Fertilizing Friday & Garden Observations

I fertilized all the potted plants including the wine barrels with Miracle Gro All Purpose fertilizer today. I also spread some Osmocote according to directions for slow release fertilizing.

Garden Observations

The Kumasaka Camelia that I bought two weeks ago, has many buds and the one flower that was blooming when I bought it, is on its way out, petals are turning brown.

The strawberries are showing new leaves and some of the tiny strawberries are showing pink areas.

The lilies are growing nicely, some are close to 6" tall now.

The alyssum are showing half inch long foliage. They have survived the chilly cold and looks like they are doing well.

The gladioli are busy growing, some as tall as 12 inches, no signs of flower buds yet, not sure when this is supposed to happen. Gladioli are growing wherever else I planted them.

The pink Clematis Asao has grown taller, and is wrapping around the new bamboo teepee that Mike and I put together. It has only one pink flower blooming but the flower is large.. about 4 inches wide.

The snowdrift Clematis is growing too. The flowers look brown, I think it is coming to the end of its blooming season.

The rhododendron next to the laundry room has all its pink flowers open. This should last a couple weeks or so more.

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 26th, we will have some warmer weather, around 68f. That'll be a good opportunity for all plants to grow grow grow!

Lilies

Some sun please?
Originally uploaded by fnkymnky

The Lilies we planted in February have started to pop out. Mike's Grandma says they'll be flowering by July 4th. I think we planted about 8 Lilies. I don't have record of the exact variety.

Prior to planting the rhizomes, I mixed in some bulb food to the soil, following directions on the box and watered them thoroughly. They are currently in wine barrel containers. We've had plenty of rain and I haven't had to water them by hand much. I did add some MIracle Gro fertilizer two weeks ago.

Heather

Heather
Originally uploaded by fnkymnky
I bought four 1 gallon containers of Heather earlier this year and placed them in wooden containers. They are hardy in Winter and Spring, making a dull spot on the deck look bright and cheery. It is a popular plant around here, I see it everywhere, used as groundcover or in containers.

The plant tag name descriptions says the following:
Erica carnea "Pink Spangles"
Full sun/partial shade
Trim to base of flower spikes after flowering.

So I guess I'll have to watch it closely and wait for it to finish flowering.

I sowed some Alyssum seeds at the base of this Heather. When it is done blooming, I'll have some tiny purple flowers growing just below it. ;) Well I'm crossing my fingers that this will actually happen.

Narcissus - Las Vegas

Originally uploaded by fnkymnky


I recall planting about 8 of these narcissus bulbs last October but only 4 actually survived. In early February, raccoons went through all my pots, looking for grub I guess. They uncovered almost all my bulbs and this pot must have been one of the victims. These are two of the four flowers that survived. They're beautiful. White petals and yellow cups, reminds me of breakfast. :) This inspires me to seek other types of narcissus for next year.

These daffodils are in 10" inch containers and sit in an area of the deck that gets morning and afternoon sun. They seem happy here. I haven't had to water them, almost daily rain through Winter and Spring and that has been sufficient.

Quince

Flowering Quince
Originally uploaded by fnkymnky


I don't know too much about this tree. When we first moved here in July of 2007, the tree was looking pretty chewed up and ugly. I told Mike that maybe we should cut it down. Then we noticed that the deer were chewing on it and then I definitely wanted to chop it down since I didn't want plants that would attract them to the yard.

Later, I felt bad and thought that I should just leave it there for deer. So we let it be and the deer kept chewing it up even more. Earlier this year, in January, I tried pruning it but noticed it had thorns. I said, "Forget that! I don't want to get poked!" The bottom half of the tree had short limbs and the top had really long limbs shooting from the center of the tree. Really weird.

Finally, last March, I noticed red berries on the longer branches of this Quince. By early April, the berries had bloomed, displaying these pretty pink flowers.

I saw the same tree in other people's yard, last week and it looked really nice. Ours just had a really bad trim. Next winter, I will try to make it look better. I read online that this Quince tree is supposed to give fruit after it's done flowering. I'll photograph the progress.

Update: According to the Western Garden book, two Quinces are required to have fruit. So no fruit for us.

Triumph Tulip

Any day now..
Originally uploaded by fnkymnky

I planted the bulb in October 2007 and almost 6 months later I have these delicate flowers about ready to burst open in mid April. This variety is called Triumph Tulip, I placed about 8 bulbs in a 10 inch plastic container. I watered it a little bit when the soil was dry but not too much. Here in rainy Washington, we don't water much in the Winter, it rains just about everyday.

I can't remember what color they are supposed to be but I'll be sure to take a picture as soon as it opens.

Clematis armandii Snowdrift

, originally uploaded by fnkymnky.

I had previously bought a couple of starter plants at Fred Meyer but after a month of sitting in the pot, they were showing no sign of new growth. I got impatient , went to Lowe's and bought three Clematis. Threw the old Clematis in smaller pots and replaced them with the brand new flowering Clematis plants! The Evergreen Clematis Snowdrift is one variety I purchased.

It has pinwheel shaped white petals and long bright and shiny leaves. The flowers have a nice scent too, similar to Jasmine. The flowers measure about 2 - 3 inches in diameter. It gets afternoon sun, about 3 -4 hrs. Currently growing in a wooden container.

The vine has grown about 3 inches since I bought it and currently supported by a wooden stake. Pretty soon I'll need a bigger trellis to support the fast growing vine. I'm hoping it will cover the entrance of my back door.

Rhododendron

Blooming time!, originally uploaded by fnkymnky.

Rhododendrons have begun to bloom. This is the third tree of 32 trees that have yet to bloom. I don't know the exact name of this specific Rhododendron. It measures a good 8 ft tall by 6ft wide. The blooms started showing in late March. It needs a few more sunny and warm days to fully open but it's almost there. The blooms are bright pink but once they open up they are a light pink. Very delicate looking. About 8 flowers to each bud.

Over the weekend, our temperatures here in Olympia hit 80f on Saturday, April 12, 2008. This week our highs will average in the 50s and lows in the mid 30s.

It will need to be fertilized with Rhododendron fertilizer after they bloom and one more time in the fall. In the winter, we'll need to go in and prune back the dead wood.

First Gardening Post

,
originally uploaded by fnkymnky.

Today is a rainy day. Haven't taken the fuchsias out to get soaked. Over the weekend, we had warm weather, as high as 80f. It looks like all the plants grew a couple of inches. They appreciate the sun but they appreciate the rainfall more!

The lilies are sprouting, as well as the irises and gladioli. Grandma Gwen says the Day Lilies should be in full bloom by July 4th. If my parents come to visit then, they'll get to see the flowers!

The tulips are showing their buds and are starting to change color. With the cool weather, it takes them a little longer to open up. I give it another week until they are fully open.

The daffodils are going strong and blooming. I have a total of three pots of daffodils and one of them has been blooming for almost a month now!

We have daffodils growing in other parts of the yard around the house. These are bulbs that were planted by Joan (Mike's aunt) a while ago before we moved here.

Pots are all filled with Miracle Gro Potting Mix soil.