 2002 Bought Caladium, 'White Christmas', lilium (Asiatic) 'Carillion' and dianthus deltoids 'Flashing Light' a pretty, petite, cerise colored bloom. Potted up all the caladiums and lilium. Removed protection from camelia sasanquas. Trimmed varigated liriope in pond bed. Noted several baby Japanese black snails in pond. Planted the rest of the perennials on hand and mulched the mailbox and birdbath beds. Potted clematis 'Kermisina' to see if it survives. |
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| March 17, 2002 Rainy, cooler day. Rain is good. Started seeds: Sweet pepper 'Sweet Rainbow Mix'. All 5 lettuces and beets beginning to sprout. |
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| March 18, 2002Received shipments from Parks and Wayside Gardens. I don't know what plumbago is supposed to look like, but I don't think it's supposed to look dead. |
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| March 21, 2002 Temps down to 22 this morning, and same predicted for tomorrow morning. Of course, replacement Stark Sensation miniature peach arrived today, it's too cold to pot it up, and I'll be away this weekend. |
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| March 25, 2002 Beets bit the dust. Lettuce got hurt, but not totally wiped out. Potted miniature peach in large pot. Blossom buds are swelling and showing a little color. |
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| March 27, 2002 Bought some more seeds: beet 'Ruby Queen', Four O'Clock 'Teatime Rose', morning glory 'Flying Saucers', and lupine 'Russell's Strain mixed Colors'. |
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| March 28, 2002 Put beet seeds to soak overnight in preparation for planting tomorrow. |
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| March 29, 2002 Productive day. Redid the narrow bed on left. Planning to plant only iris in this bed--lots of colors--rebloomers as much as possible. Started to dig up the bed where beets were "killed" only to find lots of seeds sprouting. Went ahead and planted 'Ruby Queen' in two places. Potted up azalea 'Helen Niblett' and dug up and potted both camellia sasanqua. 'Painted Lady' sweetpeas sprouting. Monarda 'Marshall's Delite' is spreading like wildfire. Ripped some of it up. May have to rip it all up and keep it restrained in a pot. 'Supersonic' crape myrtles from last year seem to be sprouting. Dug up all pots in holding bed. Took iris and bulbs out of cold frame. Last year's white bleeding heart is sprouting, as is viola 'Freckles' and all hostas in back deck bed. |
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| March 30, 2002 Bought more plants today--I really must stop. Got Bellis perennis 'Super Enormo Mix', geranium 'Kermina', verbena 'Homestead Purple', a "mosquito plant", 3 'Cherry Pink' million bells for a hanging basket, and the porch Boston ferns. Potted lilium 'Lollipop' and caladium 'Pink Symphony'. Removed both heathers--centers were dying. Planted 'Zwanenburg Blue' spiderwort, new geranium, and 'Homestead Purple' and 'Sissinghurst' verbenas. Also planted a few iris in the new iris bed. Potted million bells. Removed netting from pond and covered with fiberglas screen to keep maple seeds and other small spring-time debris out. |
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