My bulbs are in bloom, April 2008.

I downloaded a free program called seashore that allows me to add watermarks to my photos on my MacBook so I can finally share them all with YOU! I have tons of things in bloom right now and am loving all the color.

This one is Muscari that usually comes up with the crocus in early spring. They come in so many colors but I just love the purple ones because they contrast with all the tulips so nicely!

As you know, for my birthday I got a number of plants and bulbs to enjoy! One of the plants I got was already in bloom, it is this Hydrangea shown at the right. It was actually forced into bloom earlier than it normally would so it is in a dormant state now but I enjoyed the beautiful color during my birthday!

This next one is a unique one that I got for my birthday. It is a Peruvian Daffodil, isn’t it elegant? It actually does not do well in frosty conditions like common daffodils. It is planted in pot indoors with my gladiolas where it is warm.

Here is another shot of my crocus. I got to enjoy white once, purple ones and a few that were white and purple. The flowers are gone now but I captured some photos to enjoy throughout the year.

This next one is a shot of some of the red tulips that came up under the trees in the front yard of the place we are renting. We didn’t plant these and they kind of seem like they are planted in clumps that are too dense, what do you think?

These are dutch hyacinth I planted in the fall. They smell wonderful and look great, I am thinking they were planted too deep since they haven’t grown too tall.

Just today some daffodils opened up and I haven’t had a chance to snap photos of them but I will soon. What kind of stuff do you have surfacing in your garden these days? Anything fun?

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Birthday photos shared!

I promised to post some photos from my birthday and I try to live up to my promises! Since I got plants galore you will be subjected to a slew of bulb information and photos but don’t run away yet! We also have some adorable baby photos and some yummy fondue photos to share.

First, I compiled a list of the plants I got, plugged them in to my Dave’s Garden Journal with photos so I could remember what got planted where in a few months. It’s so easy to forget what you have and where you put it when you have a garden addiction like I do!

• Peruvian Daffodil (view my dave’s garden journal entry by clicking here) - Is a uniquw white flower with wispy petals and a sweet scent. Related to paperwhites in the narcissus family, can’t survive frosty conditions so it makes a great house plant!
• Summer Sunset Calla Lilies (view my dave’s garden journal entry) - Have green leaves with tiny white spots and orangish/ yellow blooms.
• Anemone/ Grecian Windflower (view my dave’s garden journal entry for these variations: The Admiral, The Governor, St. Brigid and Mr. Fokker ) - These come in a variety of color variations, they look poppy like and are deer resistant.
• Karl Rosenfeld Peony (view my dave’s garden journal entry) -
• Bowl of Beauty Peony (view my dave’s garden journal entry) - Has pink flower petals with cheery yellow and pink centers, plant in feb-march in Arizona.
• Tiger Orange Lily (view my dave’s garden journal entry) -
• Blue Girl Tea Rose (view my dave’s garden journal entry) -
• Intrigue Floribunda Rose (view my dave’s garden journal entry) -

Here is my niece who came with my mom to stay with us for my birthday. She is the most well behaved baby I have ever been around and she loves the camera!

Here we are at Wupatki National Monument inside one of the ruins. I wasn’t quite ready for the photo to be taken (as you can see) but it’s still priceless.

Here is a photo of us eating fondue on my birthday. It was yummy and so much fun!

We took my mother and niece out to Grand Falls for fun, we of course got a group photo of us in front of the waterfall.

And here are the photos I took of my newly sprouted crocus. They have surfaced in a variety of colors and locations. We are really enjoying their progress and beauty and thought you might also.

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Woho… The crocus are in bloom!

That means gardening fun is about to begin for us! The crocus blooms are a beautiful yellow and are quite cheerful. They are kind of short, like they were planted too deep but it still so great to see them even if they are short.

Do you have any early spring bulbs that are blooming yet? I hope so because I am dying for spring time!

So, now that the ice is melting and the bulbs are blooming we are able to get into the large box of crap that was left behind by the people who lived here before us. Guess what we found? Personal documents and credit cards, can you believe that?

Teeni was just talking about how we all need to take steps to protect our personal information and then I find some poor schmucks personal information and a credit card just sitting in a box outside (that was buried in the snow) by the front door of the home we are renting.

Be responsible with your personal information guys! Shred documents that you no longer need so that nobody can obtain your info.. That way you are protected.

Once while we were living in an apartment complex we found a complete computer sitting by the trash can. We grabbed it thinking we could use parts off of it and realized it still had all this personal information on it.

The computer actually belonged to the apartment complex manager. It had the tenants personal information on it, rental contracts, notices etc.. We reported it and were furious.

Folks, if the personal information you are responsible for (yours or someone else’s) mistakenly gets into the wrong hands lives can be ruined. Be responsible and be careful!

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Growing “Winston Churchill” Fuchsias

I spent some time with my “Winston Churchill” Fuchsia today and did some research on pruning for the coming spring. Fuchsias produce breathtaking flowers and are somewhat hardy plants. They do however need to be protected from winter frost/ snow so I brought our potted fuchsia inside when winter came. Luckily winter is winding down in Northern Arizona and my fuchsia will be ready to go back outside soon!

I noticed that it was getting a bit leggy today so I spent some time pinching it back and taking some cuttings. Apparently fuchsias are easy to propagate via stem cuttings so I thought I would give it a try!

The Winston Churchill Fuchsia can withstand temperatures as low as 35 degrees and prefers light shade, sun to shady conditions. It blooms in the summer and fall. The blooms are simply amazing, they are pink & purple and are so unique (click here to see google image search for winston churchill fuchsias” target=”_blank”>a Google image search showing these stunning blooms!! I can’t wait for mine to start blooming!

Filed under fall flowering, gardening reference, protect from frost, summer flowering | Comments (2)

Growing Canna (red futurity)

We just bought several Canna ‘Red Futurity’ roots/rhizomes that we are planting in Nathan’s office. These are very tropical looking and require warmth so we figured they would be a perfect fit in that room. They came packaged with Caladium bulbs and a few elephant ear bulbs.

We plan to plant our Cannas in a large pot that will remain indoors in that room, we may also plant a Caladium bulb with the Canna rhizomes or we may plant some cloeus with the Cannas.

Cannas come in a variety of colors and sizes, some grow up to 7 feet tall. Their blooms and leaves are very tropical looking and they are absolutely beautiful. Specifically Canna ‘Red Futurity’ needs to be protected from frost. It can be grown grow outdoors in zones 8 and higher, in colder zones it must be moved inside or dug up and stored through the frosty winter months.

This Canna will grow to about 3- 3 1/2 feet tall and does best in full sun but will tolerate part shade. Soil must be well drained or you risk root/ rhizome rotting. Like most tropical bulbs if you want to plant these outdoors you must do so in the spring after the last frost, they will bloom in summer and will need to be dug up and stored in the fall before the first frost (unless you live in zone 8 or higher).

The Canna ‘Red Futurity’ is distinguished by it’s dark burgundy leaves and it’s stunning red flowers that just stand out against the dark burgundy background.

Filed under does not require chilling, gardening reference, must dig up before winter frost, summer flowering | Comments (2)