Getting Busy Pt 3

Now is definitely the busy time in the garden! Having just finished cleaning up the backyard, I still have the front to take care of, as well as planting, staking, fertilizing, weeding (so much weeding), and all kinds of little necessary jobs like acidifying the hydrangeas (as nice as pink hydrangeas are, blue blooms are the real stars--and you need acid soil to get those). 

On top of all that, there are still seeds to start, both indoors and out. Here's what's keeping me busy at the moment... 

Early May's Seeds 

Started indoors on peat pellets: 

Sunflower, Hybrid Infrared 

Sunflower, Dorado 

Achillea/Yarrow, Cassis (photo, right) 

Canterbury Bells, Cup & Saucer 

Sunflowers need to be started inside around here or the squirrels just dig up the seeds and eat them. They usually end up eating the flowers too--they just cut them off and drag them away. I'm not sure how anyone ever manages to harvest the seeds. \

 

Started indoors in peat pots with Miracle Gro potting soil: 

Larkspur, Giant Imperial Mix 

 

Started Outdoors in containers:  

Poppy, California (Eschscholzia californica) 

Poppy, 'Falling in Love' 

Poppy, Iceland Mixed 

Poppy, Ladybird 

Poppy, Black Paeony 

Poppy, Angel's Choir (photo, left) 

 

 

Started outdoors in garden beds: 

Poppy, Double Shirley Mixed 

Poppy, Black Paeony 

Vervain, Blue 

Poppy, pink (perennial)--Seeds saved from plants in my mom's garden 

You really get a sense of my poppy obsession here! I'm also thinking about sowing some of the red poppies that my mom also grows. Speaking of, I just remembered that squirrels also tend to abscond with entire poppy seed pods. I used to think someone in the neighbourhood was cutting the unripe pods for their own nefarious purposes--and then I watched as a squirrel made off with one. Mystery solved. 

Has anyone else noticed whether the squirrels are being particularly greedy this year? I couldn't believe it as I watched one tear apart and snack on my young tulip buds. I've never seen this before! I knew they ate bulbs, but buds? And then my mom, who lives in another town about 25 miles (40 km) away, discovered they had done the same thing to her tulips. Seeing as how neither of us have ever noticed this before, it seems an odd (and annoying) coincidence. I firmly believe plants, gardens, and pests function cyclically. I guess this is the squirrels' year for eating tulips (at least I hope it's limited to this year!)

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